Donald Trump is calling for schools to open as soon as possible after Fox News host Steve Hilton cited studies that students cannot pass the virus to others on his show, The Next Revolution.
Trump sent a late-night tweet tagging both Hilton and Fox News.
“Schools in our country should be opened ASAP. Much very good information now available. @SteveHiltonx @FoxNews,” he said.
Trump’s tweet came just hours after Hilton had addressed the very same topic on his show, saying that wearing masks would be fine but that taking temperatures would be “totally pointless” and would most likely miss those that have the coronavirus.
“Get on with it and reopen schools now before you do even more needless damage,” Steve Hilton said on the show.
“Can children infect others? We’re constantly told to follow the science and the data, well, here it is,” Hilton continued. “One study found quote, even if children do get infected, they are less likely to transmit the disease to others than adults. We have not found a single instance of a child infecting parents.”
The majority of American’s believe it is a bad idea to open schools in the fall without further testing. According to a recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll published last week, 85% of the people polled believe it is a bad idea to send children back to school without further testing of the coronavirus. A Politico/Morning Consult poll said 41% of those surveyed do not believe schools should reopen in the fall.
Schools began closing around mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, and reopening talks have been a hot topic. Schools that plan to reopen need to have some sort of safety plan in place, including staggered drop-off and pick-ups, limiting children to one classroom and teacher for the day, no sharing of supplies, and having children wear masks, among other measures to help limit the transmission of the virus.
This all comes as parents now have to worry about Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), a condition that causes different body parts to become inflamed, including the heart, brain, lungs, eyes, kidneys, and gastrointestinal organs. According to the CDC, the cause of MIS-C is not yet known, but it has affected children that have had coronavirus or have been around someone with coronavirus. MIS-C is serious and can be deadly in some cases.
