Covid Safety measures have allowed Regis Jesuit High School to be able to start back in hybrid classes, with a full for full in-person learning starting February 17 . According to experts, one of the main factors in keeping everyone safe is mask wearing, with Regis’ only COVID outbreaks linked to unmasked gatherings.

In the past few weeks a new variant of coronavirus has been introduced to the US. The new variant has a higher infection and death rate than any of the other variants. Dr. Scott Braunstein, medical director of Sollis Health in Los Angeles, has studied the new strands of coronavirus and the impacts it has on people.

“People need to be concerned about the new strains for many reasons: There is evidence that these new strains may be 50 percent more infectious than the original virus, which would be expected to lead to a massive spike in new cases, as the new strains increase in prevalence,” Braunstein states.

The new strain of covid means that Regis Jesuit may need to put in place different and more effective safety measures. Braunstein creates new and effective ways to keep students and staff safe from Covid-19.

“School learning pods should also reduce the number of students, or be moved outdoors, weather permitting,” Braunstein explains.

The importance of mask wearing has been shown throughout the country during the peak of coronavirus outbreaks. Disease specialist and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech, Lindsey Marr, has noticed the decrease in cases when people wear masks.

“There is increasing evidence through comparisons of what’s happening in different countries and in different states, in terms of mask usage and mandates, that masks help slow transmission of COVID-19,” Marr states.

Coronavirus cases have peaked in the past few months, increasing the risk of being exposed in the classroom. Infectious disease specialist, Cameron Wolfe, has researched the rate of transmission slow down as people are wearing masks.

“When all of us wear masks, we protect each other,” Wolfe states.

Experts recommend mask wearing to decrease the risks of being exposed or exposing someone else. Although wearing masks is effective, they do not guarantee you won’t get the virus. Infectious disease physician, Chin Hong, located in San Francisco, California, has researched the importance of wearing masks during the pandemic.

“I think there’s enough evidence to say that the best benefit is for people who have COVID-19 to protect them from giving COVID-19 to other people, but you’re still going to get a benefit from wearing a mask if you don’t have COVID-19,” Chin-Hong says.