Trump, Fauci at odds over reopening schools in US on reopening schools

Washington: US President Donald Trump has questioned the assessment of Anthony Fauci, a top infectious disease expert, on reopening the country's schools, a day after latter pleaded for caution in doing so. "Look, he wants to play all sides of the equation," Trump told reporters during a White House event on Wednesday when asked about Fauci's comments at a Senate hearing on Tuesday. "I was surprised by his answer actually," Trump said. "It's just, to me it's not an acceptable answer, especially when it comes to schools."

"I think you should absolutely open the schools. Our country has got to get back, and it's got to get back as soon as possible. And I don't consider our country coming back if the schools are closed," he added. Fauci, a leading member of the White House's coronavirus task force, told US lawmakers a day earlier that it would be "a bridge too far" to expect a vaccine or treatment to be available by fall to facilitate students returning to college campuses, reports Xinhua news agency.

He also pushed back on the claim that schools should be reopened because the coronavirus does not appear to be as lethal to young children. "In the numbers that children, in general, do much much better than adults and the elderly, and particularly those with underlying conditions, but I am very careful and hopefully humble that I don't know everything about this disease, and that's why I'm very reserved in making broad predictions," the expert explained. (IANS)

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