Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert on Monday warned against reopening schools in coronavirus hotspots.
Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases, spoke via video conference to physicians and medical students at New Hampshire’s Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. He said while the nation’s “default principle” should be that children return to school, “to say that every child has to go back to school is not really realizing the fact that we have such a diversity of viral activity.”
“There may be some areas where the level of virus is so high that it would not be prudent to bring the children back to school,” he said. ”So you can’t make one statement about bringing children back to school in this country, it depends on where you are.”
Determined to reopen America’s schools despite coronavirus worries, President Donald Trump recently threatened to hold back federal money if school districts don’t bring their students back in the fall. He and top White House aides also have been ramping up attacks against Fauci, with Trump saying the longtime public health official has “made a lot of mistakes.”
In the discussion Monday, Fauci was also asked about how to accelerate public acceptance of face coverings to prevent the spread of the virus. He cited two problems: Young people who don’t take the virus seriously, and those who have politicized the wearing of masks.
“Wearing a mask if you don’t take this seriously is a tough one to sell, and it becomes even more tough when there’s this political symbolism of, if you wear a mask, you’re on this side of the political spectrum and if you don’t wear a mask, you’re on that side,” he said. “Which is completely crazy because this is a disease and virus and public health issue, and not a political issue.”
New Hampshire is the only New England state without a mask mandate for the general public, and for now, the number of people testing positive for the virus remains low. But that likely will change in September, Dr. Joanne Conroy, president and CEO of Dartmouth-Hitchcock, said when asked whether Republican Gov. Chris Sununu should issue a mask mandate.
“I would say we’re having a bunch of students come back in the fall, and UNH is having a bunch of students coming back, from all over the country — we should probably get used to mask-wearing because we should expect the incidence of infection to increase,” she said. “As leaders we have to support universal masking because I know it will protect the individuals in our community. I understand all the political ramifications for each of these governors to take that stand but as leaders, we know it’s going to keep people safe, so we may have to lead on that.”