Megyn Kelly feels 'strongly' that schools should open during the coronavirus pandemic
Megyn Kelly wants to see schools open up for the well-being of children, citing socioeconomic inequities and lack of socialization.
On Saturday, the former Fox News host spoke to People about her children’s school experience — sons Thatcher, 7, and Edward, 11, and daughter Yardley Evans, 9, recently returned to in-person classes in New York City.
"It’s glorious. I’m so thankful," Kelly, 49, told the outlet. “I feel really strongly that the schools need to be back opened. Not just mine — mine are open now, so I don’t need to advocate for my kids. But what is healthy for the children is for them to be in school.”
With more than 8.5 million coronavirus cases in the U.S., schools have opened with in-person, remote or a hybrid learning plan depending on outcomes such as transmission rates and hospitalizations. After COVID-19 outbreaks, many schools have closed their buildings and launched distance learning or kept their doors open, in both scenarios quarantining students and staff and doing contact tracing.
Kelly told People that her home city of New York managed the pandemic effectively. In March, the city was called the “epicenter” of the pandemic; however, it lowered its average infection to less than 1 percent in August. NYC schools recently opened with both in-person and online learning plans.
“They know how to do the contact tracing, [and] they’ve kept the schools open,” she said. “I admire how well they’ve done the planning and the execution of it. And I think given the incredible dangers of keeping the schools closed when it comes to abuse, nourishment, socioeconomic status and the lack of actually getting on the Zoom or getting to the learning, the balance has completely shifted.”
According to a September report by the New York Times, virtual school attendance is down due to some children not having a computer or internet access, having to care for siblings while parents work or struggling to engage with online school.
Thatcher completed school online last spring, Kelly told People, the format of which “defeats the point of kindergarten.” She added, “That is not the way it was meant to be.”
Celebrities are speaking about education during the pandemic, whether it’s home-based or distance learning. Bradley Cooper told Interview, “I’m running a one-man preschool” with his 3-year-old daughter Lea; Jenna Dewan shared with Us magazine, “So far, so good” of 7-year-old Everly’s Zoom classes; and Halle Berry told Entertainment Tonight that homeschooling her daughter Nahla, 12, and son Maceo, 6, last spring was a “nightmare.”
Related: Megan Kelly launches indie production company with podcasts
For the latest coronavirus news and updates, follow along at https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised continue to be the most at risk. If you have questions, please reference the CDC’s and WHO’s resource guides.
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