PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The nation’s top infectious disease expert is discussing the reopening of schools with Rhode Island’s governor during an online forum Thursday.
Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo said in a release that the Facebook Live chat with Fauci will focus on “how to reopen our schools in a way that balances health and safety concerns with our children’s need for a high-quality education.”
She says Rhode Island parents and other viewers can submit their questions to her office.
Raimondo on Wednesday delayed the start of school in Rhode Island from Aug. 31 to Sept. 14 as virus cases continue to rise in the state and elsewhere.
More than 1,000 people have died in Rhode Island from COVID-19, and the state has had more than 20,000 positive cases of the virus since the pandemic started.
Fauci, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has found himself, at times, at odds with Republican President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
In an online discussion hosted by Brown University last week, he urged states to take quick action to stamp out even slight upticks in COVID-19 cases.
Fauci also said he’s “cautiously optimistic” a COVID-19 vaccine could be developed soon, but acknowledged the chances it would be highly effective are “not great.”
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