The Case Against Closing Schools to Slow the Pandemic
In the Covid-19 crisis, it’s the elderly who must be protected from the rest of the population. Keeping kids out of school may hinder that.
Building herd immunity.
Photographer: Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images
Suddenly, every country in the world has to decide whether or not to close schools to slow the Covid-19 pandemic. France will, as of Monday; the U.K. won’t, and so on. Within federal systems like the U.S. and Germany, states or school districts have to make the decision. In Germany, tiny Saarland is shuttering its schools, while other states are holding off. Who’s right and who’s wrong?
The short answer is: It’s complicated. In some cases, it does make sense to close schools. But in the absence of a runaway outbreak, as in northern Italy, there is also a case against closing kindergartens and schools for young children.