In March, the usage of masks became optional in schools.  Masks don’t only protect the user and the people around them, but also reduce the risk of Covid spreading any further.

Wearing masks is cheap and effective in limiting the spread of Covid. Covid spreads through respiratory droplets which are produced when an infected person talks, coughs, or sneezes. Wearing a mask can protect your mouth and nose from these droplets that carry the disease. If you’re infected, wear the mask to protect others and if you aren’t, wear the mask to protect yourself. If masks are now optional in schools, students will fall vulnerable to the still present virus.

Not all students have the protection provided by the vaccine which puts them in a vulnerable spot when masks aren’t being worn around them. Some may argue that masks won’t stop you from getting Covid. While this is true, science shows that the more people wear masks in public, the more we can slow the spread of Covid-19 and eventually, truly, defeat it.

On April 7th, there were a total of 1, 461 cases that day alone. This option should be reconsidered. Covid isn’t over; keep wearing masks for not only your safety, but everyone else’s safety. Social distance. Wash your hands. Keep your mask on.