As the Ventura school district returns from winter break during a surge in COVID transmissions, other school districts are trying to stop the spread of the highly contagious virus by closing schools. School districts like Atlanta, Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Newark announced that they are planning to postpone school or go back to virtual learning. Omicron has been spreading rapidly, affecting many people, especially students who are missing valuable instruction and are falling behind on classwork as we gear up for semester 1 finals . Therefore, I believe schools should go back to virtual learning until things are under control. 

Some people think wearing a mask will solve these problems. Wearing a mask can be very uncomfortable. Masks make it harder for people to breathe, especially during P.E.. Life without masks is so much more simple, you wouldn’t have to spend money on them or have to worry about forgetting them when leaving the house. After a while, masks tend to irritate your ears since you’re wearing them all day. When students are told to pull up their masks, it can be very irritating because they just want to breathe.

When classes are in session I notice many students tend to cough or sneeze, and that worries other students, including myself. I get uncomfortable when the person next to me is coughing. Other illnesses are spreading too, leaving us even more uncomfortable. Some of those same students who are coughing or sniffling are the ones who constantly have their mask down. Therefore, I think being online would enable us to protect ourselves . Being close to other students in class is a concern to some students, even parents. 

 I think enforcing more social distancing rules could reduce the transmission of COVID to a degree. Even the lunch line is a concern because so many students are in contact with each other and they are very close. There is no space between students at all despite the “6 feet apart” signs on the floor. 

Consequently, those who have tested positive after being exposed have to be sent home which leads to them missing valuable in class working time  — up to 10 days if the student is unvaccinated. 

Another way students and staff could attempt to decrease the number of infected students is to make sanitizing before and after class mandatory. Most likely, concerned parents could donate sanitizing supplies for the desks to try to clean them as often as we could. 

For now, I think online is the safest option for us. I say this because it is becoming easier to catch with each new variant. Each week I come back to school I see more and more seats empty. Being online could also save us from getting sick with common illnesses such as the flu or cold, in addition to COVID-19.