We are finally back on campus this year but with some restrictions. Due to the Covid -19 pandemic we have to wear a mask, but is wearing a mask really necessary at school? 

The CDC (centers for disease control) recommends indoor masking for everyone under the age of two years old. This applies to all people including students, teachers, and staff unless you are outside in which case it is optional to wear a mask. Even with having the Covid-19 vaccination you are still required to wear a mask indoors, should this be optional to those that are vaccinated? 

I feel that wearing a mask right now is not the best, but it allows us to be in person and back on campus which in my opinion is better than online school. Some positives about wearing a mask in school is that it has not just been stopping the spread of Covid, CDC (centers for disease control) say that wearing a mask has also been stopping the spread of other yearly illnesses like the flu and many other viruses . Wearing a mask in school has also allowed things to start slowly going back to normal. We are having events like rallies, dances, club activities, and students are able to watch sports games. 

According to the Bakersfield Californian, as of September 21, 2021,  there have been 446 new cases of Covid in Bakersfield with an average of seven cases a day. The majority of the people getting Covid are in the age group of 18-39 which means that most high school students are under that age group. For schools this can mean that there are still chances of getting shut down if the cases keep increasing. Therefore I feel that wearing a mask inside our classrooms at school can be beneficial during this time.  

The mask mandate has not just affected people at school, but it has affected many people including my life outside of school. I think that I have gotten so used to wearing a mask and bringing it with me to places that it has become normal. I am starting to see less people wearing a mask out in public places like in restaurants. While I see not wearing a mask while you are eating in restaurants is fine,  I think the majority of the problem is when large groups of people are in small places without a mask.  I think that this could be one of the reasons why the cases in Bakersfield have increased recently. 

In my opinion that mask mandate has really caused many things to change for not just students in school but people in general. I think that we will be wearing a mask for longer than we would like but hopefully soon enough we should be able to get back to normal. I think some ways to get on the right track can be proper social distance, wearing a mask when indoors, washing our hands, or even getting the Covid-19 vaccination.