One Minute Later...
“Safety” guidelines lack safety District’s COVID guidelines defy logic, put school at risk Nate Albin
D
albinnat000@hsestudents.org
id you know that COVID-19 goes away after 3 p.m.? According to HSE School’s policy on masking, it does. Four months into the school year, the district has only seen one major COVID policy shift. Ever since the school added the mask mandate two weeks into school, it has been smooth sailing so far; however, there are some major red flags in the district’s health policies that could spell trouble later. The school policy gives the impression that spreading the virus is not an issue after 3 p.m. because the district policy says that masks only need to be worn “during the school day.” If you take a lap around FHS after school, it quickly becomes evident that this policy truly means masks only need to be worn during school hours. All over the building after hours, many do not wear masks, and, technically, they are not doing anything wrong. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Opinion
makes it clear that masks in school work - but only if they are actually used. The official CDC recommendation is for “universal indoor masking by students, staff members, faculty, and visitors in kindergarten through grade 12 (K - 12) schools, regardless of vaccination status.” They found that schools that do not properly mask up are 3.5 times more likely to have a widespread COVID outbreak. Those updated policies also include some aspects that seemingly have not been implemented at all. According to the policy, it is the “expectation” that students wash their hands when entering the building, exiting the building, before meals and during restroom breaks. The first three expectations have not been made clear or enforced while the last one is still an issue at times. Passing periods were supposed to be affected by the updated policy. However, early on this year as we reacclimated to 100% in-person school, the hallways
were as packed as ever before. If there have been any “measures to lessen congestion in hallways and improve conditions for social distancing” as policies require, they are not working. We are at a possible inflection point. Winter is coming. NPR reports that hospitals are worried about another devastating winter after over 250,000 Americans died of COVID last winter. Despite there being some cautiously optimistic forecasts for this winter, hospitals are concerned with unvaccinated populations, a strong flu season, possible COVID variants and overall unpredictability. For our school, this means enforcement needs to stiffen up guidelines so we can remain in-person. No one wants to go back to virtual, and the only way to try to counter the unpredictability outside of the building with the pandemic is to have smart, enforced guidelines inside the building. And no, there is no evidence that COVID goes away because a bell rings.
Comic by Nate Albin.
Tiger Times
Page 29
