By Wyatt McInerney
The Omicron variant is the new variant of COVID-19 and it has been spreading rapidly throughout the world, including the U.S. According to the CDC, more than 73% of cases in the U.S are from the Omicron variant. The CDC has predicted that while the Omicron variant spreads faster than other variants, it may lead to a less severe illness.
Due to this surge in cases throughout the U.S, many schools have taken swift measures to stop transmission. In fact, Carmel High School, less than an hour away, already has decided to go fully remote following break. This reportedly comes after 81 cases have been detected between Dec. 2 and Dec. 15.
Prior to break (Dec. 20th), 16 new cases were detected across the Irvington school district. The day after, another seven cases were detected. If this rate of detection were to continue over two weeks, 160 new cases could potentially be found. This is double the amount that triggered Carmel high school to go into full remote learning.
To address concerns over a possible spike, the district sent out an email describing its plans for what to do after the break. The main message highlighted in the email from Dr. Kristopher Harrison was the statement:
“The District is NOT planning to close for in-person learning. However, if the necessity arises through the District’s decision or by the decision of a governmental agency, we will be ready to proceed with high-quality synchronous virtual teaching and learning.”
While this school is clearly setting up methods for what to do if an outbreak were to happen, is it enough, and will it be in time? The question must be asked if we are already at the point where fully remote learning should be utilized to stop the further spread of this highly transmissible variant of COVID-19.
