Covid cases increase at Lamar
Covid cases at Lamar have spiked increasingly. As of mid January, there are 45 staff and 27 student covid cases this year. Many teachers and students are out due to testing positive for the virus or experiencing symptoms of the virus. Lamar High school had a total of 347 Covid cases at the time this article was written.
With the cases increasing, Lamar encourages students to take Covid precautions, such as wearing masks, social distancing and washing hands.
“I think even if you are vaccinated, you should still wear a mask,” said senior Deylon Rodgers. “If you’re unvaccinated and you still continue to walk around with no mask, you’re not being smart.”
Many other school districts have decided to shut down and go virtual due for a few days due to concerns about Covid cases going up. Campbell ISD canceled all classes from Thursday, Jan. 13 through Friday, Jan. 21. Grapevine-Colleyville ISD made an announcement stating all campuses and facilities will be closed Thursday, Jan. 20 and Friday, Jan. 21. Both schools plan to resume in-person classes Monday, Jan. 24.
“People are starting to get lazy when it comes to Covid, especially teenagers,” said senior Alex Rodriguez-Diaz. “We’ve been dealing with this for over a year now, and everyone is just sick of it.”
Many students at Lamar feel that Covid is starting up again because some people are starting to take Covid less seriously and getting tired of wearing masks all day. If a student is experiencing Covid symptoms and they go to the nurse, they are required to stay home and get tested as soon as possible. If the test comes back negative the student can return to school, if test is positive, the student has to be quarantined for 10 days before returning to class. According to a new district policy, teachers are only required to stay out for five days if they test positive for Covid.
“I personally think that vaccination is a very good idea,” said Lamar nurse Jessica Goodyear. “It can help stop the spread of Covid and it can protect our vulnerable population.