Cambridge students and staff must work together with the rest of the community to keep COVID-19 cases low. 

Starting in December, a new variant, Omicron, has caused cases in Georgia to skyrocket. Family gatherings for the holidays likely did not help. 

Now, school has been online from Monday to Friday. This virtual week could be extended based on our case numbers. 

Principal Ashley Agans said we are “lucky” we didn’t have to resort to this method of teaching earlier.  

“Let’s not get bogged down on the fact that we have to be online,” Agans said in a Teams call Thursday. “Instead, let’s just show up to our classes and do our thing, and hopefully this will be over very soon.”  

Being online is a challenge for many students when it comes to focusing and following the honor code. It’s also a challenge for teachers, who must talk to a screen with initials all day while keeping students engaged.  

“I hate it for kids,” said Agans. “I know that this is not a good way to learn for a huge percentage.” 

Still, the Fulton County Board of Health’s epidemiology report from Thursday showed Milton’s cases rose 940.3% in two weeks. The city had 1,561 positive cases in that time frame. 

High schools could be breeding grounds for this type of virus because many students rebel and don’t wear masks when required, probably because they think the precaution is uncool.  

What is truly uncool, though, is the selfishness these people exhibit. If we all wore masks and tried our best to keep some distance between each other, fewer people in our community would fall ill with COVID-19. Fewer would die.   

We must wear masks, even when not required, to keep not only ourselves healthy, but also our neighbors. This is a time when selflessness is the most important trait one can have. 

Agans said the mask requirement will be back in place if we return to school Monday, in addition to an A/B lunch system. She said the hallway arrows might even make a comeback. 

According to the CDC, Omicron is highly contagious, and being vaccinated likely will not prevent you from catching a mild version of it. If you are vaccinated, wear a mask as if you weren’t.

However, being vaccinated still aids in stopping new strains of the virus from forming and severe illness. If you are able to get the vaccine, do it. 

The Pfizer vaccine is available to minors, and anybody over 16 can also get a booster injection six months after their first round of the shots. 

Do your part as best as you can. Practice selflessness so we can live in a world where COVID-19 poses minimal risk and no longer disrupts our lives.  

Do your part so this year’s underclassmen can have prom when it’s their turn. So we don’t have to worry about hallway arrows. So our friends and teachers are safe.