White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany sparked controversy on Thursday by saying "science should not stand in the way of" reopening schools, even as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on in the United States.

"You know, the president has said unmistakably that he wants schools to open," McEnany said at a daily press briefing. "And when he says open, he means open in full – kids being able to attend each and every day at their school." 

She added: "The science should not stand in the way of this." 

But the press secretary went on to suggest that science is on the side of fully opening schools for the upcoming academic year, citing a pediatric study of 46 hospitals by the Journal of the American Medical Association that she said showed the risk to children posed by COVID-19 is less than that posed by the seasonal flu. 

"The science is on our side here, and we encourage for localities and states to just simply follow the science, open our schools," she said. 

U.S. President Donald Trump has made reopening public schools a focus of his re-election campaign, urging school districts to offer a full schedule of classes. He threatened to cut funding for schools that do not follow through.

McEnany's remark that "science should not stand in the way of" schools reopening was picked up by CNN, The Washington Post and other media outlets, causing a heated discussion on Twitter.  

McEnany later blasted coverage of her comments as a "case study in media bias." 

"I said: 'The science is very clear on this... the science is on our side here. We encourage our localities & states to just simply follow the science. Open our schools,'" she tweeted. "But leave it to the media to deceptively suggest I was making the opposite point!"

According to a new Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll, only one in four Americans thinks it is safe for public schools to reopen this fall as U.S. coronavirus cases continue to climb, and four in 10 parents said they would likely keep their children home if classes resume. 

The July 14-15 national online poll was conducted as the country's 13,000 school districts grapple with how to safely resume instruction after closing in the spring as infections spread. 

Just 26 percent of American adults said they thought it was safe for schools in their community to bring students back. Another 55 percent felt they were not safe, and 19 percent were not sure. 

The response was split along party lines: Half of Republicans said they thought schools were safe, compared with only one in 10 Democrats. 

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, who for months has led Trump in national polls, including a 10-point advantage among registered voters in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, has called for a more cautious approach to re-opening schools. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, also a Democrat, expressed a similar view. "The president and his administration are messing with the health of our children," she said on Sunday. "We all want our children to go back to school. Teachers do. Parents do. And children do. But they must go back safely." 

The number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. has risen to over 3.56 million and the death toll has surpassed 138,000. 

(With input from Reuters) 

(Cover: White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 16, 2020. /AP)