Randi Weingarten Says D.C. Schools Should Close for Extra Cleaning if Anybody Catches COVID-19

It has been obvious for months that among the various strategies for reducing the transmission of COVID-19, frantically cleaning surfaces is not particularly useful. But American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten wants schools in Washington, D.C., to reopen only on the condition that a positive COVID-19 case triggers a 24-hour shutdown to allow for sanitization.

Public health experts have understood for quite some time that COVID-19 is an airborne pathogen that spreads from breathing, talking, and singing, not from casual surface-to-surface contact. Unfortunately, many people still wipe down everything they touch—even their groceries—because they have not updated their information since the earliest days of this pandemic. The Atlantic‘s Derek Thompson has described this “bonanza of pointless power-scrubbing” as “hygiene theater,” and rightly points out that it wastes time and money on efforts that don’t contribute meaningfully to mitigation.

It’s thus disappointing to learn that Weingarten—who was recently glorified in a New York Times puff piece that hailed her as the savior of the school reopening effort despite the fact that she