Over two years ago, then Chapel Hill High School students received the news that school would be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the pandemic has seldom shown signs of slowing down. That is, until now.
The mask mandate was first implemented to keep the community safe during the return to in-person learning. Barring lunch outside, students and staff members alike were supposed to keep their masks on for the whole school day.
Last month, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools’ Board of Education voted to lift the mandate. The decision, though—however much students may applaud it—was premature and could worsen or even reverse the progress that we have made in fighting COVID.
Our school district developed a two-stage plan to end the mask mandate. Stage one was to shift to mask-recommended (instead of required) when outdoors effective on Monday, March 7. Stage two was to shift to mask-recommended (instead of required) when indoors effective on Monday, April 4, the first school day after spring break.
The reason for these drastic changes? New daily COVID cases are almost at an all-time low. According to The New York Times’ statistics, new cases in North Carolina are about 40 times lower than they were two months ago, following the Omicron variant surge. With the current trend, everyone is hopeful that the pandemic’s end is in sight.
Naturally, in response to the data, local governments all across the country are looking to return to normalcy. This is a mistake.
The decline of COVID rates is promising, but we need to recognize that such a decline is the direct result of COVID-19 precautions. It’s the mask mandates in our schools and widespread vaccine efforts that have allowed the drop in cases to even happen.
If anything, it is even more important to continue upholding the safety precautions now than ever. We are on the final stretch of ending the pandemic once and for all, so we should see it through to the end.
Then there’s the new BA.2 Omicron variant, which could result in yet another surge of cases, endangering the plan to lift the mask mandate. If COVID cases rise again after ending mask mandates, public officials will be forced to backtrack and reverse their decisions. Such a move will garner much more backlash than simply keeping the current policy unchanged.
In terms of public mentality, people have gotten used to the ways that COVID has affected daily life. Masks have become a part of everyday life, and there are seldom complaints about mask mandates within the Chapel Hill High School community. Another few weeks of masking and monitoring should not affect our citizens in such a dramatic way.
“It’s not that big of an inconvenience now that I’ve done it for months,” senior David Fort said.
Another consideration is the importance of keeping schools open, which relies upon the number of students who attend. Some parents may feel unsafe sending their kids to mask-free classrooms. If masking keeps schools open, it certainly should be continued.
Chapel Hill High School should be commended for distinguishing between “recommended” vs. “optional” and for attempting to promote a more gradual shift back to pre-pandemic status quo. Still, a mandatory indoor mask policy would have been the most effective way of ensuring that, when the 2022-23 school year begins, students wouldn’t need to continue wearing face coverings.
The pandemic could almost be over. All we need to do is continue exhibiting COVID-safe practices, which is not going to happen if it’s not enforced. Mask mandates should stay intact for just a little while longer.
