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Editorial

A Quarantine Christmas

As the fall semester comes to an end, the Outlook editors discussed their plans for the holiday break and what they think will happen over time. There is no doubt that many holiday celebrations planned for this year will be impacted by COVID-19 restrictions.

The majority of the editors will be spending their holiday with immediate family, and for many, the holidays will look much different this year. “As much as I would like to see other people such as my extended family and friends, there is always going to be risk involved in doing that,” said one editor.

“My holiday plans are to just stick with my immediate family, meaning my parents and my brother. We live together currently,” said another editor. “We won’t be seeing our extended families because we had a discussion that it’s too risky with asymptomatic carrying.”

Gov. Philip D. Murphy and the NJ health commissioner, Judith M. Persichilli, stated that cases could continue to spike as the weather gets colder, and shifting activities indoors could make the risk of spread even worse.

The majority of editors agreed that cases will begin to spike during the winter, especially during the holidays when people are seeing family and friends. This brings into question if another lockdown will be put in place.

“I do fear that cases will spike over winter break with people celebrating the holidays with their friends and family outside their immediate household,” said one editor. “I do believe another lockdown can help slow the spread, but it might not be well-received by a lot of people.”

“Obviously more people will have to do things indoors, which means getting rid of outdoor seating and things like that, but people are also just giving up on the virus in general,” said another editor.

One editor also said, “Another lockdown would save a lot of people from contracting the virus, but people are still going to see their loved ones for the holidays no matter what.”

US News and BBC state that the COVID-19 vaccine could be ready as early as Dec. 11. The first ones to receive the vaccine will be healthcare workers, essential workers, and high-risk people including the elderly.

“This is good because they are the most vulnerable, but normal ‘healthy’ people need to realize the estimated general vaccine use period in the spring is further away than they think,” said one editor.

“Because of the many people who ignore health professionals and disregard safety measures by not wearing masks, not social distancing, and attending gatherings, I feel like the vaccine is really the only thing that can get us back to normal,” said another editor. 

However, the vaccine will not take the virus away completely, and it will need to take some time before we reach herd immunity.

One editor said, “The vaccine is not expected to see general use until the spring, so people’s casual attitudes as if they will be getting it tomorrow is going to lead to more cases.”

President Leahy has declared that spring semester will remain similar to this semester in that classes will be a mix of online, hybrid, and in-person. Students are still hopeful for more in-person classes near the end of the spring semester, and that the vaccine will offer more opportunities for such classes.

“I hope that some of my classes will be in person and clubs can meet in person again. Any kind of real-life socialization at this point is needed for people’s mental health,” said one editor.

“My hope for the spring is that the vaccine is actually available for casual injection around April and they are not overestimating how fast it can be distributed to make us feel better,” another editor said.

 

PHOTO COURTESY of Monmouth University