President Donald Trump called for US schools to be reopened as soon as possible after watching a Fox News segment which claimed that stude...
President Donald Trump called for US schools to be reopened as soon as possible after watching a Fox News segment which claimed that students don't spread coronavirus and are 'more likely to die crossing the street'.
'Schools in our country should be opened ASAP,' Trump tweeted late Sunday night.
'Much very good information now available,' he added, tagging Fox News anchor Steve Hilton and the outlet.
The tweet was an apparent reaction to comments Hilton made on his program The Next Revolution less than two hours earlier.
'Get on with it and reopen schools now before you do even more needless damage,' Hilton had said.
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President Donald Trump called for US schools to be reopened as soon as possible in a tweet on Sunday after apparently watching a Fox News segment pushing the idea
Trump's tweet was an apparent reaction to comments Fox News host Steve Hilton made on his program The Next Revolution less than two hours earlier. 'Get on with it and reopen schools now before you do even more needless damage,' Hilton had said
Hilton also criticized measures aimed at stemming the spread of coronavirus, calling temperature checks 'totally pointless' and certain social distancing rules 'completely arbitrary'.
'Only one or two people allowed in an elevator at one time, good luck trying to reopen New York on that,' he said.
Schools were among the many institutions that were forced to shut their doors went widespread stay-at-home orders went into effect in mid-March.
On his program Hilton cited studies that suggested students can't transmit the virus to others.
'Can children infect others? We're constantly told to follow the science and the data, well, here it is,' he said. '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.'
He also referenced an NPR report published earlier this month that said children's mental health has been adversely affected while they stay at home during the pandemic.
Hilton welcomed Fox News contributor Steve Moore, a former adviser to President Trump, to bolster his argument.
'Your kid is more likely to die from walking across the street than from going to school,' Moore said.
'This is primarily a disease that affects older people. We been so dumb and so stupid about the way we've dealt with this.'
A Politico/Morning Consult poll published last week found that 41 percent of Americans think it's a bad idea to reopen schools this fall, while about one-third thought it was a good idea.
Dr Anthony Fauci, a top member of the White House coronavirus task force and the nation's leading infectious disease expert, has repeatedly urged caution when it comes to reopening schools.
Dr Anthony Fauci, a top member of the White House coronavirus task force and the nation's leading infectious disease expert, has repeatedly urged caution when it comes to reopening schools. Fauci is pictured with Trump at a White House briefing on April 22
Concerns over sending kids back to campus have grown in recent weeks amid the emergence of a severe pediatric inflammatory syndrome believed to be associated with COVID-19.
While the coronavirus has been found to be less harmful in children, who typically only exhibit mild symptoms, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an advisory earlier this month about the potentially deadly pediatric illness dubbed multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).
MIS-C causes swelling in medium-sized arteries throughout the body, producing a variety of symptoms similar to those found with Kawasaki disease or toxic shock.
The most common symptoms are high fever that persists for several days, rash, red eyes, red lips or tongue, red or swollen hands or feet, low blood pressure, unusual abdominal pain and persistent diarrhea.
Twenty-five states and 13 countries have reported apparent cases of MIS-C to date.
At least four children in the US are believed to have died as a result of the syndrome.
'We don't know everything about this virus, and we really better be very careful, particularly when it comes to children,' Fauci said as he testified before the Senate earlier this month.
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