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The Center for Disease Control does not believe that schools are a major source of COVID-19 transmission. During an interview with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation this week, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stated his disappointment with the decision to close schools in New York.

Source: CBS News: The National/Youtube

“You know, I was very disappointed in New York when they closed schools, when they hit their 3% point, because, as you pointed out, we now have substantial data that shows that schools’ face-to-face learning can be conducted in K-12, and particularly in the elementary and middle schools in a safe and responsible way,” Redfield said.

He would continue to say that the cases of COVID-19 at schools are usually from a student or teacher catching it through other methods of community spread.

“We’re not seeing intra-school transmission,” he added.

The schools in New York are set to reopen on December 7th, 2020 but new measures, including weekly testing, will be added.

Dr. Redfield’s comments about in-person learning may be influenced by a study conducted by the CDC this summer that found higher levels of mental illness and substance abuse in young people during the pandemic. His comments this week continued to advocate for the return of in-person learning.

“I just think it’s healthy for these kids to be in school,” he continued. “That said, they got to do it safely and they’ve got to do it responsibly. And when this was started over the summer, no one really knew for certain. They thought that these public health measures would work. But now the data clearly shows us that you can operate these schools in face-to-face learning in a safe and responsible way.”

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