CDC researchers back U.S. school re-openings but with strict COVID-19 regulations The global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to unfold. Since its causative virus – severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – was first detected in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, it has spread to over 191 countries and territories. So far, over 100 million cases have been reported, and 2.1 million have lost their lives. In the U.S., the numbers are especially sobering; to date, 25.5 million have been infected and over 425,500 have died. As the U.S. continues to grapple with surging cases and the complex logistics of mass vaccination, is the country in a position to fully re-open its schools for in-person learning? Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) think so – notwithstanding a few very important caveats.