Former FDA chief: MLB virus outbreaks should be warning sign for schools

Former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CNBC’s “Squawk Box" Monday that coronavirus outbreaks in the MLB, which declined to use the "bubble" strategy employed by the NBA, are "a warning of what could potentially happen if we aren't very careful with the schools."

Why it matters: Gottlieb's comments underscore questions about how schools, especially underfunded public schools, will be able to cope with reopening when a corporation with almost unlimited wealth is overwhelmed in a matter of days, as Axios' Shane Savitsky points out.

What he's saying: "I think it is a warning for what could potentially happen if we're not very careful with the schools. The question's going to become when do you close the school. And that really wasn't addressed by the CDC," Gottlieb said.

• "We're going to see outbreaks in these schools. And the question is, what are local districts going to do what that happens?"
• "I think what you're going to see, unfortunately, is a lot of schools open, there's going to be unfortunately outbreaks in those settings. And you're going to see a lot of schools close, and it's going to be really hard to get them reopened."

The backdrop: The St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins are the two MLB teams that have seen serious outbreaks so far, leading to the cancellation of three series over the weekend.

Go deeper: How baseball's coronavirus reckoning affects everything