By: Sarah Kebei

During the month of February, Tuscarora High School, along with all of LCPS made masks optional, allowing students to opt not to wear a mask anymore. This decision was made by the Circuit Court, who ordered for the mask mandate to be removed immediately which took place on February 16, 2022. All LCPS students and teachers were sent a call home the night of the ruling regarding the removal of the mandate after school hours which stated that all LCPS schools students and staff would be able to refuse wearing a mask if they pleased. 

Following this immediate and sudden removal of the mandate, students and parents were concerned that the removal would cause more disruption to the new dynamic and could potentially lead to more cases of the virus spreading. Some parents of students attending even went so far as to pull their children out of school as they didn’t want them to catch the virus.

This pandemic has shown us that we need to social distance and practice cleanliness especially now that the mandate has been lifted. The main focus is to ensure the safety of everyone and have a smooth transition back into how life was before COVID-19. Here at Tuscarora High School, many students and teachers have decided to take their mask off and go back to a sense of normalcy while other students and teachers decided to continue wearing a mask. 

Whether you decide to wear a mask or not, be respectful of other people’s beliefs and mindful that COVID-19 is still a prevalent disease in the United States.