COVID has been a raging hurricane for the past two years. At the beginning of the pandemic, it seemed like there was no end in sight. Even now, variants keep mutating and spreading like wildfire, causing widespread panic and uncertainty.
While there was a significant spike in COVID cases due to Omicron variant in the mid to late January, as per New Jersey’s COVID Dashboard, the number of positive cases in the state remained under 1,000 on Feb. 13 and 14. New Jersey is also considering lifting the mask mandate in indoor spaces, notably in public schools, which seems like a step in the right direction.
We still don’t know if Monmouth University has plans to lift the indoor mask mandate. Even if they do change these protocols, there are still unvaccinated people on campus who are at higher risk of catching and spreading the virus.
If we are to judge by the previous waves of infections, this could just be a period of calm before another storm. While COVID may be on the decline right now, that does not mean that a new variant can’t pop up out of nowhere and put us right back where we started. The regulations that New Jersey is looking at lifting could be reinforced if cases get bad again.
I feel that it is too early to lift the mask mandate. I believe that the state of NJ should wait another year, collect data on the number of COVID cases, and then possibly lift the mandate. I do not want to go back into quarantine, especially now that I am experiencing some semi-normalness in college.
Recently, I have heard a lot of news about COVID among young children. Many parents are concerned about their children and wonder if the COVID vaccine will have any adverse effects on them. According to the CDC, the COVID vaccine is safe for children who are at least five years of age.
I am happy that the first week of online classes seemed to be the only week that we had to deal with virtual classes this semester. There is still a strong possibility that we will have another week of online classes after spring break, being that it is common for college students to travel and gather in large groups, but only time will tell.
There has been no official announcement, but it would make sense if Monmouth switched to remote learning for the first week after break because no one knows where students have been, who they have interacted with, and for how long. This is only my speculation, but it does seem logical, especially since we were briefly online after the winter break.
Although, I think that we might go back online, I hope I am wrong because I do not enjoy virtual classes. I want this pandemic to be over so that people can return to how things were before March 2020. The best thing anyone can do to work toward that goal is to get vaccinated, get boosted, wear a mask, and stay as safe as possible.