After waiting for over a year, California is finally going to fully reopen, which has left some people excited while others are left feeling anxious about returning to a sense of normalcy.
Gov. Newsom has announced a plan for everything in California to open back up, but only if things continue the same as they are now by June 15.
As long as there is enough of a vaccine supply for 16-year-old Californians and those older, who wish to be vaccinated and if hospitalization rates remain stable and at a declining rate, California can reopen.
For some, this is exciting news because it means being able to return back to everyday things that we didn’t think twice about, such as eating inside a restaurant, going to the movie theater, going to on-campus classes and much more.
Although, there is one thing to keep in mind, if things go according to plan, businesses are allowed to reopen while encouraging individuals to wear masks and get the COVID-19 vaccine.
This applies to schools as well, which is what several different universities as well as community colleges are doing for the fall semester. A series of on-campus classes and online classes will be offered, allowing for a hybrid semester.
Newsom has made it clear that the state will not be forcing students to return to school, although he hopes that it can become a possibility for the post-pandemic world.
“I want kids back in school safely for in-person instruction,” he said in an address to the public.
Returning to face-to-face classes can be beneficial because it will allow students to learn how they were once used to before, and for many, to learn as best as they can.
A lot of people didn’t sign up for a global pandemic to take place, and even more people surely didn’t sign up to learn via Zoom or Google Classroom. If people were physically going to school, it was because they could and also chose to, so switching to online school was definitely a challenge for several people, to say the least.
It affected many students because there was a lack of motivation which resulted in many people not wanting to continue and pursue their educational goals.
This is why returning to on-campus classes is so beneficial, even if it is a hybrid semester. Students will be able to have access to important things such as books from the library, which is an area students heavily relied on to use the computers and internet provided there.
Of course, there is a different side to the hope at the end of the tunnel, that being the risks that come with all of this.
One obvious risk is how there are those who choose not to take the vaccine, whether it be because of a theory against the vaccine, or because they can’t. And as one could guess, this can lead to some exposure for those who are trying to stay safe and healthy.
Even with social distancing guidelines and face masks, this virus is airborne, which makes it much more dangerous. Although, “when you wear a mask you protect others as well as yourself. Masks work best when everyone wears one,” according to an article from the CDC.
The issue with this is that not everyone is willing to wear a mask which compromises the safety of others. These are some of the things that individuals who aren’t as excited as others are considering before returning to a fully reopened state.
Despite all of this, reopening California while staying safe and following guidelines the CDC has put in place would be far more of a positive outcome than a negative one.
We have been dealing with this virus for some time now, and it’s about time we eliminate our fears about this virus in general, as hard as they may be, and get back to living our lives.