In many places, reopening schools has taken on a distinctly partisan bent, with President Trump and Republican governors such as Ron DeSantis of Florida urging in-person instruction. A constant flow of information about positive cases in classrooms and quarantined students could hinder those efforts, experts said. And some states that do, including Maine, say that privacy concerns prevent officials from sharing those details with the public. Tennessee this week backed away from a previous commitment by the governor to report the number of cases linked to schools, and is providing information only by county. In Virginia, state law prohibits the health department from disclosing cases at specific facilities, including schools, said Tammie Smith, a spokeswoman for the state health commissioner.

Source: New York Times August 22, 2020 06:56 UTC