Following the lift of the Oregon State mask mandate on March 12th, Northwest Academy announced that the school administration is reviewing its indoor mask policy in mid-to-late April due to the significant decline in reported cases. This decision may put students and faculty at risk of large-scale exposure in the event of another variant and/or surge of cases.
NWA needs to realize that the pandemic is far from over, despite the dwindling cases. The omicron variant is not considered non-lethal, but merely less deadly than the delta variant. With this in mind, giving masks another full academic year is a smart option. Maybe it’s on the cautious side, but in order to cultivate a sense of safety, NWA must be as proactive as possible.
Even if cases are low right now, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. Numbers were around the same level between the delta and omicron variants, so who’s to say that there won’t be another wave?
Van Kerkhove, a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), said that a new variant of Covid could possibly be even more contagious.
“The next variant of concern will be more fit, and what we mean by that is it will be more transmissible because it will have to overtake what is currently circulating,” Kerkhove said. “The big question is whether or not future variants will be more or less severe.”
When the mask mandate is dropped, returning to a pre-pandemic lifestyle could lead to a spike in cases and the mandate being picked back up. When schools under restrictions get rid of the mandate, immediate caution should be taken. Students can still spread the virus and closer seating and mask removal will only worsen the problem.
Despite the inconveniences, safety is what our community should be prioritizing. Online school was difficult, with cons that outweighed the pros. If the removal of one of the most important safety procedures allows cases to break through into our school, online school might have to become an option again.
The variants of the coronavirus, most recently omicron, are still very active, and a certain awkwardness that face masks bring pales in comparison to getting someone else infected. Remember, online school was much worse than the current situation.
Northwest Academy has done a good job with their safety protocols up until this point, valuing public safety over convenience. Students and staff are understandably tired of wearing masks every day, but a preemptive removal of one of the most important safety protocols before any evidence that no new variant will surge through the country is not the right choice.
Photo: “COVID-19” by Chad Davis is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
