According to the CDC, The Students no longer need to keep their distance in the classrooms. The new guidelines were announced on Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They announced that students now can reduce the distance from six feet to three feet.
As published in an article on US Today. These guidelines will create more opportunities for schools to restart in-person education as the social distance is decreased and more students can be accommodated in the classrooms.
CDC said that students of elementary school can maintain a distance of three feet apart in the learning areas such as classrooms, they should wear masks regardless of whether the transmission of coronavirus is now low, averagely moderate, high, or substantial.
The students of high and middle school should also follow these instructions and recommendations if the transmission of coronavirus is low in these communities, substantial or moderate. If the transmission ratio is high then they should keep six feet distance, to lower the risk of coronavirus transmission.
The Director of CDC Dr. Rochelle Walensky said that safe in-person education will give access to kids to reach critical social and mental health issues which will prepare them for future hardships. These recommendations are ground reality and evidence-based which will help schools to reopen safely and keep them open for a long time.
According to the CDC, the recommendations are various for various age groups, because the older kids are more likely to transfer, spread, and exposed to the coronavirus than the younger kids and children.
CDC said that these changes in rule are only for the kids not for the adults, adults should still keep the distance of six feet in the adult’s schools and students who study in the buildings. This distance will be six feet in the following situations in the open areas outside the classroom.
While guidelines for students may have changed, the CDC said adults should still maintain six feet of distance between other adults or students at school buildings. The agency also still recommends social distancing at six feet in the following situations outside the classroom:
In only open common areas such as auditoriums and lobbies.
You can not wear masks while eating.
You no need to wear masks in activities with increased breathing such as singing, sports, and other physical activities. The activities should perform in well-ventilated areas or it will be better if performed in the open areas. If possible.
Other activities if perform outside of the classroom
The decision of CDC is updated guidelines based on three pieces of research and studies that were published in the Morbidity and Mortality that shows that masking in the schools has helped in the prevention of coronavirus spread if there is not much possibility for students to stay away from each other or if they can not keep recommended six feet social distance. Said Dr. Wenskay.
She also added that if children wear masks then the distance of three feet is more than enough and safe in fact. But about the adults, we do not have such evidence.
