This past summer, COVID cases have increased by 95% in Santa Clara County compared to 6 months ago, due to new viral strains nicknamed Eris and Pirola, both of which are sub-variants of Omicron.

Despite this, the majority of MVHS students have become less concerned about COVID. Sophomore Ning Chau stopped masking near the end of the last school year after noticing her parents and others stopped wearing masks. She has since stopped keeping track of COVID cases, as she believes that COVID symptoms have become more mild.

“I kind of feel like we’re going out of the pandemic,” Chau said. “It’s not that big of a deal anymore. We have vaccines.”

Even though the FDA has recently approved new vaccines that are formulated to target new strains of COVID, FUHSD District Nurse Parvaneh Sanaei says that students should still wash their hands regularly and wipe down surfaces to prevent getting sick. She also highly recommends anyone with COVID symptoms to wear a mask and self-isolate in order to protect other students, and reminds students that the new strains of COVID are as much of a concern as any other infectious disease.

Although many MVHS students and staff have stopped masking, there are still some who mask because of safety reasons or comfort level. English teacher Jireh Tanabe, a high-risk candidate for COVID, is still masking and keeping an air filter in her classroom because many of her students do not wear masks. However, despite COVID cases rising in Santa Clara County, Tanabe does not foresee any changes to current FUHSD policies.

“I think we have to revisit those general guidelines for when one should stay home,” Tanabe said. “There are already a lot of kids who are sick and coming to school because they’re afraid to miss school, which I think is unfortunate.”

Chau agrees, but believes that not many people are being severely affected by the virus. She also says she hasn’t seen MVHS taking much action against COVID recently. According to Sanaei, however, MVHS is using its air conditioners to circulate the air, and the school nurse’s office has COVID tests for all students and staff members.

Ultimately, Sanaei believes that it is students’ responsibility to maintain good practices to protect themselves and others. Tanabe agrees, saying that students and staff will make their own decisions based on their own comfort levels and that these choices will vary from person to person.

“I think if people feel comfortable with the risk, that’s their personal choice,” Tanabe said. “There’s nothing you can do about it.”