"In Finland, when public health researchers combed through test results of children under 16, they found no evidence of school spread and no change in the rate of infection for that age cohort after schools closed in March or reopened in May. In fact, Finland's infection rate among children was similar to Sweden's, even though Sweden never closed its schools, according to a report published Tuesday by researchers from the two countries...
"It really starts to add up to the fact that the risk of transmission, the number of outbreaks in which the index is a child, is very low, and this seems to be the picture everywhere else," said Otto Helve, who worked on the report as a pediatric infectious-disease specialist at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. He said he sent his own children back to school...
"The scientific evidence for the effects of closing schools is weak and disputed," said Camilla Stoltenberg, director general of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, which has advised Norway's pandemic response. She said that although she supported her country's March lockdown, it was less clear that Norway needed to close schools. "We should all have second thoughts about whether it was really necessary," she said. "We see now that, after having opened schools, we haven't had any outbreaks." ("Reopened schools in Europe and Asia have largely avoided coronavirus outbreaks. They have lessons for the U.S." Washington Post)
It's clear now that closing the primary schools was a terrible mistake for which our children will pay dearly for years to come. Children need a secure environment with a responsible and engaged adult in order to meet their basic developmental needs. Online teaching is no substitute, in fact, a third of students never even log in to attend their daily online classes.
Distance learning is not learning, it's a scam aimed at destroying public education and creating a dumbed-down workforce incapable of doing anything beyond flipping burgers or mowing lawns. Not surprisingly, it's mostly Democrats that oppose the reopening the schools because they see it as another stick for beating Trump. Even so, Trump can claim the moral high-ground on this issue because he has been particularly straightforward and unwavering in his approach. Here's Trump on Twitter last week:
"Corrupt Joe Biden and the Democrats don't want to open schools in the Fall for political reasons, not for health reasons! They think it will help them in November. Wrong, the people get it!
Trump is right, in fact, even Doctor Anthony Fauci admitted as much in a heated exchange he had with Senator Rand Paul last month on Capitol Hill. Here's what Fauci said:
"I feel very strongly we need to do whatever we can to get the children back to school. I think we are in complete agreement on that."
In-home learning generates feelings of depression, anxiety and alienation. It is not a substitute for person-to-person direct education. Also, there's been a significant rise in sexual and physical abuse in the last three months that will likely decrease when school resumes and things return to normal. We also should not underestimate the impact of friendship and personal interaction on the mental health of young people who need to be around other children their own age. The lockdowns have robbed the children of that essential experience. Here's an excerpt from an opinion piece by Australian Government's Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Nick Coatsworth, who arrived at the same conclusion as virtually all the leaders in the EU:
"COVID-19 is not the flu. Far fewer children are affected by COVID-19, and the number of transmissions from children to children and children to adults is far less.
"Some have said the evidence on this is not clear. In any health debate, evidence can be cherry-picked to support a particular view. As an infectious diseases specialist, I have examined all of the available evidence from within Australia and around the world and, as it stands, it does not support avoiding classroom learning as a means to control COVID-19.
"The national position remains that face-to-face teaching is safe, particularly given the current very low rates of community transmission of SARS-CoV-2." ("Getting our kids back to school -- a matter of trust," Department of Health, Australian Government)
Finally, there's this from CDC Director Robert Redfield:
"The CDC encourages all schools to do whatever they need to reopen. Nothing would cause me greater sadness than to see any school or school district use our guidance as a reason not to reopen.
"I think it's worth noting that the CDC never recommended general school closure throughout this pandemic"I'm not critical of it. I'm just saying that from a public health point of view, we didn't see that schools needed to be closed." ("DeVos blasts school districts that hesitate at reopening," Politico)
There it is in black and white: Open the schools now. Full Stop.
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