Detroit Will Close Schools on Fridays for ‘Deep Cleaning’

Detroit’s public school district will for the month of December switch to a four-day in-person school week, citing COVID-19 protocols that scientists have found to be futile.

Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said Wednesday that he made the decision based on “the need for mental health relief, rising COVID cases, and time to more thoroughly clean schools.” Assistant Superintendent for Operations Machion Jackson in a Monday committee said the district prioritizes “deep cleaning.”

Studies have shown that “deep cleaning”—disinfecting a building floor-to-ceiling—does little to prevent COVID-19, with experts last year telling the Washington Post that the process “may be a waste of time.” A December 2020 Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology study found that “deep cleaning” harms people with asthma.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that “the risk of [COVID-19] infection from touching a surface is low.”- READ MORE