INDIANAPOLIS — Vice President Mike Pence kept up the Trump administration’s push for reopening schools and universities, insisting Friday that it can be done safely even amid public worries about the health risks posed by the coronavirus.

Pence told a small audience at Marian University in Indianapolis that having children back in classrooms was a necessary step to seeing more parents returning to jobs. The remarks came even as President Donald Trump on Thursday acknowledged that some schools in virus hot spots may need to delay their reopening this fall.

“Opening up our schools again is the best thing for our kids,” Pence said. “It’s also the best thing for working families.”

The former Indiana governor heard administrators at the private Catholic university describe their safety steps toward starting the fall semester next month.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus coordinator, joined Pence at the event.