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Trump's Reckless Push To Reopen Schools Is An Admission Of Failure

By pushing to reopen schools this fall regardless of whether the coronavirus is still spreading wildly, President Donald Trump is giving up on his own plan to contain the virus.

In April, the White House unveiled ”Guidelines for Opening Up America Again,” which call for business and other activities to resume in staggered phases, depending on local progress in containing the virus.

The guidelines, which are influential but not binding, say states can enter the first phase of reopening if they have a “downward trajectory” of documented cases over 14 days or a lower percentage of positive tests over that time period. Schools should only reopen in the second phase ― after an additional two weeks with cases going down.

Now, though, as the president insists against all evidence that the virus is under control ahead of the November election, those guidelines have gone out the window. Trump is not saying cases should go down before schools reopen. He’s saying schools should open no matter what.

“We’re very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools, to get them open,” Trump said Tuesday. On Friday, he upped the threat, tweeting, “Schools must be open in the Fall. If not open, why would the Federal Government give Funding? It won’t!!!” (Schools are mostly funded by state and local taxes, and federal funds are appropriated by Congress, so it’s not clear how much the president’s threat matters.)

Cases have risen over the previous 14 days in most states, according to a New York Times coronavirus database, with alarmingly high numbers of infections in states that took Trump’s encouragement to “liberate” themselves from public health recommendations. Nationally, the daily death toll is still below its April peak, but the number of new infections has set six daily records in 10 days.

President Donald Trump demands that schools reopen during a meeting at the White House on July 7. (Kevin Lamarque / Reuters)
President Donald Trump demands that schools reopen during a meeting at the White House on July 7. (Kevin Lamarque / Reuters)

And there’s no indication that things will get better soon, said Leana Wen, an emergency physician and public...

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