Letter to the editor: Pa.'s school reopening guidelines too strict

It was amazing to read the front-page article “From masks to buses to recess, Pa. unveils guidance for schools finalizing reopening plans” (July 16, TribLIVE). It left me wondering where our state officials get the information to make their recommendations on schools reopening. I cannot imagine a child wearing a mask for the duration of a school day.

A study of 2,000 children and teachers at a school in Germany by Dresden Technical University and Dresden University Hospital showed “the dynamics of virus spreading have been overestimated” and schools did not become coronavirus “hot spots” after reopening. To me, that means (1) the virus does not spread easily in schools and (2) the majority of school-age children do not get infected.

Scott Atlas, M.D., a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, has said children do not need to wear masks and social distance. In a July 15 interview, he said, “There is virtually zero risk for children getting something serious or dying from this disease. There’s no rational reason or science to say that children transmit the disease significantly.”

The Toronto Hospital for Sick Children states schools should resume in person with no masks and no social distancing because the risk of infection and transmission in children appear to be minimal.

I believe the governor, state health and education secretaries, and the Pennsylvania State Education Association should rethink their overburdening guidelines.

Don Currie

Unity