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Sen. Kennedy: Some politicians 'like the political chaos' from keeping schools closed
By Julia Musto
Published July 15, 2020
U.S. schools need to reopen for the sake of the nation's children, Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy said Wednesday.
In an interview on "America's Newsroom" with host Sandra Smith, Kennedy said keeping schools closed amid the coronavirus pandemic would be harmful to America's youth in many ways.
"For whatever reason – and this is a good thing – our kids don't seem to be as susceptible or at least get nearly as sick as adults do from the coronavirus. I think we've had 30 deaths of kids under [age] 15," he said. "That’s 30 too many, of course."
Students wearing face masks wait in line to have body temperatures checked at entrance of a school on June 15, 2020 in Hong Kong, China. (Hong Fan/China News Service via Getty Images)
"I think that keeping the schools closed is going to do far more harm to our kids than the coronavirus ever can," Kennedy stated.
Kennedy said that he believes parents are ultimately responsible for their children and that a teacher's decision to return to the classroom is "between [them] and the school board," but for many kids, school is the "most stable thing in their lives."
"It's more than just education. It's health care. It’s mental health. It’s counseling. And, we need to get them open," he said.
Kennedy also pointed to countries like Vietnam, which reopened schools in May after nearly a month of no community infections.
"I've watched dozens of other countries do it. Even Vietnam, for God's sake, has opened up their schools. If they can do it safely, we can too," he said.
Part of the problem, according to Kennedy – much like mask-wearing – is the politicization of the issue.
"There are some politicians in Washington – not all, now, I don't want to paint with too broad [of] a brush – but I think that they like the political chaos of having our schools closed. They think it will help them in November," he concluded. "I just think we ought to think about the next generation, not the next election."
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As fall quickly approaches, many of the over 56 million K-12 students have been left in limbo until their districts make a decision. That said, there has not yet been a proven strategy on how to keep everyone safe.
To date, the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center has reported over 3.4 million confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. with over 136,000 dead.
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