Yes, Biden ordered reopening schools in his 100 days plan:

Masking, vaccination, and reopening schools are the 3 major goals of Biden’s first 100 days in the office. President Biden declared closed schools a national emergency and pledged to open all schools as quickly and safely as possible. To do so, he has already signed several executive orders. Let’s first discuss why you should send your children to schools…

Why should children be sent back to school during the horrific COVID-19 times?

Sending children back to schools during the COVID-19 has sparked outrage among parents who wanted to see their children back in school buildings but are also afraid of the dangers of exposing them to COVID. This is a very delicate matter, but don’t worry because I have brought some very important COVID stats that show why keeping schools open during COVID is safe.

Hospitalization rate: In the United States, data from 14 states during the first 4 months of the pandemic had shown that the COVID-associated hospitalization rate among children is 8 per 100,00 people: while for adults the hospitalization rate is 165 per 100,000 people. In short, stats during the whole pandemic have revealed that kids are much less likely to require hospitalization than adults.

Fatality rate: According to the data from the Academy of Pediatrics, from the beginning of the outbreak, the fatality rate among children over the age of four has been recorded between 0.02 percent or 1 in 5000 and is declining with every passing week. Children under 4 have a substantially higher facility rate. So, it can be concluded that the risk of COVID among school-aged children is quite low.

Transmission rate: We have no hard evidence to prove that the transmission rate for school-age children is higher or lower as compared to adults. On the one hand, we have studies like one from South Korea that looked at contact tracing to characterize transmission risk. It found that children under the age of 9 had a relatively low risk of transmission to household contacts, while those with ages 10-19 had a relatively higher risk. Other studies have found that when symptomatic with COVID, younger children have significantly higher viral loads present in the form of nasopharynx than adults do, which makes them much more contagious.

Some more valid arguments:

·      Children should be sent to school so that parents don’t have to leave work to take care of them. No doubt, keeping people at work is good for the country’s economy.

·      Schools should stay open or else what will the children do? They’re going to spend more time in public places like playing in streets or parks where it’s easier to get infected.

·      At schools, it’s much easier to manage kids because they are in classrooms.

·      Children learn much better in-person than remotely.

CDC’s school reopening guidelines:

On the 12th of February 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC introduced a new roadmap for the reopening of schools across the United States. It is a color-coded system based on the spread of coronavirus transmission in each community. According to CDC, it’s a science-based best strategy to reopen the schools safely.  The system consists of 4 different colors; blue, yellow, orange, and red. Here’s a brief summary of CDC’s new colored system…

·      Blue: zones have low transmissions and are open for full in-person learning.

·      Yellow: zones have moderate transmission but those schools can also stay open.

·      Orange: means substantial transmission and these schools should switch to hybrid learning and reduce attendance.

·      Red: means middle and high schools should switch to hybrid learning if there’s no regular testing.

List of must-follow guidelines for the in-person presence:

1.    Universal and correct use of masks is mandatory at all levels of transmission.

2.    The physical distancing of at least 6 feet is also mandatory, and to do so, schools are ordered to make required structural changes.

3.    Hand washing.

4.    Cleaning.

5.    Contact tracing.

The suggestions came as there are frequently increasing reports of problems among school-aged children such as loss of learning, and mental health problems. Simultaneously, more research suggests that children are less prone to Covid-19, and schools are not potential spreaders of the virus. This has led more experts to conclude that closing the schools is not worth the cost.

The CDC has prioritized the use of masks and physical distancing for in-person teaching. They have also advised the schools to be more cautious and exert more of these steps in case the Covid-19 is spreading rapidly in the schools and among the people associated with them.

Final Thoughts:

We are dealing with a health care crisis that folded into an economic crisis, which was then precepted into a social crisis. Now, our political situation is also not good, and we’re deeply divided.

Reopening America is all about working together to build a more resilient future! The good news is, we know that cure is right around the corner as many vaccines are coming available with every passing day. So, this is the moment to apply everything we’ve learned about resilience. We should apply all tools of optimism and open-up the cupboard of technologies we have available such as Automatic Dispensers and so on. Such automatic sanitizers are perfect for use in any common area such as schools, cafeterias, banks, lobbies, pharmacies, hospitals, restaurants, entryways, and grocery stores.