Right call on schools

Regarding, “Close the schools,” (A16, March 13): Thank you for stressing the importance of closing schools and canceling events. I can certainly understand the reluctance of school superintendents, local government officials, and event organizers to make decisions that will impact many people and inflict enormous economic pain. I applaud HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan and other school leaders as well as Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo for their courage in the face of severe criticism and attacks.

The decision to cancel events and close schools should come from federal guidelines because a global pandemic is a national emergency. Since the U.S. does not have a national pandemic response team any more you would expect the CDC to assume that role. I checked the CDC web site to see what kind of guidelines they are recommending and they are passing the buck to local leaders with a web page entitled: “Interim Guidance for Administrators of US K-12 Schools and Childcare Programs.” The page states: All decisions about implementing school-based strategies (e.g., dismissals, event cancellations, other social distancing measures) should be made locally based on the level of transmission in the local community.

Local leaders can not know the severity of community outbreaks because CDC testing capability is still severely limited. Leadership and preparation at the federal level has failed to heed the warnings playing out in other countries. Please support our local leaders as they make difficult decisions to keep us safe. Kenneth Meyers, Houston