In an internal document last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention admitted that the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus pandemic had changed the battle lines. This necessitated new public health measures such as universal mask mandates. The war has changed, according to the document obtained by The New York Times.This news was just as the first school districts were about to reopen. Children in Atlanta and its suburbs will return to school this week.There has been a lot of debate about schools and the spread of the virus over the past year. Some parents, teachers, and officials considered it unacceptable to keep schools open while a new, poorly understood virus was spreading. However, school closings posed a greater risk to learning, widened educational disparities, and worsened mental health.The C.D.C. and the American Academy of Pediatrics agree that schools need to be reopened as a priority in the new school year.
