One of the most heated debates in the pandemic era has been the opening of public schools.
With the pandemic now appearing to have an end in sight and with the spread mainly controlled in various areas, many are calling for public schools to be immediately opened so as to spare children from the negative effects of continued isolation and to provide families with relief.
One such individual who is calling for the reopening of public schools in Hawaii is Dr. Sarah Kemble, who is the acting state epidemiologist, according to the Star Advertiser. Kemble has said that Hawaii should continue instruction in person at its state public schools as soon as possible. She says that the risk of children missing out on valuable in-class time is too great.
“As we have learned more about COVID-19 and schools, we have also learned that schools are not, as initially anticipated, amplifiers of COVID-19 transmission. Rather schools are one of the safest environments for children when it comes to COVID-19," Kemble said.
In addition to asserting that schools did not pose a large risk when it comes to the transmission of COVID-19, Kemble also assured officials that in-person education is crucial for socialization, education, emotional health and physical health. She still recommended that schools utilize methods to slow the spread in schools such as good hygiene, using masks, social distancing and sanitation.
“Schools that have implemented mitigation measures are able to control COVID-19 transmission better than many community settings, where children may interact in less structured ways or attend gatherings with their families," Kemble said.
“Throughout this pandemic, everybody has been correctly calling for decision-makers to rely on the science. And now the state’s epidemiologist is saying that it is better for public health to open up the schools, so everyone is going to try their very best to move in that direction," Sen. Brian Schatz said.
Hawaii's public schools have been gradually returning to in-person instruction.