Jul 20, 2020, 9:23 PM
(from the New York Times) A large new study from South Korea has found that children younger than 10 transmit to others much less often than adults do, but the risk is not zero. And those between the ages of 10 and 19 can spread the virus at least as well as adults do. The findings suggest that as schools reopen, communities will see clusters of infection take root that include children of all ages, several experts cautioned. Several studies from Europe and Asia have suggested that young children are less likely to get infected and to spread the virus, but they were smaller and not as rigorous.
(from the Hill) Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said last Friday that private religious schools are exempt from having to follow local health restrictions regarding school openings. Paxton said in an open letter to religious private institutions that forcing such schools to comply with local reopening guidelines would be unconstitutional. Texas’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act mandates that the government must show a “compelling interest” in regulations that “substantially burden” the free exercise of religion and that rules are applied in the least restrictive way possible.
(from the New York Times) In the early years of the 20th century, when tuberculosis ravaged American cities, innovative educators created open air schools for urban children. Classes were held either outside or in airy buildings with ceiling-height windows on every side that were kept open at nearly all times, through all seasons. During the winter, children kept warm in wool bags and hats, with heated stones at their feet. One of the few things we know about the coronavirus with any degree of certainty is that the risk of contracting it diminishes outside — a review of 7,000 cases in China recorded only one instance of fresh-air transmission. Reporter Ginia Bellafante argues these kinds of measures should be at the forefront of school reopening efforts.
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