The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday that it is safe for students to sit 3 feet apart in the classroom with masks on. 

While certain social distancing guidelines have been relaxed, students should be at a distance of 6 feet from each other at sporting events, lunch, assemblies or chorus practice, as per media reports. 

The original guidelines limited institutions from allowing students to return back to school in full capacity due to the 6 feet social distancing rule. Some schools even had to tweak schedules and remove extra desks to ensure students follow the protocol.

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Kevin Quinn, director of maintenance and facilities at Mundelein High School in suburban Chicago said three feet “gives school districts greater flexibility to have more students in for a prolonged period of time.”

Greta Massetti, who leads the CDC’s community interventions task force said, “We don’t really have the evidence that 6 feet is required in order to maintain low spread,” while adding that children are less likely to spread the virus or get seriously ill.

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“That allows us that confidence that that 3 feet of physical distance is safe,” she added. 

School had been disregarding the 6 feet guideline in recent months and instead were already practising 3 feet distance between students sitting. 

As per the new CDC guidelines, plastic shields are not recommended anymore because “we don’t have a lot of evidence of their effectiveness,” Massetti said. A 3 feet distance between desks is advised in elementary schools as long as everyone wears masks and take precautions, even in areas with high community spread. 

For middle and high schools, a 3 feet distance can be maintained but a 6 feet distance must be maintained if there is a high community spread, report AP.