Over the past couple of months, schools across California have opened in-person schooling for the 2021-22 school year. Within that time covid cases have increased.

According to the LA Unified website, there have been about 4,018 positive cases in this district alone. The bad thing about these numbers are that they are exponentially increasing – which is not help us reach the herd immunity goal.

Within the schools in LAUSD, students are always being told to keep their masks on, social distance, not to share food, etc. Many students do not listen – and are sharing their food, hugging and touching each other when playing. It’s hard to prevent the spread.

Kids carry a lot of bacteria, and are always touching everything around them – then touching their faces and others, to the point where it’s hard to keep them clean.

Putting a group of children all in a room together is not a smart idea. It allows bacteria to spread and increase covid cases.

Schools can keep germs contained by asking students to stay home and participate in online learning. Learning at home allows students to stay healthy and still be able to attend school.

Having students learn virtually will help them build a routine inside the comfort of their home. In addition, virtual learning provide students with networking opportunities that are unavailable with on-campus learning.

Having students on campus costs schools and the district more money if they provide staff and students with weekly covid-19 testing.

Switching to online learning is giving everyone, especially the students, the opportunity to stay safe and healthy while still receiving their education.

According to an article written by Rhea Kelly, she stated “in a recent survey, nearly three-quarters of students — 73 percent — said they would prefer to take some of their courses fully online post-pandemic.” Showing that a handful of students would rather be learning virtually than in person.

Online learning promote students with skills and techniques, that can help them with their future careers.

There are many ups and downs about online and in-person learning, but with students learning online – students can prevent the spreading of covid and keep their peers safe.

At the end of the day, what matters more is a student’s safety.

Covid-19 will forever be a problem, and we need to try to contain it to keep everyone from spreading germs.