As of November 13th, the U.S. reported 163,402 more coronavirus cases, which is the highest it’s been since July. The United States has reached above 8 million coronavirus cases. Experts predict that the U.S. could encounter a “substantial third wave” in cases of infections this winter. According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University, there were at least 218,600 deaths since the start of the pandemic. So why does it seem like people are ignoring this? Yes, interacting with peers helps develop social skills in a student that they will use in their adult years. However, if students are getting sick and are at risk of death, then is going back to school worth it?

We, the students, are the future. We should not give the coronavirus the chance to infect our systems and affect our health. Unpopular opinion: Corona affects everyone and just because we’re young, doesn’t mean we won’t get the sickness or suffer the consequences. Students may struggle with homework, but if we get the Coronavirus, it will be hard to complete simple tasks that we usually do in school. Numerous reports of high school students encountering the virus say that they had trouble with walking, felt weak, and had difficulty breathing. Chief Medical Officer of Dignity Health – St Rose Siena Campus, Dr. G Rodney Buzzas announces, “The Coronavirus doesn’t care how old you are. It will infect the young as well as the old.” Going back in November isn’t going to make things better, students are more likely to get sicker in the winter than they have been over these last difficult months. Some students may have the flu or a cold. How will anyone know the difference between them? Students want perfect attendance, meaning that if they feel a little under the weather, they will still go to school and push it aside. Teachers can’t just send every student that coughs or sneezes repeatedly to the nurse’s office.

No one likes wearing masks; wearing them in a grocery store for 30 minutes starts to overwhelm me, but wearing them the whole school day in a hot building? No, thank you. Students are more likely to complain about wearing them, because anxious because of them, or overheat. What is the staff going to do then? Also some parents just can’t get to the school in time a student is sick. Are the nurses going to keep the kids or try and send them back?

Once college students returned back to learning, multiple college students reported coronavirus cases. Some have been hospitalized due to the major effects on their health, like trouble breathing. Majority of these students, the day before, went to all of their classes and even partied with multiple friends the night before. Imagine this scenario: while students talk, they cannot hear other because of the hindrance of a mask, so a boy lifts up his mask to hear other better. Now, the students, people at the party, and people in his classes, are all at risk. Is the staff going to move back into remote learning after one student gets sick? Can we risk that now that the majority of the school is at risk? Is it really that important to go back to school and risk everyone’s health? I strongly believe that we should not rush getting the students back to learning in schools until numbers dramatically start going down.