Do you think school should open?

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Do you Think Schools Should Open?
After the United States announced its first Covid-19 case, measures were adopted to help ensure that people are safe. Air travel was suspended, public places were closed, sports was suspended, schools were closed, among other measures. All these were considered sufficient measures to help keep people safe and free from the spread of Covid-19. However, in spite of the efforts of the federal and state governments, Covid-19 levels rose and claimed more than 200,000 lives. Debates have raged on over the federal government’s laxity and negligence that led to more cases being reported and more deaths. However, there is one debate that has had the whole world tuned in because it impacts almost all countries. This debate involves whether schools should be opened or not. Some claim that schools should be opened, but measures need to be taken to ensure that students will not transmit the virus to each other. This lot believes that 2020 will be a lost year for students if schools are not opened. On the other hand, there are those who believe that schools should not be opened because such a move will endanger the lives of millions of children. Also, this lot believes that the many loopholes and failures by the government to ensure protection to healthcare professionals is a testament to how the government will fail to protect children. For this lot, there appears to be sufficient evidence to support their claims, and this essay seeks to further their argument and opine that schools should indeed not be opened.
One of the reasons why schools should be opened is because they will provide a leeway for the virus to spread fast. After Covid-19 hit, countries all over the world closed schools and suspended learning. However, after a few months of monitoring the virus, some countries decided to open schools again. But, for some countries, things did not go as planned. For example, in Israel, there was an outbreak of the virus in one of the country’s high schools after reopening. Stein-Zamir et al. (1) write that after fully reopening schools on 17th May 2020, Israel experienced a major outbreak of the virus. While testing for the virus, it was revealed that “153 students (attack rate: 13.2%) and 25 staff members (attack rate: 16.6%)” were positive. As a result of the outbreak, the researchers indicated that “temporary school closure is prudent (especially in large regional schools) pending investigation results.” In the United States, parts of the country saw a surge in positive cases after schools were reopened as well. Shapiro (np) wrote that New York had planned to close the city’s public school system entirely in fear of a second wave of the virus. Learning was to be disrupted for all students who had been going for in-person instruction for less than eight weeks. Keeping students in school is likely to expose them to the virus and cause a surge in the number of positive cases in the country.
The other reason why opening schools is not safe is that social distancing is not appropriate for children. Opening schools would mean that measures such as wearing masks and social distancing are being practised. Children w...