We call on the San Mateo Union High School District to temporarily suspend in-person classes and other events and switch to online classes in order to protect our students, staff, and families from exposure to COVID-19. Many fear that if the District waits too long, it could easily further the damage of the COVID-19 outbreak. While in-person classes may be convenient, health must be prioritized over convenience until the CDC and local health authorities get the virus under control.

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In late December 2019, a novel coronavirus, dubbed COVID-19, broke out at a meat market in Wuhan, China. It rapidly spread throughout the surrounding Hubei province and is now spreading internationally, throughout South Korea. Italy, Iran, and, more recently, the United States. With one hundred thousand confirmed cases and thousands more emerging daily, our government needs to take action to prevent the spread of this deadly disease, which kills about 15% of those over 60 years old.

California, with over 100 cases, is succumbing to one of the worst local outbreaks in the continental United States. Worse, many cases of the virus are spreading asymptomatically, meaning that while the infected person may show no symptoms of the illness, their body still acts as a host and can spread it. In addition to this asymptomatic spreading, there is a national shortage of test kits, meaning that likely, there are many cases of the virus that are unrecorded due to lack of a diagnosis.

While the virus clearly takes a toll on people’s physical health, many are ignoring its effect on mental health. Many are at high-stress levels due to fear of contracting COVID-19, which both decreases the efficiency of the immune system(which is vital in fighting off viruses) and decreases productivity in schools.

As the virus spreads throughout the state, many schools are closing to prevent the spread of the virus between students, their families, and staff(many of which are over 60 and thus deemed high risk). Meanwhile, the SMUHSD is simply spraying Clorox disinfectant, a basic precaution that should already be standard during flu season, and that will not prevent the spread of COVID-19 through coughing and other contact that commonly occurs in schools. In addition, while the CDC warns to cancel nonessential events, the SMUHSD actively ignores this advice and continues to host and participate in field trips, multi-school sporting events, and other events that could easily be considered nonessential and high risk.

We call on the SMUHSD to take additional precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which may include suspending in-person classes and hosting classes online. While not ideal, SMUHSD does have the capability to host classes online, and the health of students, staff, and families is vital and must be prioritized over the convenience of in-person classes. This pandemic is unfortunately rapidly spreading with no end in sight, and hosting in school classes and other events is a danger to students, parents, and staff members’ physical and mental health.