California pediatricians urge schools to reopen despite coronavirus risk 

 The harmful affects of keeping school campuses closed outweigh the health risks posed by coronavirus, the Southern California chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics said in a statement issued Tuesday.

“The negative effects of missing in-person educational time as children experience prolonged periods of isolation and lack of instruction is clear,” the statement says. “Children rely on schools for multiple needs, including but not limited to education, nutrition, physical activity, socialization, and mental health. Special populations of students receive services for disabilities and other conditions that are virtually impossible to deliver online. Prolonging a meaningful return to in-person education would result in hundreds of thousands of children in Los Angeles County being at risk for worsening academic, developmental and health outcomes.”

The group advised districts to adopt flexible protocols for reopening, tailored to students’ ages and needs.