The secret is out: children are not vulnerable to the China virus and don't even risk spreading it to teachers.  There is no reason to keep schools closed.  The New York Public Schools prove the point, as even the New York Times concedes, in a sub-headline:

The absence of outbreaks, if it holds, suggests that the city's efforts to return children to classrooms could serve as an influential model for the nation.

The article continues:

For months, as New York City struggled to start part-time, in-person classes, fear grew that its 1,800 public schools would become vectors of coronavirus infection, a citywide archipelago of super-spreader sites.

But nearly three weeks into the in-person school year, early data from the city's first effort at targeted testing has shown the opposite: a surprisingly small number of positive cases.

Out of 16,348 staff members and students tested randomly by the school system in the first week of its testing regimen, the city has gotten back results for 16,298. There were only 28 positives: 20 staff members and eight students.

And when officials put mobile testing units at schools near Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods that have had new outbreaks, only four positive cases turned up — out of more than 3,300 tests conducted since the last week of September.

New York City has been the worst site in the country for spread of the Wuhan flu, yet its children are practically virus-free, statistically.

Make no mistake: closing schools exacts a terrible cost on children and their parents.  The children lose learning that may never be replaced and may suffer a lifetime impact.  They lose extremely important opportunities for socialization, and as result, depression and suicides are way up among our kids.  Parents are often prevented from working because of the need to take care of their children.  School closings are a disaster.

Yet, for political advantage to Biden and Democrats, and perhaps because they are lazy and corrupt, unions and other groups push for closures.  Even in Idaho, as Kira Davis reports:

The first day of in-person public school in the West Ada School District in Idaho was canceled on Monday after over 600 teachers called off work in an apparent "sick-out."

"We are sadly unable to safely hold school tomorrow due to supervision concerns. This includes students enrolled in Virtual Schoolhouse, and students who would have been learning remotely," the district said in a statement. "We are continuing to work with the West Ada Education Association to find solutions to their concerns so we can hold school on Wednesday."

Classes were canceled on Monday after 652 teachers called in sick, leaving the district with far too few substitutes to fill in the gaps.

The planned "sick-outs" came after the West Ada School Board voted to allow students to return to in-person classes on alternating days starting Monday, despite Ada County being in the "red" category. Multiple teachers at the meeting expressed concern that safety measures put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 were inadequate or would not be followed in an in-person learning setting.

Kira suggests firing them all.  I can't disagree, but I have something else in mind.

I think President Trump ought to raise this subject in Thursday's presidential debate.  The topics that moderator Kristen Welker has chosen do not include foreign policy, but:

#NEW The Commission on Presidential Debates announces moderator Kristen Welker has chosen the 6 topics for the 2nd presidential debate next Thursday: pic.twitter.com/MP0hfMIS2R

— Greta Wall (@GretaLWall) October 16, 2020

Fighting COVID-19 is at the top of the list.  So, in his first two minutes, President Trump should demand Joe Biden join him in calling for schools re-opening across America instead of caving to his teacher union donors.

Graphic credit: Pixabay Pixabay License.  Free for commercial use.