Americans must figure out a safe way to continue education for students in the 2020-21 school year. At this point, it appears that reopening schools will become a recipe for disaster in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to a report published by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association, 97,078 school-aged kids in America tested positive for COVID-19 from July 16 to July 30, 2020.
Although some initial reports claimed that children were not as likely to suffer detrimental effects from COVID-19, the report revealed that 86 children have died from the virus since May. On July 17, a 9-year-old girl in Putnam County, Florida, died from complications of COVID-19 after being sent home from the hospital without a test. And on Aug. 6, a 7-year-old boy from Savannah, Georgia, became the youngest person to die of the coronavirus.
Schools across the nation are now facing backlash for reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Mississippi, the Corinth School District reopened schools for in-person learning on July 27, according to CBS Interactive.
Within five days, a student tested positive for COVID-19. The positive test led to school officials sending 116 students home to quarantine. Those sent home reportedly were in close contact with the student who tested positive. While in quarantine, the students were told not to have any contact with the school or individuals who attend the school.
North Paulding High School in Paulding County, Georgia, gained national attention after a student posted an image of students, who were not wearing masks, in a packed hallway. The student who posted the image reportedly was suspended until backlash from social media led school officials to revoke the punishment.
Days after the photo went viral, the school reported that multiple students and teachers tested positive.
