White House Press Secretary Says 'Science Shouldn't Stand In The Way' Of Schools Reopening

The White House Press Secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, has raised eyebrows during a recent press conference that focused on reopening schools.

Ms McEnany revealed that President Donald Trump wants schools across the country to reopen, regardless of the coronavirus threat.

America continues to see incredibly high daily increases in infections, however that doesn't seem to bother the President or his Press Secretary when it comes to children's education.

"The president has said unmistakably that he wants schools to open," McEnany said to reporters.

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"I was just in the Oval talking to him about that, and when he says open, he means open and full, kids being able to attend each and every day at their school.

"The science should not stand in the way of this, and as Dr. Scott Atlas said - I thought this was a good quote - 'Of course we can do this. Everyone in the Western world; our peer nations are doing this. We are the outlier here'.

"It's very damaging to our children - there's a lack of reporting of abuse, there's mental depressions that are not addressed, suicidal ideations that are not addressed when students are not in school. Our schools are extremely important. They're essential, and they must reopen."

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She referenced data from a Journal of the American Medical Association article that said critical illness from coronavirus is far less for children than the seasonal flu.

However, the discussion about sending kids back to school has always included the risk of children spreading the virus, regardless of how sick they get.

While McEnany said the 'science is on our side here', public health officials have debated the idea of sending kids back into school, according to Insider.

Countries around the world have had mixed responses to reopening schools. Denmark saw no spike in new infections as children were sent back to campuses, however Israel saw the direct opposite.

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Brandon Guthrie, a global health and epidemiology expert at the University of Washington, told Vox that while America is an outlier in terms of reopening schools, it's difficult to compare the US with other countries.

"There is no clear consensus about what measures are and are not effective [for a country in America's situation]," he said.

"There have been lots of different methods taken, but the challenge is that they're not head-to-head comparisons."

Emiliana Vegas, co-director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution, added: "No country that has reopened schools so far has had the pandemic under such little control. That's what's complicating everything for schools."

Topics: News

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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