If the U.S. schools go by what the CDC says regarding the cancellation of events and activities in schools, it may be a bad time for children. If it is made a mandate in the near future, every school in the U.S. could have to part ways with extra-curricular activities.
CDC’s Suggestions To Cancel Activities Like Football & Music In Schools
In another statement, released in several quarters, CDC tells people to finish their quarantine period in five days and get back to normal. And, in the preceding five days, the people who have recovered should stay away from crowded places. It is quite unlikely that Americans will go by either of these. Both sound too unrealistic to be true.
Just making platonic statements for the public does not work any longer. The public will decide from hereon. The government nor the health departments can make mandates that have no practicality. It has become a personal responsibility of sorts for Americans to safeguard themselves from the virus.
The CDC has faced many such remarks in the past as well, that was before the pandemic began. The agency has been making statements out of the blue and asking people to follow them. However, the agency fails to recognize that real people need real solutions.
Mandates do not work when the economy and society are falling. Many health officials are also against the mandates passed by CDC. In the new year, as Omicron cases are on the rise, the agency has already received flak from several quarters due to their insensitive and confusing guidelines.
In a recent interview, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky had said that academics that suffered in 2020 should be given priority over the extra-curricular activities. However, many schools have proved in 2021 that they were able to operate with 99% attendance and in keeping with all ideals. The main issue with the CDC scientists seems to be the fact, that they are unable to think beyond the virus.
There are many other things to be concerned about, and that includes the mental health and physical health of the children. Only concentrating on academics alone from the confines of their home, may not be able to ease the pressure. It is quite evident that recent reports of the spread of the virus from school and church choirs may have forced the authorities at CDC to make such statements and mandates.
It is really for the schools and students, along with their parents to decide, what it is they consider safe. In a mandate released on January 6, CDC has passed the message that schools should cancel all high-risk activities like sports and band shows. However, if one looks at the recent spate of events, it does not seem like the schools paid any heed to such warnings.
It goes without saying, that schools are trying to tackle the pandemic in their own way. Most parents and children want to go back to normal life at school. However, due to the pandemic taking its own course, things have been going haywire. Now, that vaccines are available for school children, things look better on the horizon.
It seems to be adding an extra layer of security to the school-going children, amongst other safety concerns. CDC has been passing various mandates from schools lately.
Layered prevention is amongst them. The other mandates include masking for all, apart from rampant testing. But most school authorities are not ready to comply with the guidelines that CDC is trying to lay down to prove a point.
As it is, the isolation guidelines have created confusion in the first two weeks such rampant judgments can make it tough for others to operate.
