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OP/ED

Students all throughout Indiana are just returning or leaving for spring break. It’s an exciting time as we near the end of the school year and prepare for the summer. Everything seems well, and it even seems COVID-19 has disappeared, at least according to Governor Holcomb. Indiana’s mask mandate has ended.

But, I don’t think everything is well. We are nearing the end of this pandemic, and this action could very well jeopardize us.

“When I visit my favorite restaurant or conduct a public event, I will continue to wear a mask … It is the right thing to do. Hoosiers who take these recommended precautions will help us get to what I hope is the tail end of this pandemic,” Holcomb told the IndyStar.

Then why in the world is he announcing that the mask mandate is over?

You can’t give any slack to Hoosiers when it comes to masks. I still don’t see a majority of people wearing them here at our Logansport Walmart. All the crazy COVID non-believers will only hear “Mask mandate comes to an end” when looking at any articles or news headlines and run with it. It is going to cause huge arguments within restaurants and other business establishments, and it is going to put us all in danger.

Especially, now that there is an announcement of new highly transmissible strains of COVID-19.

According to The Mercury News, “California’s more infectious strain of the COVID-19 virus is now the dominant variant in the state and has been proven to thwart protective antibodies used in vaccines and therapeutics, according to a new UC San Francisco study.”

So, let me once again run through Indiana’s very pertinent situation, or as most Hoosiers would refer to it as “freedom right in time for summer.”

Students are coming and going from all over the country, especially Florida where there is no mask mandate, bringing many new contacts with them. New strains have been announced that are more deadly and more transmissible. And, Indiana, along with a few other states, just got rid of their mask mandate.

Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

I get it; you are tired. I am tired. This whole pandemic has been nothing but exhausting.

But, we are not finished. Vaccines are finally rolling out at larger quantities. We are so close to the light of the tunnel, but don’t ruin it because of your own impatience.

Please, I beg you all to remain safe and smart. I promise you look way more intelligent and attractive with your mask on.