Late last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued updated guidance on school reopening, saying that 3 feet, not 6 feet, of physical distancing between students was sufficient in most elementary schools—regardless of the level of community spread of COVID-19.
At the same time that CDC officials were updating school policy, they were also warning that B117, a variant strain 50% more transmissible than the wild-type virus, would likely become the dominant strain in the United States by April. In some states, such as Florida and California, the variant, which was first detected in the United Kingdom, already accounts for 25% of cases.
Now several experts are concerned that schools may be opening during an inflection point in the pandemic and are being misguided about how to do so.
CDC, states struggle with school openings
Across America almost all schools closed in March and April of 2020 as the pandemic entered its first wave and peaked in places like New York City. A barrier to reopening in the fall, especially in crowded, urban school districts, was that classrooms could not accommodate students with the CDC-recommended 6 feet of physical distancing.
The CDC said mounting evidence shows little difference in school transmission rates when students are separated by 3 or 6 feet, and it points to mounting research on student mental health, physical health, and even parental job security that shows that in-person instruction is superior for most American children and families.
"It's a balance," said Ruth Lynfield, MD, Minnesota state epidemiologist. Minnesota, along with Michigan, and North Carolina, has seen school-related B117 outbreaks spread into the community in recent weeks.
"We are in a race to vaccinate as variants spread, and currently kids and their parents are not vaccinated, so communities need to work that much harder to make in-person school happen," CONTINUE READING: Experts: 3-foot rule in schools problematic in light of COVID variants | CIDRAP