On Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci supported a recent study that cuts down social distancing guidelines to one meter.
Fauci, one of America’s leading immunologists and head of the White House coronavirus task force claimed that recent studies showed there is “no substantial difference” in Covid-19 transmission rates for schools that implemented the previous two-meter rule.
In fact, Fauci advised that observing a one-meter social distancing guideline would be enough to curb the virus transmission.“The CDC is very well aware that data are accumulating making it look more like three feet are OK under certain circumstances,” he said.
The news came after the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) confirmed that data from Beth Deaconess Medical Center in Massachusetts showed that there is no significant difference between schools which implemented the two-meter guideline against those who observed the one-meter rule.
The survey which was conducted in 21 school districts proved that social distancing measures may be cut to half as long as students continued to observe other health guidelines such as washing their hands and wearing masks.
The data is expected to have a significant impact on how educational systems will conduct their face-to-face classes. Currently, schools are placed under increasing pressure to re-open as administrators shared their concern that the previous two-meter guidelines might be impossible to implement without having to cut class hours or setting up temporary classrooms to accommodate the students.
Fauci’s comments also support previous research which suggested that Covid-19 transmission rates in schools remain relatively low. Just last month, the Public Health Agency (PHA) announced that schools are not a “major source” nor a “major driver” of coronavirus transmission. While the PHA claimed that Covid-19 infection does occur, it is only limited to a “small scale.”
As schools and businesses are starting to re-open as a result of the aggressive vaccine roll-out, Fauci cautioned that it is still unsafe for the public to put their guard down. Citing the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in Italy, and other European countries, he said, “When you see a plateau at a level as high as 60,000 cases a day, that is a very vulnerable time to have a surge to go back up.” He added, “That’s exactly what happened in Europe.”
In addition, Fauci claimed that the CDC is also in the process of collecting its own independent research which they will release “soon.” He also shared that the health organization is set on releasing new guidelines to help school reopenings.
Currently, the CDC listed a total of 29,115,662 Covid-19 cases in the U.S. and over 500,000 fatalities. States such as New Jersey and New York lead in terms of coronavirus mortalities, while Michigan, Minnesota, and Hawaii continued to see an uptick in the number of cases.
