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To the editor:

After reading Jimmy LaRoue’s article (“Mask requirement still stands for SPS,” Jan. 23), as a student of Suffolk Public Schools, I am beyond pleased that the school board will still require the students, faculty and staff to wear masks.

The protocols and things in place to stop the spread of Covid-19 are obviously not going to fully stop the virus from spreading, but they at least limit the contact. Not to mention, it would be safer for students to wear masks when in contact with one another. Asymptomatic people, or people who do not show signs of being infected, can spread the virus, and they would never know that they had it in the first place. Not wearing a mask means that asymptomatic people can spread the virus and other germs more easily. This could result in students bringing home the germs they carry from school and affecting other family members as well as the friends of their younger/older siblings or the coworkers of their parents, and the same thing can be said about faculty and staff members.

Many SPS high schools were overcrowded even before the pandemic. This is still an issue today, and I can personally attest to this. Whenever the bell rang for the next block to begin, the halls would be crowded to the point where if one person stopped, they would block the way for at least five to 10 other people. Sicknesses are easy to catch in a setting like this because one student can sneeze and think it is OK, but that one sneeze can travel across a room and infect another person even if they did cover their sneeze with their elbow. The same can be said about a cough, because even if a student covered their mouth when they coughed, the germs are now on their hands. Moreover, if that student goes to touch another student or object without washing their hands, then they have already begun spreading germs. With students being so close together throughout the day, it just makes the spread of germs (and the virus) easier.

To all parents and adults that read this, please think about the safety of your child(ren) and those around your child(ren). To those who are against the mask mandates, you are absolutely right, masks do not full-on stop the spread of Covid-19, but at least it limits the spread of the virus. Please do not send your children into school without any protection from the virus. Lastly, thank you for taking the time to read my opinion on this issue, and I would love to hear more from others about this.

Makendra Crosby

Suffolk