JAZMIN: HERE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA AND ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY, PARENTS ARE TRYING TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT IT’S SAFE TO SEND THEIR CHILDREN BACK TO SCHOOL FOR IN-PERSON LEARNING. AND TODAY, WE’RE GETTING SOME INSIGHT FROM THE EXPERTS AT JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY. JOINING US NOW IS DR. JENNIFER NUZZO, WITH THE JOHNS HOPKINS BLOOMBERG SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH. SHE’S AN EPIDEMOLOGIST, LEADING THE UNIVERSITY’S COVID-19 TESTING INSIGHTS INITIATIVE. IT LOOKS LIKE KIDS WILL BE BACK IN CLASSROOMS IN A FEW WEEKS HERE IN FLORIDA, WHAT ARE SOME STRATEGIES WHEN IT COMES TO REOPENING SCHOOLS THAT YOU HAVE FOUND? DR. NUZZO: IT WOULD BE EASIER IF WE COULD KEEP THE LEVEL OF ILLNESS IN SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES LOW. FOR FAMILIES, IT IS IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE YOU CONTINUE TO MAKE SMART CHOICES AND REDUCE YOUR EXPOSURE, WHILE YOU ARE OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL. THE MORE WE CAN KEEP THE DISEASE RATES LOW, THE LESS LIKELY WE WILL SEE CASES IN SCHOOLS. JAZMIN: IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED IF BUSINESSES CAN REOPEN, SCHOOLS SHOULD REOPEN AS WELL. OUR GOVERNOR COMPARED TO ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES. WHERE DO YOU STAND ON THIS? IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM REOPENING? DR. NUZZO: THE KEY DIFFERENCE IS SCHOOLS PLAY AN ENORMOUSLY IMPORTANT ROLE IN OUR COMMUNITY, THAT IN MY VIEW MAKES THEM THE HIGHEST PRIORITY FOR REOPENING. SO, IF WE ARE CONCERNED IN ALLOWING CERTAIN BUSINESSES TO REMAIN OPEN, THAT THAT COULD HINDER OUR ABILITIES TO REOPENING SCHOOLS, I THINK SCHOOLS SHOULD RECEIVE PRIORITY. IT IS IMPORTANT FOR OUR CHILDREN’S FUTURE AND FOR THEIR HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT. JAZMIN: SOME PARENTS IN A LOCAL COUNTY HERE ARE WAKING UP TO THE NEWS THAT THEY NEED TO ADD FACE MASKS TO THEIR BACK-TO-SCHOOL SHOPPING LISTS. IS THERE INSIGHT ON FACE MASKS VERSUS FACE SHIELDS, WHAT WILL KEEP KIDS SAFER? DR. NUZZO: THERE IS INCREASING EVIDENCE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF FACE MASKS. SOME PEOPLE WORRY IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO HAVE CHILDREN WEAR THEM. IN MARYLAND, WE HAVE BEEN WEARING FACE MASKS SINCE THE SPRING AND MY CHILDREN, MAYBE THEY COMPLAINED AT FIRST, BUT NOW THEY ARE USED TO THEM. IT WILL BE IMPORTANT FOR THEM, NOT JUST IN SCHOOL, BUT IN PUBLIC, TO PROTECT THEM AND MAKE SURE THEY DO NOT BRING THE VIRUS HOME TO ANYBODY ELSE. I THINK THAT THEY ARE IN IMPORTANT INVESTMENT AND SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE SHOULD PRIORITIZE, SO THAT WE CAN DO THINGS LIKE REOPEN SCHOOLS AND TO SO SAFELY. JAZMIN: HAVE THERE BEEN MOMENTS WHERE YOU HAVE LOOKED AT SPECIFIC TYPES OF FACE COVERINGS, THE ACTUAL MASK ON YOUR FACE OR THE PLASTIC SHIELD? DR. NUZZO: PLASTIC SHIELDS CAN BE HELPFUL TO PROTECT THE EYES, BUT I THINK THAT FACE MASKS IN PARTICULAR, BECAUSE IF YOU ARE SICK AND YOU DO NOT KNOW IT, IT CAN BENEFIT -- IT CAN HELP PREVENT YOU FROM EXPELLING THE VIRUS FROM YOUR BODY. I DO NOT THINK WE HAVE A GREAT HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARISON OF THEM, BUT I THINK THAT THERE IS INCREASING EVIDENCE OF THE BENEFITS TO MASKS, TO HELP PREVENT YOU FROM SPREADING THE INFECTION TO OTHERS. AND I THINK WE ARE ALSO NOW SEEING EVIDENCE IT COULD PROTECT THE WEARER AS WELL. JAZMIN: WHAT ARE SOME THINGS PARENTS SHOULD KNOW AS THEY WEIGH THE OPTIONS FOR THE FALL START OF THE YEAR? DR. NUZZO: I THINK THAT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT REOPENING SCHOOLS, OBVIOUSLY I AM A PARENT AND YOU WORRY ABOUT YOUR CHILDREN. THE BIGGER CONCERN IS THE ADULTS IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, THE ADULT THAT THE CHILDREN RETURN TO WHEN THEY COME FROM SCHOOLS. WITH THIS VIRUS, CHILDREN HAVE NOT BEEN AS SEVERELY AFFECTED AS THEY ARE WITH OTHER VIRUSES, SAY INFLUENZA, WHICH WE KNOW THAT KIDS CAN SUFFER FROM, BUT THIS IS NOT THE CASE WITH THIS VIRUS. IF YOU ARE A FAMILY, IF YOU HAVE A VULNERABLE ADULT LIVING WITH YOU, SOMEBODY WITH UNDERLYING MEDICAL CONDITIONS, YOU MIGHT FEEL MORE CONCERNED ABOUT SENDING YOUR CHILDREN TO SCHOOL. IF THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS, I THINK IT IS REASONABLE TO CONSIDER THEM. JAZMIN: FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE CLASSROOMS AND IN SCHOOL DISTRICTS LOOK LIKE -- AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS LOOK LIKE WHEN THE KIDS GO BACK? DR. NUZZO:DR. NUZZO: I THINK THERE ARE REASONABLE STEPS TO TRY TO MAKE THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT SAFER. WE ARE STARTING FROM A PLACE OF SAFETY IN THE SENSE THAT SCHOOLS ARE NOT THE SAME AS RESTAURANTS OR BARS, WHICH ARE GOOD FOR SPREADING THE VIRUS. IT’S POSSIBLE TO MAINTAIN SOME PHYSICAL DISTANCING IN SCHOOLS. IT MAY REQUIRE REDUCING CLASS SIZES. IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE TO REMIND CHILDREN TO ENGAGE IN HYGIENE, WEAR MASKS, AND TO CHECK THEM FOR SYMPTOMS TO MAKE SURE ANY CHILD WITH THE SYMPTOMS DOES NOT COME INTO THE SCHOOL. THOSE ARE COMMONSENSE MEASURES WE CAN USE TO FURTHER REDUCE THE RISK OF TRANSMISSION. WHAT WE HAVE SEEN FROM OTHER COUNTRIES IS IT IS POSSIBLE TO SAFELY REOPEN SCHOOLS, BUT IT USUALLY STARTS WITH LOWER LEVELS OF ILLNESS IN THE COMMUNTY, SO THAT WILL BE IMPORTANT. FAMILIES THAT PRIORITIZE KEEPING SCHOOLS OPEN, SHOULD MAKE SURE TO CONTINUE TO ENGAGE IN THE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS WHEN OUTSIDE OF SCHOOLS. JAZMIN: OK, DR. N