CNN | President Joe Biden hasn't committed to K-12 schools reopening full-time and in-person in the fall, one of his senior advisers said Sunday, because the coronavirus remains unpredictable.
"He
said 'probably.' He did not say 'absolutely,' " Senior Adviser to the
President Anita Dunn told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union."
"Because we've all seen this since unfortunately January of 2020. It's
an unpredictable virus. And it is a virus that has -- you know it
mutates. So we can't look in a crystal ball and say what September looks
like."
Dunn's
comments come after Biden said Friday that K-12 schools "should
probably all be open" in the fall for in-person learning after more than
a year of challenges with remote learning and as more Americans get
vaccinated.
"Based
on the science and the (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention),
they should probably all be open. There's not overwhelming evidence
that there's much of a transmission among these people, young people,"
the President had said during an interview with NBC's "TODAY."
The CDC in February released highly anticipated guidelines
for reopening schools that focus on mask wearing, physical distancing,
washing hands, cleaning facilities and improving ventilation, and
contact tracing, isolation and quarantine. Last month, the agency also made another recommendation
that experts said would allow more schools to open. The CDC relaxed its
physical distancing guidelines for children in schools to recommend
most students maintain at least three feet of distance, down from six
feet.
Dunn
told Tapper if Americans get vaccinated against Covid-19 and if schools
follow CDC guidelines then "we probably should be able to have them
open," encouraging people to seek medical advice before getting a
vaccine.
"If
they have doubts about it they should ask their doctor. They should ask
people who have already gotten it. They should certainly do their own
research," she said.
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