Fauci: Stimulus Bill Must Be Passed For Schools to Safely Reopen

White House chief medical adviser on COVID-19 Dr. Anthony Fauci stands at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md., on Feb. 11, 2021. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that in order for schools to safely reopen nationwide amid the CCP virus pandemic, a stimulus bill must first be passed to provide further resources.

“I think that the schools really do need more resources and that’s the reason why the National Relief Act that we’re talking about getting passed—we need that. The schools need more resources,” Fauci said during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”

Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, made the remarks in response to the Feb. 12 guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the reopening of schools in the United States.

He said he did not believe that schools currently have sufficient resources to follow the updated CDC guidance.

Democrats are attempting to push President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief proposal though Congress, which includes a federal minimum-wage hike, a round of $1,400 stimulus checks, and extended unemployment benefits.

The proposal in its current form has little or no GOP backing. According to Reuters, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) last week said he predicts that “not a single Republican” will support the $1.9 trillion plan.

Fauci added that he believes schools will eventually reopen in a way that is safe for children and teachers.

“I think it can be done. I mean, obviously it’s not a perfect situation, but it’s really important to get the children back to school in a safest way as possible. Safe for the children but also safe for the teachers and the other educators,” he said.

Biden aims to reopen over half of schools nationwide for “some teaching” in person “at least one day a week” by day 100 of his presidency, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said last week.

“His goal that he set is to have the majority of schools—so, more than 50 percent—open by day 100 of his presidency,” Psaki said. “And that means some teaching in classrooms. So, at least one day a week. Hopefully, it’s more.”

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• CDC Director: ‘We Need a Lot More Resources in Order to Get the Schools Safe’

CDC director Rochelle Walensky echoed Fauci’s remarks on Sunday by saying that many more resources are needed from the federal government in order to reopen schools safely.

“I think we need a lot more resources in order to get the schools safe. One of the things that’s really been emphasized in the school reopening is how unsafe some of our school ventilation systems are,” Walensky told Fox News. “That’s a problem not just for SARS-CoV-2 but for other respiratory viruses, for children with asthma, for exposure to mold.”

“So I think that there’s a lot of work that we need to do in order to get our schools a safer environment,” she added.

Some measures needed in schools in order to mitigate the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus include more space for children, fewer children in classrooms, more nurses and staff, and screening, Walensky said.