Dr. Ben Carson, a world-renowned neurosurgeon and a member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet as the Secretary of House and Urban Development (HUD), said on Monday that science should guide decisions of reopening the country’s schools in the wake of the coronavirus.
“As a doctor, do teachers have legitimate concerns? Because the data shows that nearly one in four of them has some sort of existing medical condition that could make them highly susceptible for coronavirus,” Fox News’s John Roberts asked Carson.
“We’ve learned a lot about this virus, obviously,” Carson said. “And we need to use real science, not science fiction, and that means those people who are vulnerable … obviously we can use them in a remote setting.”
“But the vast majority of school teachers are young and vigorous people and should be able to handle this quite well,” Carson said. “You have to realize that data shows us that 99-plus percent of the people who died from coronavirus are those who are elderly or have comorbidity.”
“So why should we allow that to rule us, when we know that it’s detrimental to keep kids out of school,” Carson said. “The socialization process is a very important part of education, and a good education is the most important tool when it comes to being a self-sufficient adult.”
Roberts referenced remarks made on Tuesday by California Gov. Gavin Newsom about the rates of infection finally going down in that state.
“Where there’s a will there’s a way,” Carson said, adding that even if children have not proved to be a demographic that has gotten ill from the virus, they should act as if they are “asymptomatic carriers” of the virus and use recommended practices when around people who are elderly or otherwise at risk.
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