WASHINGTON: The United States should aim to reopen schools this fall, says a report released on Wednesday, a day after American health experts warned at a congressional hearing that an unplanned reopening could be dangerous.

“It is likely that schools can reopen in the fall, but they need to plan for 14- to 28-day rolling closures triggered by local outbreaks,” said the report — “Blueprint for Back to School” — prepared by a Washington think-tank, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).

Countries across the globe shut down schools as the coronavirus pandemic gripped the world, killing close to 300,000 and infecting more than 4.3 million. The United States, the worst hit with close to 84,000 deaths, also closed down its schools and colleges, fearing that keeping them open could have disastrous consequences.

But with the pandemic indicating that it had peaked, schools across the world are now planning when to reopen. Some countries — Vietnam, South Korea, and Denmark — have already reopened while others — including Pakistan — are debating when to do so.

In the United States, the White House released a guideline, which urges officials to document a 28-day decrease of coronavirus cases and put in place a strong testing program before reopening schools.

A US health agency, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, suggested a phased reopening. But it wants health experts to first figure out how rapidly children can spread the virus to others. It also advised providing “tele-education … to those students who do not come back to school” when they reopen.

The AEI report urged state school officials to make modifications before reopening, such as physical distancing, temperature screenings and frequent disinfecting of classrooms.

The report also recommended accommodations for those teachers, administrators, school staff and students who were at heightened risk due to their age or other health conditions.

Noting that a vaccine might not be available for 18 months or more, the report advised providing accommodations for not only the 2020-21 school year but also 2021-22.

“Depending on the public health situation, there may be waves of stopping and starting, partial or staggered openings, or other developments,” the report observed.

The report also noted that the schools “will look very different than the children left in the spring.”

“There will likely be masks, temperature checks and extra space between desks. Nearly 1 out of 5 teachers may not be able to return to school buildings. And looming over schools will be the potential for additional closures forcing students back to remote learning.”

The issue also surfaced at a US Senate hearing on the pandemic on Tuesday where the country’s top expert on infectious diseases, Dr Anthony Fauci said reopening plans should be based on the testing landscape as well as hygiene and social distancing measures.

But Rand Paul, the only US senator to have had this disease, disagreed. “Dr Fauci, I don’t think you’re the end all. I don’t think you’re the one person that gets to make the decision,” said the senator who wants schools to reopen this fall.

“We don’t know everything about this virus and we really better be careful when it comes to children,” Dr Fauci responded.

US Health Secretary Admiral Brett Giroir suggested testing all students when they return to school. “It certainly is possible to test all of the students,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2020