According to an Associated Press (AP) report, the CDC guidance that had a scheduled release on Friday, May 1, 2020, has been blocked by the Administration. According to a Thursday AP report:
“The Trump administration shelved a document created by the nation’s top disease investigators with step-by-step advice to local authorities on how and when to reopen restaurants and other public places during the still-raging coronavirus outbreak. The 17-page report by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention team, titled “Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework,” was researched and written to help faith leaders, business owners, educators, and state and local officials as they begin to reopen.
It was supposed to be published last Friday, but agency scientists were told the guidance “would never see the light of day,” according to a CDC official.”
Here is the guidance, “Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework, as published in the press. It may serve as useful guidance to a range of employers and programs. It addresses reopening Child Care, Schools and Day Camps, Communities of Faith, Employers with Vulnerable Workers, and Guidance for Restaurants and Bars.
According to Politico article on the controversy, White House says it ordered CDC to revise reopening guidelines, “The agency’s draft guidance was “too prescriptive,” the White House spokesperson said, adding it amounted to “counter messaging” as the Administration pushes governors to come up with their own plans for restarting businesses, schools, churches and other institutions.”
