The Covid-19 pandemic has been raging on for the past 2 years. With new variants popping in and out and rules and regulations changing, it can be hard to keep up. For example, many varieties of masks other than KN95 have shown to be ineffective at stopping the spread of coronavirus. Because of this, Delaware’s mask mandate recently expired, even though cases are still high. While Friends still requires face masks to be worn, many nearby schools are no longer requiring masks to be worn. This indoor un-mandate will also not require people to wear masks in hospitals. “Nemours holds many at-risk people, and not requiring masks could lead to more cases and more severe cases because many of our patients are vulnerable,” said Dr. Matthew Di Guglielmo, chief of General Pediatrics at Nemours: Children’s Hospital. Matthew is hopeful that the hospital will still require masks, but because the overall rule is they are not required, many people could disregard that fact. “ I’m hoping people will continue to wear masks inside because I believe cases, and deaths/ serious cases, will go up if we don’t,” said Matthew Di Guglielmo. “Even without the mask mandate, I will continue to wear my mask inside. I believe it is the right thing to do,” said Anya Agarwal, a ninth-grader at Wilmington Friends school. 

Another less recent Covid update is the Newish booster vaccines. The booster was approved for high schoolers in January 2022.  Many students have missed school because of feeling lightheaded or unwell after receiving the booster. “I did not miss school, but I did feel lightheaded when I got my booster,” said Maggie Royer, a freshman at Wilmington Friends school. The booster is obviously another vital step in our fight against Covid, but hopefully the number of people experiencing symptoms decreases. Overall, Our battle against Covid is not looking too great, but I am optimistic that if we all work together we can be successful.