We are talking about children. Draconian punishments mystify me because they're so, well, punitive. Not helpful, not edifying, not a life lesson. Punitive.
Why would anyone punish children so drastically for being the immature creatures we know them to be? After all, the adults in charge have presumably had years of child development education plus hands-on experience. They KNOW children are impulsive, ego-centric and have difficulty with delayed gratification.
We teach our children not to cross the street without looking both ways, but because we know that chasing after a ball may distract them from that lesson, we have reduced speed limits in school zones and crossing guards at the intersections. We tell them that medicine isn't candy, but the law nevertheless requires child-proof caps. We tell them to say away from the pool but fence around it just in case. We tell them to stay away from alcohol but the long arm of the law much more heavily punishes the clerk and store who sells it to minors.
Why? Because adults know better.
Bottom line, if schools cannot be safely opened, then they should remain closed. If reopenings fail, those failures belong to the administrators, not the students.