Schools Should Open Virtually Until Current Surge Subsides and More is Known about Virulence of New COVID Strain
I am urging all schools to start remotely this semester because I do not believe it is safe to open schools during the absolute peak of a worldwide pandemic, especially when a new virus strain is circulating that appears to be much more transmissible by children and teens. Based on what I see as a clear consensus among epidemiology experts, I do not believe that it is safe to re-open schools for in-person classes and activities at this time. There are two primary bases for this opinion: 1. We are at the absolute peak of the pandemic . When we opened in September, we were at a lull in the pandemic, with very low rates of community transmission. That could reasonably be used as a justification to bring students and teachers/staff into the classroom. However, right now we are in the midst of the worst surge in COVID-19 that has occurred since the start of the pandemic. The number of daily infections and hospitalizations is at an all-time high. Moreover, it is not even clear that we have