Covid-19 has changed many lives, first detected in Wuhan, China, it has now become a worldwide threat. The virus was first detected in late 2019, 2 years have passed ever since the pandemic first started and we’re now in 2022 getting more variants which will most definitely worry some people. Take for example the Delta and Omicron variant, the Delta variant is much more contagious and might cause severe illness while the Omicron variant might spread more easily but is not clear if it causes more severe disease. Teachers and students are probably more likely to be worried since they go to school with plenty of people. Because of this, I asked Mr. Agwe, the High School Science teacher here at YMLA, how he thinks the cases will play out.

When asking him if he thinks that coming back to school in person is a bit too early, he said “Yes, the virus isn’t under full control and cases keep going up now and then.” And especially now, when we have a new variant called the Omicron variant, cases will inevitably rise again. Maybe not as much as 2 years ago, but we’ll definitely be seeing more cases if more variants keep appearing. Mr. Agwe actually gave his opinion on how he thinks the cases will play out, he said “I think the cases will rise, especially if you look around here. We don’t have any mask mandates because people can’t be forced to wear a mask if they don’t want to. The chances of you contracting the virus are still very high.” 

With him or not, Mr. Agwe has a good point. Although you may be vaccinated and wear a mask all the time, you may still get the virus. Being vaccinated doesn’t prevent you from getting the virus, it only reduces the risk of contracting the virus that causes Covid-19, however, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get vaccinated. And while wearing a mask also reduces the chance of you getting sick, if people around you aren’t wearing a mask, the chances of you getting the virus may increase. In the end, teachers want what is best for their students. Mandatory or not, we should all wear masks in order to protect ourselves and the people around us.