"It's not public health versus opening the schools or the economy. It's public health versus public health. I think there really are a number of negative public health consequences that have happened to our K-12's by having these schools closed," Redfield said on reopening schools during an interview on Good Morning America.
"It's so important now to work together with school districts to figure out how they can take our guidelines and operationalize them in a practical way. And to do it in a way that is safe for those who are vulnerable, particularly the teachers and those children. … And one of the most important things is going to be the role of face masks and the role of social distancing in those classrooms," Redfield added.