Trump keeps urging governors to reopen schools before summer
Some states agree with President Donald Trump's call to reopen public schools before the academic year ends, but health experts have another view.
Since the numbers of confirmed cases in the United States have been slowing down and each day there are fewer victims, President Donald Trump wants the economy and schools to reopen this month. He has already talked about his three-phase plan and now he is urging governors to open up public schools before the summer so that kids can finish their academic year.
Open schools, encourages Trump
Earlier this week Trump had a conference call with governors where he reportedly suggested he’d like to see children back in classrooms across the country. “Some of you might start thinking about school openings,” the president told the governors in an audio obtained by CNN, “because a lot of people are wanting to have the school openings.”
Trump suggested on Monday that schools might be able to reopen because Covid-19 generally hasn’t been as lethal in children as in adults over 65 and those with underlying health conditions. “In terms of what this vicious virus goes after, young people seem to do very well,” Trump said.
"I think the schools are going to be open soon," the president stated. "I think a lot of governors are already talking about schools being open." Trump even said that he hoped his own 14-year-old son could return to school and added that “the schools are going to open sooner rather than later.”
Trump and the governors spent much of the time talking over the logistics of ramping up testing, something public health leaders have said is an essential first step before things return to normal. According to some governors their states can handle 700 tests per day, but are only getting about 100 people each day.
Trump then accused the press of causing the lack of testing, "I've heard that from others, which I think means we're doing a good job of getting these tests out, and at a level that nobody can believe. And, you know, unfortunately, the press doesn't write that, they don't take care, they don't want to write, I guess you could say very easily, the truth."