COVID Impact: Los Angeles students lost over 90,000 days of in-person school due to coronavirus restrictions
The data came from a CDC study of a 'test to stay' program
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that students in Los Angeles, California missed over 90,000 in-person school days due to coronavirus restrictions in a little over a month. This is one of many impacts the pandemic is having and will have for some time to come.
The study showed the results of the "test to stay" program which allows unvaccinated children to attend school if they undergo increased testing. Schools that did not implement the test to stay program lost an estimated 92,455 in-person school days from September 20-October 31 because students were forced to quarantine, according to the study.
Hold for story - Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) speaks during an interview with the Associated Press on Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In a White House briefing Friday, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky touted the results and suggested the test to stay protocol should be implemented in more areas to keep children out of quarantine.
"In the 'test to stay' protocol, there's increased testing of close contacts after a COVID-19 exposure, and that testing needs to be at least twice in the seven-day period after exposure," Walensky said. "If exposed children meet a certain criteria and continue to test negative, they can stay in school instead of quarantining at home."
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 04: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (Chip Somodevilla)
The study is one of many grim reports that highlight the devastating effects of coronavirus lockdowns on children since last spring.
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A survey by the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf earlier this year showed two-thirds of children reported being heavily burdened by the pandemic and reported higher depression and anxiety levels.
A study, conducted by researchers at the University of Cambridge and released in December of last year revealed "a significant increase in depression symptoms" among children during coronavirus lockdowns.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In March, a study by Bellwether Education Partners found that approximately 3 million students in the United States were missing from school since the school closures at the start of the pandemic.
FILE PHOTO: People hold placards as members of the Lake County School Board conduct an emergency meeting to discuss mask mandates to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Tavares, Florida, U.S., September 2, 2021. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo
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"Recent studies have reported a deterioration in children’s mental health since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with an increase in anxiety and mood disorders," Anthony Cousien, PhD, of the department of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Paris in France, wrote in a study released in October showing that suicide attempts by children rose during coronavirus lockdowns.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In schools across the United States, children who are allowed in schools have been subjected to significant restrictions including being forced to eat outside in the rain and freezing cold in order to maintain social distancing.
Children who are allowed in schools have been forced to wear masks, despite significant data showing children are not major spreaders of the virus, which has sparked outrage at school board meetings across the country and also sparked lawsuits.
"Wearing the masks all day makes me really tired and gives me really bad headaches," a 10-year-old boy named John said during a school board meeting earlier this year in a video that went viral on social media.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Sometimes, I miss school and have to lay down in the dark till they’re gone," John said, adding that the masks can be sweaty, claustrophobic, and anxiety-inducing.