May 20, 2020 - Health

CDC releases detailed 60-page road map on reopening

Orion Rummler

In this image, CDC Director Robert Redfield wears a face mask — CDC director Robert Redfield at the White House on May 15. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The CDC recently released a new 60-page road map for states, restaurants, schools, child care programs, mass transit systems and other businesses to navigate reopening during the coronavirus pandemic.

Why it matters: The guidelines were published after nearly every state in the U.S. had already taken steps to at least reopen certain regions and industries that are seen as "low-risk" for spreading the virus, per a New York Times analysis.

Between the lines: The White House coronavirus task force asked the CDC to revise its original extensive reopening guidelines that the agency had prepared more than a month ago, believing they were "overly prescriptive," an administration official told Axios' Alayna Treene.

Early versions of the rejected documents included detailed guidance for churches and religious institutions, which the White House requested to be taken out, according to AP.
The newly released road map does not include a section for communities of faith and was published over the weekend, the New York Times reports. The CDC did not respond to a request for comment.

What's new: The road map offers hints at how ordinary parts of Americans' day-to-day lives may be changed in the aftermath of the coronavirus.

In schools, the CDC recommends that meals should be served in classrooms instead of cafeterias. Teachers and children should be given daily temperature screenings.
In restaurants, the CDC says that menus should be digital or disposable and that utensils and dishes should be disposable as well.
When mass transit resumes service, routes should be adjusted between areas with high infection rates, when possible.

Go deeper: Read the CDC guidelines

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CDC releases detailed 60-page road map on reopening

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