Speaker of the US House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks at a press conference on Capitol Hill on June 29, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by AFP)

The US federal government has the power to enforce adherence to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines for reopening schools, akin to the coronavirus measures taken by some state governors, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said. A national strategy on mitigation efforts has been called for by critics of the Trump administration’s pandemic response.

Going back to school presents the biggest risk for the spread of the coronavirus, Pelosi told CNN on Sunday. If there are CDC guidelines, they should be requirements.They should be mandates.

Last week Trump, once again, attacked the CDC for school reopening guidelines that, according to him, were too tough, expensive and impractical.

The president and his administration are messing with the health of our children, Pelosi said. We all want our children to go back to school, parents do and children do. But they must go back safely.

The president’s education secretary, Betsy DeVos, repeatedly refused to say if states and school districts should follow the CDC guidelines.

DeVos told CNN in an interview that children get the virus at a far lower rate than adults and downplayed the risk of children bringing the virus home to teachers, parents, grandparents or caregivers.

DeVos failed to put forth any other blueprint for safe school reopenings, saying there was no single solution.

We know that schools across the country look very different and that there’s not going to be a one-size-fits-all approach to everything, she told Fox News Sunday.

These comments drew an immediate admonishment from Pelosi who asserted that the Trump administration’s approach to re-opening schools was dangerous, if not reckless.

What we heard from the secretary was malfeasance and dereliction of duty, Pelosi said on CNN.

Seeking re-election in November and facing a battered economy Trump has pressured states to reopen shuttered businesses and schools in a miserable attempt at jump starting the economy.

The virus has found a new foothold in many states since the restrictions were relaxed and, so far in July, 24 states have reported record increases in cases of COVID-19, according to a Reuters tally.

The CDC recommends that schools include testing for COVID-19, dividing students into small groups, serving packaged lunches in classrooms instead of cafeterias, and minimizing sharing of school supplies.

It cautioned that seats be spaced at least six feet apart and that sneeze guards and partitions be put in place when social distancing is not possible.

DeVos criticized Fairfax County schools for offering virtual learning with an option of two days a week in-person schooling for the autumn.

Schools superintendent Scott Brabrand said it was most unlikely that the district would get all 188,000 kids back in the classroom while honoring the six-foot distancing guideline.

We’re the size of five Pentagons. You would need another five Pentagons of space to be able to safely accommodate all of the students in Fairfax County Public Schools, he told CNN.

A number of Republican governors have made clear they will go their own way on coronavirus measures, including whether to reopen schools.

We are not going to be rushed into this, Maryland’s Republican governor, Larry Hogan, said on NBC’s Meet the Press.