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Betsy Devos supported the opening of schools in the fall
She also said that school districts and states would have to develop their own plans for opening schools taking into account the local situation.
The US Secretary of Education expressed support for the presidential administration's desire to open schools by autumn.
"We know that children become infected with the virus much less often than any other part of the population. Nothing in the available data shows that returning children to school is dangerous for them, "said Betsy Devos, speaking in the State of the Country program on CNN.
The Minister of Education did not go into detail on what recommendations her ministry would make about opening schools amid an increase in coronavirus cases across the country.
She also did not see a great threat of infection through the children of their parents, guardians, grandparents or grandmothers.
When asked whether schools should follow the recommendations of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which Donald Trump recently criticized for excessive rigidity, Betsy Devos said that each school building is unique, like every school contingent.
The Secretary of Education's speech provoked an immediate reaction from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who called this approach by the Trump administration to opening schools dangerous.
"What we heard from the secretary can be described as an official crime and failure to fulfill official duties," Democrat Nancy Pelosi told CNN. "Returning to school poses the greatest risk to the spread of coronavirus. If there are recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, then they should become requirements."
In a situation where the country's economy is going through difficult times before the presidential election in November, in which Donald Trump is seeking re-election, he is pressuring the states to resume business and schools. On Friday, the president said that if schools do not resume full-time classes, the Treasury Department will review the preferential tax status for them and their federal funding.
However, after many states in the United States eased restrictions, coronavirus found new points of support. According to Reuters, since the beginning of July, 24 US states have reported an increase in the number of new cases of COVID-19.
Acknowledging that the U.S. Department of Education does not have its own plans to safely open schools that it could promote, Secretary Betsy Devos emphasized several times that each school district and state should develop their own plans based on local data on the spread of the infection.
By VOA News.
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