Dr. Anthony Fauci announced Sunday on CNN that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is analyzing data in order to ascertain the possibility of reducing social distancing guidelines from six feet to three feet, according to Axios.
Fauci made the announcement after a study from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) found that schools could safely implement reduced distancing policies without endangering students or teachers. According to Fauci, the CDC is beginning its own study and will then be able to take the necessary steps, Axios reported.
“When the data shows that there is an ability to be 3 feet, they will act accordingly,” he said.
Fauci also said that it won’t take long for the CDC to make the adjustment if their studies of the data show that the guidelines can be safely changed, although he didn’t provide a timeline for the move, according to Axios.
“I talk to the CDC, to Dr. Walensky every single day”, said Fauci. “She is acutely aware of the accumulation of data and the fact that her team will be acting on the data the way they always do.” (RELATED: Mark Meadows: ‘Only Thing Consistent About Dr. Fauci Is His Inconsistency’)
The study from BIDMC looked at data incorporating 537,336 students and 99,390 staff who attended in-person instruction during a 16-week period and found no significant difference in the number of COVID-19 cases between school districts which enforced six feet of social distancing, and districts that had only three feet distancing guidelines in place.
A podium with the logo for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
President Joe Biden released his five-step plan to safely reopen schools Friday and said that the CDC and other federal agencies should work to establish “basic objective criteria to guide state, tribal, and local officials in deciding if and how reopening can be managed safely in their communities,” according to the Business Insider. (RELATED: Duke University Puts All Undergrad Students On Lockdown Due To COVID Outbreak)
A survey from Gallup released last Thursday found that 79% of parents with K-12 children now support a return to in-person learning for their kids after nearly a year of remote learning.
