Slider photo from Crisis Maganize

In March of 2020, many countries across the world began shutting down and implementing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. One of these measures was that many states across the US implemented mask mandates that would require citizens to wear face coverings in indoor public spaces. Masks have been scientifically proven to be effective, and while they were mandatory, they have worked well at reducing the spread of the pandemic.

Fast forward one year later to April of 2021, and a lot of progress has been made in order to return life to how it was before the pandemic. For example, many schools across the country have been able to bring students back to classrooms. Along with this, many people have started receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Due to that, many states have begun removing statewide mask mandates which made face coverings a requirement. These states include Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas. 

Wearing a mask has recently become more of a political issue. Meaning, the majority of the states that have either never had a mask mandate to begin with, or have removed their mask mandate, have been predominantly red states. These states have also been the ones attempting to loosen covid guidelines. Although this does not mean that those states do not care about the public safety of their citizens, it exemplifies that the states’ different approaches to Covid guidelines can differ based on their political stances.

Dr. Eran Reem, a science teacher at Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, gave his insights on whether the removal of state wide mask mandates is a good decision. Reem not only said that the mask mandate was a good idea, but “it should have come earlier.” 

At the moment, no one knows for sure whether it would be most beneficial to keep mask mandates longer or if they are obsolete, but Reem thinks that it would be best if they kept the mandates longer until more of the population is vaccinated. 

From March of 2020 to today, masks have become items that everyone has become accustomed to wearing daily. No one knows what the future holds, and what solution will result in the best outcome, but the one thing that is for sure is that the fight against Covid may soon be coming to an end if we take the right steps.