As the new BA.2 Covid variant becomes more prevalent in the northeastern United States, students have had some speculation as to whether the new surge in cases will impact school life.
New Jersey, along with many of the other northeastern states, is experiencing a steady rise in cases. The percentage of all recorded cases that are due to the BA.2 variant jumped from 24% to 72% within a week, according to NBC News.
With the new “Test to Stay” MFS policy effective on May 10th, which requires all asymptomatic close contacts of a Covid positive individual to test negative for Covid and stay masked for 10 days in order to stay in school, some still question whether rising Covid cases will further impact the school. However, despite this new development, most students don’t have much concern around the school community about the high transmissibility of the new variant.
Vanya Weinstock ’23 said he doesn’t believe the variant will disrupt school life to a large degree: “I don’t really think [school] will be impacted since it’s getting into the summer and more people are going outdoors.” Weinstock continued, “I don’t really think it’s going to impact school, hopefully.”
Isaac Linden ’25 also shared his thoughts regarding the new variant’s impact on school life: “I don’t think [school] would be impacted. I’m still going to do everything that I usually do.”
However, students also wondered if there could be a possible return of masks. Jude Sansevero ’25 stated, “We might have to go back to a mask mandate if it gets pretty bad.” Sansevero continued, “If there is a large group of people, I will not hesitate to keep a mask with me.”
Even so, many don’t feel as though there should be much concern. Weinstock said he thinks things should still stay as normal: “Personally, I’m vaccinated with the booster, and I think that there will always be another variant.” Weinstock continued, “So I think that I’ll still mask up, but it’s not like I am not going to not go to a Sixers game because of the new variant.”
With the uncertainty of the variant’s impact in addition to the new surge in Covid-19 cases at Moorestown Friends, possible changes in Covid protocols are more unpredictable than before. Upper School Director Noah Rachlin expressed his thoughts on the possible impact of the variant: “I think one of the things about being on the CRT and working over this pandemic is that we have learned that we can’t always predict what we think is going to happen.” Rachlin continued, “We can only take information and data as it comes. Right now, there is broader communication about the new increase of cases in the MFS community than what we’ve seen before, so we will try to continue to communicate with folks as transparently as possible and just adjust anything if necessary.” However, like many others in the community, Rachlin said he hopes that “the impact is minimal to students.”
With the number of overall cases increasing in the state and the community, many are left wondering: Should we be concerned about this? According to NBC News, health experts say no. Even with the emergence of BA.2 as the dominant strain of Covid in New Jersey, it is predicted that symptoms will be fairly mild due to the vaccination rates and immunity that came from Omicron, so there shouldn’t be too much cause for concern.
Works Cited:
Fallon, Scott. “Another pandemic surge? Spurred by the BA.2 variant, NJ’s COVID numbers begin to creep up.” North Jersey, 8 Apr. 2022, www.northjersey.com/story/news/coronavirus/2022/04/08/new-covid-variant-ba-2-new-jersey-case-numbers/7232272001/. Accessed 18 May 2022.
Kamp, Jon, and Brianna Abbott. “Omicron BA.2 Variant Pressures Parts of U.S.” WSJ, 5 Apr. 2022, www.wsj.com/articles/omicron-ba-2-variant-pressures-parts-of-u-s-11649181325. Accessed 18 May 2022.
Lee, Jaclyn, et al. “Philadelphia reinstates indoor mask mandate as COVID-19 cases rise.” 6ABC, 6 ABC, 12 Apr. 2022, 6abc.com/philadelphia-covid-19-indoor-masking-face-mask-covid-19-philly/11738071/. Accessed 18 May 2022.
Lovelace, Berkeley, Jr. “The BA.2 subvariant is now 72 percent of new Covid cases. Experts say don’t panic.” NBC News, 5 Apr. 2022, www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/ba2-subvariant-now-72-percent-new-covid-cases-experts-say-dont-panic-rcna23086. Accessed 18 May 2022.
Millman, Jennifer. “‘Stealth’ Variant Now Driving 84% of NY Area COVID Cases as Infection Rates Rise: CDC.” NBC New York, 6 Apr. 2022, www.nbcnewyork.com/news/coronavirus/stealth-omicron-now-eyed-in-84-of-ny-area-infections-more-than-doubling-its-prevalence-in-2-weeks-cdc/3631455/. Accessed 18 May 2022.
Reuters. “Omicron sub-variant BA.2 makes up 72% of COVID variants in U.S. – CDC.” Reuters, 4 Apr. 2022, www.reuters.com/world/us/omicron-sub-variant-ba2-makes-up-72-covid-variants-us-cdc-2022-04-04/. Accessed 18 May 2022.
Wu, Katherine J. “America Is Staring Down Its First So What? Wave.” The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2022, www.cnn.com/2022/04/06/health/where-is-ba-2/index.html. Accessed 18 May 2022.
