In a major revision of guidelines aimed at encouraging more schools to welcome children back into face-to-face classes, federal health officials on Friday relaxed the 6-foot distancing rule for elementary school students, saying they were only three feet apart in classrooms stay while they do this Everyone wears a mask.
The three-foot rule now also applies to middle and high school students as long as community broadcast isn’t high, officials said. If transmission is high, these students must be at least three feet apart unless they are taught in cohorts or small groups that are kept separate from others.
The six-foot rule continues to apply across the community, officials stressed, and to teachers and other adults who work in schools and must keep this distance from other adults and students. Most schools already operate at least partially personally, and there is evidence to suggest that they do so relatively safely. Research shows that simple security measures such as masking, distancing, washing hands and opening windows can reduce its prevalence in schools.
“The transmission dynamics are different among older students – that is, they are more likely to be exposed to SARS-CoV-2 and spread it than younger children,” said a statement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Teachers’ unions across the country have voted in favor of a two-meter distancing and advocated with the CDC and the Biden administration to maintain the previous guidelines.
On Friday, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, the country’s second largest educators union, released a statement saying it would reserve judgment on the new distancing guidelines pending investigations into the behavior of the virus in school further reviewing attitudes. Becky Pringle, president of the largest teachers’ union, the National Education Association, expressed similar concerns.
Updated
March 19, 2021, 11:13 a.m. ET
Still, the CDC’s statement lags behind some local health officials across the country. Illinois and Massachusetts have previously stated that three feet may be appropriate in schools. County health officials have also played an important role in decision-making by school boards and superintendents, who have often been overwhelmed by conflicting public health guidelines.
Class disturbed
Updated March 15, 2021
The latest on how the pandemic is changing education.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the CDC, said the agency is constantly updating its guidelines as new evidence emerges. A recent study in Boston found no significant differences in the number of infections in Massachusetts school districts that introduced a three-foot rule compared to those that required six feet away. Further CDC studies on safety in schools were released on Friday.
“CDC is committed to being at the forefront of science and to update our guidelines as new information becomes available,” said Dr. Walensky. “These updated recommendations provide an evidence-based roadmap to help schools reopen safely and stay open to face-to-face instruction.”
The new guidance emphasizes that good air circulation and ventilation in school buildings is an important component in maintaining a safe environment and continues to emphasize several layers of preventive behavior, including universal masking, hand washing, cleaning of buildings and contact tracing combined with Isolation and quarantine.
Adults in schools must continue to be three feet away from other adults and students, officials said. The six-foot rule continues to apply in public areas of schools such as lobbies and auditoriums, when students can eat or drink and not wear a mask, and during activities that require more exhalations – such as singing, shouting, band exercises, exercising, or exercising . Activities that “should be carried out outdoors or in large, well-ventilated spaces if possible”.
Comments are closed.