As evolving variants of COVID-19, such as Omicron or Delta, get a tighter hold on our community, Glen A. Wilson looks to strengthen the rules regarding masks, quarantine and general safety.
According to the administration, students and staff now have to be masked outdoors unless you can remain six feet apart, whereas before you could take your mask off outdoors without maintaining that distance. Students are also receiving covid test kits this week from the school, medical masks are being recommended over cloth masks for students and some teachers have also been wearing two masks for extra protection.
Rules for quarantining have been changed as well. When a student tests positive, people in close contact are now quarantined for 10 days, but they can end it early if they take a test on the fifth day and it comes back negative. They must also have no symptoms if they return early. People do not have to quarantine if they are either fully vaccinated or if they have received the booster shot and if they are fully vaccinated, but not yet eligible for the booster, or have had COVID-19 in the past 90 days.
Some students have begun to wonder if Glen A. Wilson will shut down again similar to the start of the pandemic and have worried about the impact on learning this may have. Joshua La Victoria (10) stated, “I think there is a high probability of us being sent back to distance learning”. He added that “distance learning made it harder to understand the material because of disruptions like zoom bombers or internet outages that you just do not have with in-person learning.”
The effectiveness of the new guidelines is also under question. Isaac Vidales (10) said, “There are a lot more rules about what you can and can not do, but I still see the same amount of empty seats in my classes and more and more people are absent.” However, he also added, “it is the beginning of the year, so maybe it will cool down soon, but right now things are not looking so good.”
As the school searches for ways to protect the students and staff, the growing threat of another shutdown looms over many students’ heads.
