The risk of rushing to a normal lifestyle
As of March 22, just 13% of the population has been fully vaccinated. Allowing people to no longer wear masks and not social distance is a risk.
Just about everyone is waiting, anxiously, for life to return to normal and for this pandemic to end.
It has been a year since the pandemic officially started to affect people’s lives –– schools closing, the number of cases rising, mask mandates. At first, many students enjoyed the idea of doing school remotely and living in a different way. Now, however, just about everyone is waiting, anxiously, for life to return to normal and for this pandemic to end.
Not only do students want for life to become normal again, but state governors do as well –– maybe a little too much for certain governors. Texas Governor Greg Abbot has repealed the mask mandate for the state and is now allowing businesses to open at 100% capacity. This decision that multiple other states have also made is causing people to wonder whether or not it is safe and if it will interrupt the progress of decreasing Covid-19 cases.
Many scientists are warning people that reopening businesses at full capacity and repealing the mask mandate is hazardous and may lead to another coronavirus outbreak. Despite the threats present in these decisions, numerous states continue to reopen as soon as possible.
Sophomore Stephanie Ye believes that “New Jersey should not reopen or repeal the mask mandate. The virus is still everywhere, so reopening and repealing the mask mandate just puts so many lives in danger. Even if some people still choose to wear a mask, those who decide not to will be endangering so many people. I know that if the mask mandate is repealed, many people would forget or just refuse to wear a mask.”
The pandemic has yet to come to an end and thousands of different people are still catching the virus each day, so it is believed to be too early to reopen businesses and repeal the mask mandates. Making these safety precautions become optional will increase the chances of people catching the virus and spreading it to those around them.
“Everyone wants life to go back to normal, but if many places open up, people will keep dying and nothing is going to get better until the vaccine is available to everyone,” stated an anonymous freshman.
As of March 22, just 13% of the United States population has been fully vaccinated, so allowing people to no longer wear masks and to not social distance is a risk. It is likely that the people who enter a public location have not been vaccinated, meaning that it is important for everyone to wear a mask and social distance in order to protect each other and themselves.
The pandemic has yet to come to an end and thousands of different people are still catching the virus each day.
Although not everyone has been vaccinated, there is a large number of people who dread to go back to living how life used to be –– no masks, visiting places with large numbers of people, etcetera. Those who have been vaccinated and continue to wear masks are allowing the country to slowly but surely go back to its lifestyle before the pandemic started. However, some believe that the ways pro-maskers handle the virus do not have to be the ways everyone deals with it.
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“I think reopening New Jersey and lifting the mask mandate would be really beneficial to a lot of people in New Jersey. A lot of small businesses and companies can start making money again and hopefully help the economy a little more. With the majority of people receiving vaccines, I think that reopening the state and lifting the mask mandate would help a lot of people feel a sense of normalcy. Even with the mask mandate lifted, those who still don’t feel comfortable can wear masks and life can get one step closer to how it used to be,” argued freshman Gabriella Vespe.
It is agreeable that allowing companies to open at full capacity is advantageous towards the economy. Many people know that businesses are suffering during this time with a decrease in customers, but these people may also realize that opening businesses at 100% capacity is dangerous to the workers and customers in the area.
However, making masks optional may push away the customers who are wary of the virus, so this can have the opposite effect that people are hoping for in terms of helping businesses regain a large clientele.
Freshman Julia Bang said, “I don’t see a reason for lifting the mask mandate in a time where the cases aren’t decreasing, and honestly, I’d be uncomfortable somewhere people don’t need masks.”
People have different opinions on how and when the country should return to its normal lifestyle. Some believe that the best option is to wait for a decrease in the spread of the coronavirus, whereas others are for repealing the mask mandates and opening businesses at full capacity as soon as possible. Regardless, the Covid-19 pandemic has lasted for over a year, making most people have enough of the virus and wish for it to simply end.
Anabelle Joukhadarian is a senior at Hills. She joined the publication during her freshman year as a staff writer and edited for the Opinion section her sophomore and junior years. Joukhadarian is looking forward to being the Trailblazer's Managing Editor and covering stories within the community during her final year at Hills.
Fun fact: Joukhadarian likes traveling, animals, and science, especially biology.
