At the time of writing, even while Fargo South has mask requirements in place, an average of 3-4 members at Fargo South are recorded as contracting Covid-19 every week. Keep in mind that at Fargo South, there is no requirement to report to the administration if you test positive for Covid-19, and many people misguidedly don’t feel the need to get a Covid-19 test even when potentially exposed. This means that the cases that Fargo South reports are very likely an undercount of the real numbers.

In October, it was announced that Fargo Public Schools’ current mask mandate was going away, and turning into a “strong recommendation” as of January 17, 2022. This comes during a time when cases in Cass County have plateaued at a level which is at the highest rate seen since December of 2020. Additionally, hospitals are still serving at high capacity.

Currently, according to the New York Times, Cass County is averaging 120 new cases a day, a level consistently maintained since early October. Cases are very likely to spike even higher due to the holidays coming up, which will encourage more people to get together and travel.

Furthermore, the test positivity rate in Cass County is significantly high at 11% according to John Hopkins, 4% higher than the United States test positivity rate, which most likely correlates to cases being considerably undercounted.

In addition, according to the State of North Dakota, the rate of full vaccination in the state for 12-18 year-olds is about 33%. This is considerably low, considering the vaccine has been available for all people in this age-range for about eight months.

So why, in a time when Covid-19 cases are up and vaccination rates are low, is the mask mandate within Fargo Public Schools being lifted? The reason that has been given by Fargo Public Schools is that vaccinations are now available for children between the ages of 5 and 11. However, just because the vaccine is available doesn’t mean that children will get the shot right away, if even at all.

Considering the fact that only 60% of people older than 12 in Cass County have gotten fully vaccinated, people have had plenty of time to think over whether or not they will get vaccinated. It is entirely likely that most people who haven’t gotten the vaccine at this point have made up their mind and aren’t likely to get it.

Those unvaccinated adults, in turn, won’t vaccinate their children, even if the option is available. So, we can assume we will continue to have high numbers of unvaccinated teens and children in our schools, but now without the use of masks as a first line of protection.

You may think that getting Covid-19 isn’t a big deal for young people, but it can give people of any age symptoms, and can have long-term effects which can permanently damage bodies of any age. Even if you yourself don’t get sick, you can spread it to someone else who is at high-risk and likely to get hurt or even die from the virus.

Without masks, it is very likely there will be increased outbreaks in elementary schools, where children don’t wash their hands and constantly touch their faces. Frankly, this decision by Fargo Public Schools is senseless and has no good reasoning behind it.

Even if it isn’t safe or logical, the decision stands, and a large number of students will likely completely stop wearing masks. However, there is a strong argument for continuing to wear your mask. In our North Dakota schools with low vaccination rates and not a lot of sanitary protocols, continuing to wear a mask is the only factor that can be controlled that will prevent the spread of Covid-19 within our schools and community.

Some parents who have pressured the school board to get rid of mask requirements have argued that masks affect the mental health and learning of students, but there is no evidence to support these claims. From a student perspective, face coverings don’t really don’t affect anything at all. Masks can sometimes be slightly uncomfortable, and it takes slightly more effort to talk through them, though this is barely an issue at this point, due to the fact that schools have been using them for over a year and students are used to them. These two concerns aren’t nearly enough to justify getting rid of masks at the point in time we are in. 

Fargo Public Schools should look at what NDSU is doing to keep a safe school environment. NDSU is continuing masking requirements into the next semester on account of new variants, and is offering a $100 cash incentive to any student who can show proof of vaccination. If Fargo Public Schools had a similar type of incentive, more people would get vaccinated, and vaccination rates could get to a point where masks wouldn’t even be needed.

With the mandate removed, it’s up to each of us to decide to protect ourselves and each other. I strongly encourage you to do your part to protect the health and safety of our schools. Get fully vaccinated and continue to wear your mask, even after the mask mandate ends.