The CDC (Center for Disease Control) has evidence which continues to mount that it is pretty safe to have in-person schooling, if United States schools require mask-wearing and other precautions.
The most recent study looks at schools in Wisconsin and found cases linked to in-school transmission were very low even while infections were common in the same communities.
Margaret Honein of the CDC says, “Data has really accumulated over the last few months that with good prevention efforts … we can keep transmission in schools quite low.”
The Wisconsin study was published online by a CDC journal, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. It focused on 17 schools in Wood County in central Wisconsin and found cases were diagnosed at rate 37% lower than reported in the county overall.
Teachers reported more than 92% of students wore masks, groups of students were limited to 11-20, staff kept a distance of at least 6 feet when possible, and staff and students quarantined after exposure.
Throughout 13 weeks, only 7 school-attributed COVID cases of the 4,876 students – and none of the 654 staff – were attributed to COVID-19.
Sources: Washington Post, Reuters, and USA Today; Photo: newshub.co.nz
