By Ingrid Yeung ‘23
Into the third year of combating COVID-19, wearing a mask and discussing new cases have become the norm of our normal social life. This school year, before winter break, St. Mark’s has effectively contained the virus within the school. Even with the introduction of the intimidating Delta variant, the school, strictly following the health and safety protocol, managed to keep St. Markers safe and suppressed cases from growing. Just as things were going positively, a more transmissive variant Omicron emerged and quickly spread throughout the world in a few weeks. The United States even reported 1.35 million cases per day during the supposedly relaxing holiday season, possibly due to increased traveling and transmission. With Omicron storming the country, several St. Mark’s community members tested positive during the break. However, after serious consideration, the school still decided to maintain the regular return time for students and set a series of protocols and procedures to reenter the fully in-person learning. Then a question arose: Are we coming back too quickly?
As students returned from winter break, St. Mark’s required all incoming boarding students to take PCR tests and immediately start quarantine within the dormitory before the testing result came out to return to the regular school schedule. During this time, all meals were taken out, students were not allowed to access other parts of campus, and all classes happened online. When PCR test results were released after two days, there were 17 positive cases made up of 11 boarding students, two day students, and four adults. Such results were much higher than we had obtained prior to winter break and concerned many students and parents, even though it only constituted 3.5% of our school’s population. After consultation with EH&E, the school still resumed in-person classes and activities to many’s surprise.
Several other cases have been detected since the school resumed in person last Saturday, including students who have recently gotten their booster and are fully vaccinated. This pattern clearly shows Omicron’s highly transmissive nature and its ability to multiply within a close community like St. Mark’s. Many students have been stressed about the COVID cases and being close contacts here at school. Parents are even more concerned about their children’s well-being. Looking at the still increasing number of cases, did the school make the correct decision to bring us all back together? Students have started an online petition to call for Hybrid learning for students’ well-being, but such voices do not seem to be heard by the school. The stress level only increases for the students and community members seeing their friends testing positive and becoming close contacts. The Omicron is less severe than other variants, but that is only to say that most people have milder symptoms, and the relative percentage hospitalized is less. However, the total number hospitalized still surpassed last January, creating another record.
The students and the parents have valid reasons to be concerned about the school’s decision and reports on COVID-19 cases. The school reported seven boarding students and two adults have tested positive in the most recent PCR test. However, according to student sources and our knowledge, there are far more than 7 cases of COVID-19 in our boarding population. Understandably, the school does not provide a complete list of people who contracted COVID, but news of positive cases spread fast among students themselves as a tight-knit community. Whether such information is exaggerated, it already creates enough tension around the school to reconsider in-person learning. This is not to entirely discredit the validity of the school’s report, but just once more casting doubt on whether we went back to in-person learning too soon and whether or not the school is operating with extra caution right now. School life with constant discussion of contact tracing and positive cases can be very stressful. Potentially contracting COVID-19 and evacuating to quarantine can sound even rougher. After hearing friends test positive, a friendly hug in the morning could become worries at night. Those thoughts and common emotions can influence students’ life and academic participation even more negatively than remote learning. So again, did St. Mark’s resume in-person teaching too quickly?
Fellow students, there is not much we can do at this challenging time but follow the health and safety protocol. Wearing surgical masks properly and covering your nose can significantly reduce the risk of contracting COVID- 19. When you notice symptoms similar to COVID-19, report to health services for a rapid test as soon as possible. And lastly, wear your mask properly, avoid crowded areas, and stay safe!
