Will Covid cases increase during thanksgiving break?

Will Covid cases increase during thanksgiving break, because of the amount of people coming back from college? This question can’t be answered simply, it's so complex since there are so many parts to this coronavirus.

All the college campus kids are surrounded by so many people, and not social distancing most of the time that's a problem. So what worries me, is will this pandemic become worse once they come back? Statistically it may be obvious that it will get worse, but we don't know because this is all so unpredictable.

The fact that we're on the verge of another lockdown, is a scary thing. Even though the college kids have been on a college campus and nowhere else is still very risky. To prevent the spread of this virus, it's important to look at all of the aspects to what could make this all worse. So currently, this could initially be an issue to have all these people come back possibly carrying the virus with them. 

Accordingly I asked a current student at Harborfields High School, a junior Grace Esposito, some questions on what she thought of this. When asking her Is there anyone that she might have known that is coming home from college soon? She stated, “Yes I do know someone, my cousin, who is a junior at a college. Yes he's safe when it comes to Carona, he always wears a mask, and gets tested every two weeks for his school for volleyball.”

I was pleased to hear this since this virus has really impacted so many people. It’s a huge risk to everyone, so knowing he is being safe is great to hear. It was also interesting that people who are in sports have to be tested every two weeks which is very effective. 

When I think to myself about this, I wonder if it will be a risk to have college kids come home during a pandemic possibly carrying Corona with them? That’s something that is up to each person, on whether or not they are safe. If they wear their mask, and social distance as much as they can, then it won't be a problem.

With Thanksgiving coming up soon, and having celebrations where people have huge gatherings which brings people together is a huge issue. This is  now resulting in everyone splitting up into much smaller groups, for thanksgiving gatherings. So bringing the factor of college kids coming home, possibly being carrier’s, and risk spreading it to family and friends is a scary thing.

Although, allowing kids to go away to colleges and opening everything up, was something where you had to know and be aware that this was going to happen. So in a way it's just the inevitable, we all just have to accept and deal with the consequences of this conscious decision. 

When asking Grace, do you think that kids in high school are safer than kids in college when it comes to Covid? She then answered, “Yes I think that college kids are safer, because they can't go off campus and the campuses are bigger, but in high school kids go out more because they are not as studious. The college kids are more mature, so they would make the right decision. They also get tested way more often, compared to high school kids”. This was a very interesting perspective that I was surprised to hear.

This is because many people I've talked to including, outside people, tend to just have a negative perspective on this, and automatically assume they will bring it back home with them. I agree with Grace on this, and I think that in a way since it's almost guaranteed they're together on the campuses it's much safer than high school kids that are coming from everywhere.

They will be home for months, which colleges are doing this to as an avoidance of the virus spreading more, and being carried back to school. 

Lastly I asked Grace, Is it possible that they were being safe at college, or do you think that they weren’t? She began to comment on this by saying, “I think in some aspects they are being safe in college, they do get tested a lot more often people outside of college and they’re in the same vicinity with the same people for months at a time. If they do leave it would just be to see family. Yes they do party, but it's only with the people in their college, so if it does spread it stays within the people at their college.”

This was an important point she made, because what it all comes down to is do you want to spread this virus? Of course they shouldn't be going to parties, or going out during this long pandemic, but course, it's still going to happen, and that's just the way it is in college unfortunately during a huge pandemic.

Emphasizing how important it is to be safe at all times while making sure to be aware and considerate of others. Since you may not care if you get it, your grandma or grandpa obviously would, because they’re at higher risk of getting it.

I think that's something that really impacts our world during this pandemic, and will really help this situation get better, to just be considerate of others and aware of what's going on around you.