Is there fear or stress in the idea of another quarantine?
With the rise of monkeypox, some people have expressed concerns about whether or not there will be yet another pandemic like COVID-19 where schools shut down.
Despite reassurances from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that there won’t be another school shut down, according to NBC News, there is still a present worry within the student body.
Zarielle Jacobs, a senior, expressed that she wasn’t trusting of the CDC’s reassures that there won’t be any other school shutdowns.
Jacobs stated, “The government could always say that and go a different way.”
Contradictingly, Tasia Graham, a sophomore, stated that she does feel ensured by the CDC because “if they can ensure that then that should mean they have some sort of grasp on the situation.”
The worry, regardless, wasn’t unfounded considering the worsening mental health and dropping grades during the last shutdown.
Deni Mazrekaj and Kristof De Witte, two professors of sociology, shared, “School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic may have negatively affected children’s learning through either a delay in expected learning progress or a loss of already obtained knowledge.”
Lamaria Trent, a freshman, felt a similar way.
Trent commented, “The last shutdown affected my school really badly.”
Trent was in fourth grade at the time, resulting in her being out of school until the beginning of 5th grade.
Leilani Lassalle felt similar despite being older than Trent at the time of the shutdown.
Lassalle stated that it affected her “ability to focus” and that she “[found] it harder to focus and stay engaged as [she] used to.”
Tasia Graham added, “It was easier to cheat…when I got back into the school system it was harder to think for myself.”
Lassalle also stated that her mental health, like many others, was worse due to going online with COVID-19.
In the National Library of Medicine, Fengxio Li stated that “Psychosocially, COVID-19 disproportionately affects young people.” He then went on and used college students as an example to point out the stressors around them which created a higher likelihood of mental health problems.
With the rampant spread of monkeypox, physical health and appearance have become a concern.
Kayra Nieves-Garibo, a senior, expressed her opinion, stating that she doesn’t “want to be dismembered permanently.”
Overall, to assaude the rising fear and stress over the matter, misinformation has been spread on the platform of TikTok. There have not been any school shutdowns, and it is unlikely that there will be one in the future.
