Just Because We Can, Doesn’t Mean We Should

Noor Osmany ‘24 and Sarah Davis ‘24
December 8, 2021

As many of you know, the school committee has recently approved the flexible masking mandate for the Westborough High School and Gibbons Middle School. This mandate began on Monday, December 6. With nearly 6,000 cases found in Worcester County in the past 14 days, we are not alone in our feeling that this time of year is one of the worst times to introduce flexible masking. As we near flu season and Covid variants continue to pop up, Covid cases are certain to rise just in time for the holidays. That just doesn’t sound safe, does it?

Recently, there was a new variant of COVID discovered, the Omicron variant, which is incredibly contagious. Moreover, at least 15 states in the U.S have identified cases of Omicron, including Massachusetts. The World Health Organization has reported the Omicron as a “variant of concern” because of these facts.  With our country still struggling with the first few variants of COVID and this new variant on the horizon, wearing your mask will become more important than ever. 

On top of the increasing number of variants sweeping the country, lots of students will be going out of the state, and possibly the country, to go see their relatives this holiday break. With flexible masking, not only are they going to put their relatives at possible risk, but they are also putting other students at risk when they come back. Do you want to risk the lives of people just so you can breathe a little easier?

Yes, we understand that the majority of the school is vaccinated, but even with the vaccine you can still get and spread Covid. This is why many people advise wearing your mask even if you are vaccinated. 

Covid is dangerous enough without the extra variants popping up, but now that the variants are here, the plan needs to change. We are not in the clear yet. We need to keep our masks on.

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