Trump says it is too unsafe for him to hold a convention, but still insists it is safe to send our children to schools despite not knowing how children are affected, research showing that children 10 and up spread the coronavirus as well as adults, and evidence that opening schools without adequate precautions can lead to a widespread spike in infections.

Trump determined that it was too dangerous to hold his convention, but is still pushing for schools to fully reopen without ensuring that it can be done safely. 

CNN: “Though deeming the situation too dangerous to hold the quadrennial political showpiece, he nevertheless insisted that it was perfectly safe for children to go back to school full time in a few weeks.”

TRUMP: “When children do contact the virus, they often have only very mild symptoms or none at all, and medical complications are exceedingly rare.”

Dr. Birx and updated CDC guidelines make clear we still don’t fully understand how children are affected by and spread the coronavirus. 

BIRX: “What I can’t tell you for sure is whether children under 10 don’t spread the virus. … I think that’s still an open question that needs to be studied in the United States. It’s unclear how rapidly they spread the virus.”

CDC: “Scientists are still learning about how it spreads, how it affects children, and what role children may play in its spread. … Evidence and information about transmission (the way germs move from person to person) of COVID-19 to children is relatively limited.”

Multiple studies suggest that children can still get infected and that they can spread the coronavirus at least as well as adults do.

New York Times: “A large new study from South Korea offers an answer: Children younger than 10 transmit to others much less often than adults do, but the risk is not zero. And those between the ages of 10 and 19 can spread the virus at least as well as adults do.”

Washington Post: “At least 1,335 students and 691 staff members contracted the coronavirus after Israel reopened its entire school system without restrictions on May 17, believing it had beaten the virus. The spike in infections among the children spread to the general population, according to epidemiological surveys by Israel’s Health Ministry.”

Washington Post: “An asymptomatic child attending family in-home day care in DeWitt led to four families getting sick, including six children at the day care, one sibling, seven parents and two grandmothers.”

While children may not be as vulnerable as adults, many live with vulnerable family members and could put millions of older Americans at risk.

Kaiser Family Foundation: “About 3.3 million adults age 65 or older live in a household with school-age children, a factor that state and local officials may want to take into account when deciding when and how fully to re-open schools this fall, a new KFF analysis finds.”