蜜桃影视

Friday morning鈥檚 much-anticipated shift in the federal government鈥檚 approach to social distancing in schools comes in response to a spate of new research, much of it showing that keeping students six feet apart is no more effective at reducing the spread of COVID-19 than maintaining a distance of three feet. In a statement accompanying the new advisory, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said that the agency 鈥渋s committed to leading with science and updating our guidance as new evidence emerges.鈥�

since the February release of the CDC鈥檚 original reopening guidelines that the six-foot rule was based on old and unsupported research claims, and would pose a major roadblock to in-person instruction given space constraints in schools. But it is likely that no empirical argument was more influential in changing the CDC鈥檚 position than accepted for publication in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases last week.

Examining coronavirus spread in over 250 Massachusetts school districts over 16 weeks during the fall and winter, the study found no significant difference in COVID-19 cases between districts that required three feet of distancing versus six feet. Not only were case rates among students and staff members similar in both kinds of districts, they were also lower than in the surrounding communities.

Co-author Richard Nelson, a health economist at the University of Utah School of Medicine, said in an email that the newly updated recommendations were 鈥渁 good example of the scientific and policymaking communities being partners in forging the best path through this unique public health crisis.鈥�

鈥淚t is great that our study could provide some new insights into how specific amounts of physical distancing might impact infection rates in school settings,鈥� Nelson wrote. 鈥淏ut it is also heartening that policymakers are willing to modify guidance when new evidence comes to light.鈥�

The study 鈥� written by a team of medical doctors, along with additional researchers including Nelson and Brown University economist Emily Oster 鈥� gathered a huge swath of data to reach its conclusions: The districts included in the study employ nearly 100,000 staff and serve over a half-million students, and the period observed encompassed 6.4 million student weeks.

Massachusetts, where the study was conducted, not only imposes a universal mask mandate but has also implemented extensive COVID mitigation measures in schools, including hand washing and ventilation protocols.

Within those conditions, the study finds no evidence that maintaining six feet between students offers meaningful advantages with respect to coronavirus spread. While case rates rose in both kinds of districts in the late fall, when a months-long surge in the virus saw a huge spike in both hospitalizations and deaths across the country, the increase was not higher in districts that practiced only three feet of distancing.

That finding, the authors wrote, 鈥渟uggests that the lower physical distancing recommendation can be adopted in school settings without negatively impacting safety.鈥�

Almost instantly, news of the experiment was spread in media and policy commentary. , Anthony Fauci, head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, agreed with host Jake Tapper that the balance of evidence increasingly pointed toward a smaller distancing standard in classrooms and hinted that new recommendations would be coming shortly.

鈥淭he CDC is very well aware that data are accumulating making it look more like three feet are okay under certain circumstances,鈥� Fauci said. They鈥檙e analyzing that, and I can assure you, within a reasonable period of time…they will be giving guidelines according to the data that they have.鈥�

in made reference to the study in exploring the rapidly shifting debate over reopening this week, and three of its co-authors wrote arguing for policymakers to 鈥渓everage the science鈥� in devising new policies to speed the return of students to in-person classes.

Elissa Schechter-Perkins, a study co-author and professor of emergency medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine, told 蜜桃影视 that the new guidelines were 鈥渁n important step from a feasibility perspective, because most schools nationwide don鈥檛 have the physical space to permit six feet of distance.鈥�

鈥淚t has become increasingly clear over the last year that the harms to keeping students out of in-person learning are tremendous,鈥� she said in an email. 鈥淣ow that there is substantial evidence pointing to the fact that three feet of distance doesn鈥檛 cause higher rates of COVID-19, it will be possible to bring more students back to full in-person schooling, even with the current school infrastructure.鈥�

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