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In late May 2020, social media users circulated a graphic purportedly containing recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for reopening schools amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The graphic, containing a blue background and the words Here we go, went viral on Facebook. A slightly different version of the graphic was posted on the blog KidsActivities.com. The stringent list prompted some anxiety, and readers asked Snopes.com to verify whether it was real. Below is a screenshot of it circulating on Facebook: Although the text on the graphic is drawn from CDC guidance for school re-openings that was issued on May 19, 2020, the CDC did not produce the graphic. The actual wording of the CDC guidance is couched a bit more gently and notes that the precautions should only be taken into consideration and implemented to the extent feasible for schools. In other words, the recommendations are not mandatory: Below, we compare what the graphic states (we combined some of the similar bulleted items) and what the CDC guidelines say verbatim and in context: Under the heading, Promoting Behaviors that Reduce Spread, the CDC notes that Schools may consider implementing several strategies to encourage behaviors that reduce the spread of COVID-19. Those behaviors include staying home when one feels sick or has had contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19, washing hands regularly for at least 20 seconds, and using cloth face coverings, which are meant to protect others in the event that the wearer unknowingly has COVID-19. Under the bullet point Cloth Face Coverings, the CDC states: The CDC directs that cloth face masks should not be placed on children under the age of 2, along with anyone who is incapacitated and can't remove it without help or anyone who has trouble breathing. The CDC states that school children should avoid sharing each other's items: The CDC recommends modified layouts in classrooms and spaced seating in school buses: The CDC recommends partitions be installed along with tape markers to guide people to remain a safe distance apart: The CDC recommends that communal spaces be closed if possible, or that use be staggered and the area be cleaned between use: The CDC recommends that children bring their own food if feasible and, if not, that children be served individual, pre-packaged meals. The CDC recommends pursuing virtual learning events in lieu of physical fields trips and limiting non-essential visitors to campuses: The CDC recommends putting students and staff in cohorts and limiting them to small cohorts to the extent possible: The CDC recommends policies that allow for staggered schedules or telework to allow for social distancing, but defers to state and local health care authorities: The CDC recommends daily health screenings, i.e., temperature and symptom checks, if feasible. Although it's true the CDC's guidelines contain several pointers about personal hygiene and disinfecting common-use areas, none is a rule. As we noted above, the CDC's guidance states that the recommendations can be implemented on a voluntary basis and only when feasible. They are not nationwide mandates for reopening schools. Overall, the CDC recommends school administrators to obey state and local authorities and assess their schools' abilities to protect staff and children from contracting the disease, but these recommendations are not mandatory. Because the bullet points in the graphic did accurately represent recommendations laid out by the CDC guidance issued on May 19, but led some to falsely believe they were mandatory and meant to be applied uniformly everywhere, we rate the veracity of this claim as Mixture.
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