‘GET BACK TO SCHOOL’

Missouri Guv: Kids Will Get COVID at School but They’ll ‘Get Over It’

In a radio interview, the governor said kids must be sent back to school and that they will be fine if they contract the virus.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson faces backlash for dismissing concerns about children contracting the coronavirus when they return to school. Parson suggested that parents should accept that their children are going to be infected with coronavirus if they return to school, but should send their children back anyway. “These kids have got to get back to school,” Parson said in the interview. “They’re at the lowest risk possible. And if they do get COVID-19, which they will—and they will when they go to school—they’re not going to the hospitals. They’re not going to have to sit in doctor’s offices. They’re going to go home and they’re going to get over it.”

State and local officials responded to the comments over the weekend, pointing out that even if children do not typically become seriously ill, they can spread the disease to their teachers and family members. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nicole Galloway said the comments showed “stunning ignorance” in a tweet. St. Louis schools are set to unveil their plan for reopening schools Monday.