CDC’s classroom guidance would keep 90% of schools at least partially closed

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s long-awaited guidance on how to safely reopen schools during the pandemic could end up keeping kids out of the classroom longer than necessary, four doctors who reviewed the guidance told CNBC.

Many public health specialists applauded the agency last week for releasing the clearest and most comprehensive federal guidance yet on whether and to what extent schools should reopen. The 35-page document defines “essential elements” of reopening that include social distancing, universal masking and some testing. It also lays out a set of parameters to gauge how widely the coronavirus is spreading within a community and whether schools should fully reopen for in-person learning or maintain a partial or fully remote learning schedule until the outbreak subsides.

However, doctors who spoke with CNBC pointed out notable shortcomings of the guidance, saying that it would keep more than 90% of schools, including in almost all of the 50 largest counties in the country, from fully reopening.