To Mask or Not to Mask

In the beginning of 2020, the Covid-19 virus started to spread throughout the United States. This caused confusion for some, leading people to wonder if we were going to be safe, how long our restrictions were going to last, and when we would be able to return to our normal lives. The stores we would go to in our daily lives suddenly closed down and the only places that remained available were hospitals, grocery stores, and gas stations. Later in the year, the government slowly started to lift the restrictions; malls, clothing stores and small businesses started up again. But one thing remained constant: masks were required almost everywhere you went. This led to fierce debates among US citizens: some people argued that masks should not be required and others strongly disagreed.

On February 10, 2022 Governor Steve Sisolak lifted the mask mandate which now gives us the choice of whether or not to wear a mask in public. Although we are not required to wear masks in places like grocery and retail stores, schools, and parks they are required in hospitals, clinics and long-term care facilities. They are also federally required in airports, planes, and on public transportation.

At Sierra Vista, teachers and students are left with the choice of whether they want to wear their masks. Some teachers and students have decided to go without while others still wear them. Ms. Cropley, an English teacher at Vista has given her opinion on how she feels about the mask mandate being lifted, “When the mask mandate was first lifted, I was a tad nervous. Thinking about living life mask free again felt very foreign and scary.” Cropley adds “It only took me a few days without wearing a mask for me to feel comfortable and back to relative normalcy.”

Some people could also say that they were hesitant about not wearing their mask, but they get used to it after not wearing it for a while. Mr Clayman, another teacher at Vista, believes that lifting the mask mandate was a good idea. He states, “We still can wear a mask if we want to and a lot of people are. When I am in close proximity to people I still want to use it. So I think it is the right policy to make it voluntary at this point.”

While some people are still kind of unsure about wearing masks or not, Nevada was not the only state to lift their mask mandate. All other 49 states have stopped requiring masks but still require them in healthcare facilities, public transportation, and airports. With the COVID-19 virus still a health concern, we are left with questioning whether or not the government will
require the mask mandate again