CDC expected to tell schools to let students sit just three feet apart – instead of six – by Friday

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to change its guidelines suggesting how far students should sit apart.

It comes after a new study found students who were socially distanced six feet apart in classrooms were no better protected from coronavirus than those who were siting three feet apart.

According to ABC News, the federal health agency could announce the updated recommendations as early as Friday. 

The adjustment could lead to some schools foregoing remote learning entirely and help them return to in-person classes.

The CDC may revise its guidance on how far students should sit apart in classrooms as early as Friday. Pictured: CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky testifies before a Senate committee on Capitol Hill, March 18

The updated recommendations come after a new study found no difference in COVID-19 cases rates among students or staff in districts that had students sitting three feet apart compared to six feet apart (above)

The updated recommendations come after a new study found no difference in COVID-19 cases rates among students or staff in districts that had students sitting three feet apart compared to six feet apart (above)

For the study, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, the team, led by Harvard University, looked at 251 Massachusetts school districts open for in-person learning in fall 2020.

In those districts, there are 37,336 students who attend classes and 99,390 teachers and other faculty members.

Between September 30 and January 7, 194 districts had students sitting a minimum of six feet apart and 49 had three feet of distance between desks. 

Next, the team compared COVID-19 cases rates among the districts during the autumn semester. 

Researchers found ‘no significant difference’ in coronavirus infection rates for either children or adults sitting six feet apart or three feet apart when universal mask wearing was in place.

The authors wrote that the findings mean ‘lower physical distancing policies can be adopted in school settings with masking mandates without negatively impacting student or staff safety.’ 

Additionally, the team found that rates of COVID-19 infections were lower in schools were lower than in the surrounding communities.

This suggests that school buildings may be safer locations for both students and teachers to be than in cities or towns.

They noted that schools with desks only three feet apart would allow more students to be seated in each classroom.

It would also prevent children from having to stay home and do remote learning even if conditions for in-person learning are safe.  

Experts say the updated recommendations could help some school forego remote learning and return to in-person teaching. Pictured:u00A0Students sitting six feet apart at the Sinaloa Middle School in Novato, California, March 2

Experts say the updated recommendations could help some school forego remote learning and return to in-person teaching. Pictured: Students sitting six feet apart at the Sinaloa Middle School in Novato, California, March 2

The study also found that rates of COVID-19 infections were lower in schools were lower than in the surrounding communities

The study also found that rates of COVID-19 infections were lower in schools were lower than in the surrounding communities

CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky noted the study herself during her testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s oversight and investigations subcommittee on Wednesday.  

‘As soon as our guidance came out, it became very clear that six feet was among the things that was keeping schools closed, and in that context science evolves,’ she said.  

‘There has been one study that was published late last week that demonstrated in Massachusetts where there is generally 100 percent mask-wearing that three feet was actually safe.’ 

Walensky said the CDC was looking to update its guidance, but would not give a timeline on when that would occur. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends anywhere between three and six feet in schools while the World Health Organization recommends one meter, or 3.3 feet.

But not everyone agrees with updating the guidance.  

Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, told The New York Times, she is ‘very concerned’ about the guidelines potentially changing and said that school districts should instead find more space so that more students can attend sitting six feet apart.  

‘The problem is, it is a debate about convenience, not a debate about safety,’ Weingarten said.

‘All of a sudden, because we can’t squeeze in every single kid if it’s six feet that miraculously there’s now studies that say three feet are fine. And what’s going to happen is, people are just not going to trust it.’ 

Weingarten said this will make it difficult for schools to inset new protocols such as how students go to the bathroom.  

She added that she believes the CDC is currently under ‘a lot of outside pressure’ to revise the recommendations.