President Trump on Thursday urged schools across the country to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic as long as they can practice good hygiene and social distancing, adding that the White House is asking Congress to pledge $ 105 billion to schools as part of the upcoming coronavirus stimulus bill.
The president, who for weeks has been pushing schools to reopen and “jump-start our economy,” added during a White House coronavirus briefing that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC ) will publish new guidelines to ensure the safe reopening of schools.
CDC Principal Dr. Robert Redfield has recently emphasized that his agency’s guidelines were only recommendations, and urged schools to find ways to reopen and minimize the spread of COVID-19.
“Nothing would cause me more sadness than seeing any school district or school use our guide as a reason not to reopen,” said Redfield.
PENTAGON PLANNING TO OPEN SCHOOLS ON MILITARY BASES WORLDWIDE THIS FALL
However, the White House has blocked Redfield from testifying before Congress next week on how to safely reopen schools.
Trump said that if schools don’t reopen, he wants parents to get the funds to send their children to public or private schools that will reopen.
“The money should follow the student,” he said, adding that funding should go to private, charter, or religious schools if public institutions don’t open.
Several districts, including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Baltimore, plan to start the school year entirely online. Several others, including Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia, have announced hybrid online and on-campus learning plans.
The White House has said it is up to localities to decide in what capacity schools will open in the fall, but Trump has threatened to withhold federal funds if schools don’t reopen in the fall.
Trump also announced that he was canceling the Republican National Convention events that were scheduled for next month in Jacksonville, Florida, citing the increasing number of COVID-19 in the state.
“The timing for this event is not correct, it is simply not correct,” Trump said during a press conference at the White House. “To have a great convention, it just isn’t the right time.”
Trump added: “There is nothing more important in our country than keeping our people safe.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The Republican National Committee (RNC) chose Jacksonville last month to host large portions of the convention, after largely abandoning the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, over disagreements over coronavirus-related crowd restrictions.
The President and Republican officials were angered after Democratic Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina said that due to the pandemic he was not prepared to guarantee the RNC a full convention with an arena full of party officials, delegates and activists as Trump wishes.
While the Jacksonville portion of the convention has been canceled, Trump said delegates will still meet in North Carolina and that he will give a speech when he accepts the nomination.
Trump added that officials must set “a good example” and could not have hundreds of people gathered in Florida as he asks schools to be careful when opening schools.
“We are saying here that schools should reopen, but then we have a lot more people at the convention,” Trump said. “We have to set a good example.”
