In-person learning doesn’t appear to drive COVID cases: CDC 

In-person learning at K-12 schools did not appear to lead to increases in COVID-19 cases in counties when compared to areas with online-only learning, according to a report published Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

As of Dec. 7, about 62 percent of K-12 school districts offered either full or partial in person-learning, but reports of outbreaks at schools have been limited, according to the CDC.

As of the week beginning, Dec. 6 COVID-19 cases among the general population in counties where K-12 schools opened for in-person learning was similar to that in the counties where classes were online only.

“CDC recommends that K-12 schools be the last settings to close after all other mitigation measures have been employed and the first to reopen when they can do so safely,” the authors of the report wrote.

Between March 1 and Dec. 12, nearly 3 million cases of COVID-19 among children, adolescents and young adults were reported in the U.S., according to the report.