Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
DeVos Backs CDC School Reopening Guidelines As Safe
Politico: Not Dangerous: DeVos Defends Schools Reopening According To CDC Guidelines
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Sunday broke with President Donald Trump’s criticism of federal guidelines for reopening schools amid the coronavirus pandemic, calling the recommendations the president described as tough, expensive and impractical “common sense.” DeVos also emphasized that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations were merely guidance, as she insisted that children needed to return to school this fall, despite surging coronavirus infections throughout swaths of the country that have contributed to new nationwide daily infection records. And she said that returning children to school would not endanger them. (Oprysko, 7/12)
AP: AP FACT CHECK: Trump Team's False Comfort On Schools, Virus
President Donald Trump’s administration is providing misguided assurances on the safety of kids in school during a coronavirus epidemic. In remarks Sunday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos urged schools to provide full-time, in-person learning in the fall even with community transmission of COVID-19 rising in many parts of the U.S., suggesting that there is no danger “in any way” if kids are in school. (Woodward, Yen and Rugaber, 7/13)
The Hill: Pressley Hits DeVos Over Reopening Schools: 'I Wouldn't Trust You To Care For A House Plant Let Alone My Child'
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) swiped at Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Sunday after the Trump administration official doubled down on her push for students to return to school. In a tweet knocking DeVos on Sunday afternoon, the first-term lawmaker directly called her out, writing, “@BetsyDeVosED you have no plan. Teachers, kids and parents are fearing for their lives.” (Folley, 7/12)
CNN: Superintendent For One Of US's Largest Public School Systems Has A Message For DeVos: 'You Can't Put Every Kid Back In A School'
The signage reminding students to stay 6 feet apart is already on the floors. The plexiglass is up in the front office. The desks are spaced in a socially-distanced way in the classrooms. This is how Mantua Elementary and all other public schools in Fairfax County, Virginia, are preparing for back-to-school in the age of Covid-19. (Bash and Nolan, 7/12)
