US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, White House adviser Jared Kushner have stated they are resolved to send their children back to school despite concerns being voiced that they could be exposed to the coronavirus.
Jared Kushner has "no fear" about sending his kids back to school in the fall.
— Vicky Ward (@VickyPJWard) August 16, 2020
"Children have a 6 times higher chance to die from the flu than from the coronavirus", Kushner told @margbrennan. "Based on the data I've seen, I don't believe that's a risk". https://t.co/I3ZsV6HbE8
When questioned on CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday if his children would be resuming "in-person education", Jared Kushner responded:
"Absolutely".
The American investor and real-estate developer who is a senior adviser to his father-in-law, President Trump made reference to cited lower risk of complications from COVID-19 for children.
"Based on the data I have seen, I don't believe that that's a risk… Again, this virus impacts different people in different ways. We know a lot more now than we did", said Kushner.
While omitting any specific data source to confirm his remarks, Jared Kushner claimed that children were six times more likely to die from the flu than the coronavirus.
"Our school is not opening up five days a week, I wish they were… But we absolutely will be sending our kids back to school and I have no fear in doing so", said Ivanka Trump's husband.
Netizens were dubious about the statement, with some suggesting the couple send their youngsters to a public school instead of a "cushie rich" one.
Jared needs to send his kids to North Paulding High School in Georgia (as pictured below) for the entire school year. Only after that does he get to claim he has no fear. pic.twitter.com/TYUAPWLHpq
— MJB (@mjbxmjb) August 16, 2020
Tell him to send his kids back. Send them to public school. Be an example @jaredkushner. Not a cushie rich kid school with 10 kids a class and sit purifiers. Send them to public school- if what you say is so (it’s not) lets watch how they do.
— Kat Tron (@KatTrono) August 16, 2020
Tell that to the parents of a Georgia teen who just died from the virus - no underlying conditions. Perhaps he'd live willing to send them to Cherokee County School outside Atlanta where third high school shut down today after two weeks of school. Superintendent and Kemp: GUILTY
— lynn lanford (@lanford_lynn) August 16, 2020
Wait? Is he a doctor or a scientist. WTF does he knows about safety at All?
— Dark Times (@DarkAges_2019) August 17, 2020
It's okay. He probably never sees or touches them, so there's not much chance he would catch it.
— John Hamilton Farr (@jhfarr) August 16, 2020
OK, Jared, send your kids back to school. Odds are they won't die outright.
— Bob (@Asintope) August 16, 2020
Just don't send any teachers, or support personnel. They've not been keen on years of being underpaid and disrespected, and didn't sign up to be cannon fodder during a poorly-controlled epidemic. pic.twitter.com/wnY3k6UN8Z
Yeah... what kind of school do they go to? I can all but guarantee it's not a 30-1 student-teacher ratio indoor public school with aging infrastructure and poorly performing HVAC system. Do people like him REALLY believe their experience is at all relevant to the rest of us?
— Leonard Loach (@KuhliLoachLen) August 16, 2020
Many social media users noted that the "jury was still out" on just how the coronavirus impacts children.
Unfortunately the jury is still out on kids in the US. We rightly took them out of school immediately when the case numbers were very low. No one really knows what the result will be of this very dangerous experiment! Follow @Cleavon_MD and #COVID19
— MEOK6 ☃️ (@mom10s) August 16, 2020
CDC has flu related guidelines for children too. i dont have kids but i know if a child has a fever they are encouraged to stay home bec they may make others sick. in a covid world, a child may not have a fever but still be infected and contagious, send them to school
— #FireTrumpinNovember 🌊 (@d0nt_ask_m311) August 17, 2020
As the global coronavirus pandemic continues to rage on, parents have been facing the option of either sending their children back to school, thus risking exposure to COVID-19, or continuing to keep them at home despite implied academic setbacks.
Donald Trump has repeatedly called for schools to reopen.
"The lower they are in age, the lower the risk… We have to remember that there's another side to this. Keeping them out of school and keeping work closed is causing death also. Economic harm, but it’s causing death for different reasons, but death. Probably more death", Trump said at a news briefing in the White House on 30 July.
This comes as health experts say children - about 22 percent of the country's population – account for over 7 percent of all coronavirus cases in the US, with the number and rate of cases "steadily increasing" from March to July.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted the updated figures alongside guidance for pediatricians about how the virus affects children.
