Fauci Questions Logic of NYC School Closure: ‘Keep the Schools Open if You Possibly Can’

On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Cuomo Primetime,” White House Coronavirus Task Force member Dr. Anthony Fauci agreed with host Chris Cuomo’s criticism of New York City’s school closures and said that we should “keep the schools open if you possibly can.”

Cuomo criticized the handling of schools and specifically questioned the logic of New York City’s decision to close schools by asking, “The rate in the city is 3%. What’s magic about 3%? The rate in the schools is .17%. Why close the schools? Why not close everything else before you close the schools? What am I getting wrong?”

Fauci responded, “You’re getting nothing wrong. I agree with you completely. I think one of the things we need to do is, to the best of our capability, try to keep the kids in school. The numbers you said are true. If you look at the rate of infectivity — I mean, obviously, you want to be sensitive to the safety and the health of the children…the teachers. You want to do that. … Having said that, my feeling is the default position, keep the schools open if you possibly can. And you’re absolutely correct. I agree with you completely on that.”

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