(CNN) Teachers should have access to "medical grade PPE" so schools can safely reopen, a pediatrician told CNN. "We should treat them [staff and teachers] as essential workers and we should give them all of the safety equipment they need in order to be safe," Seattle pediatrician Dr. Dimitri Christakis told CNN's Jake Tapper Tuesday. Christakis' suggestion comes as US school districts are grappling with when and how to reopen schools amid a surging pandemic. Christakis urged schools to implement guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , including frequent hand washing, masks and social distancing. "Now some of those things are aspirational, and frankly will be very difficult to do, either because of the children's age or development stage or, frankly, because of the burden of the cost."

Source: CNN July 15, 2020 10:07 UTC