(OPINION) If you thought the pandemic was over, we’re sorry to say that you’re wrong. As the 2024 election looms closer and the presidential candidates are increasingly at each others’ throats, so it seems COVID is at ours.
And Lauren Chen is well aware. “It does seem like COVID part two is back. That’s right, the pandemic strikes back,” Chen says. “A lot of people, if you ask me, have been a little too quick to move on and forget that hey, you actually had neighbors who are calling the police on you if you tried to have guests over.” “There were actually people who were dying that were prevented from seeing their loved ones,” she adds.
We need to remember, because if we don’t, then it could easily all happen over again. And in some ways, it already is. Lionsgate, a production company based in California, has re-implemented a mask mandate for some employees after a few employees tested positive for COVID.
The employees were told in an email to “wear a medical grade face covering (surgical mask KN95 or N95) when indoors except when alone in an office with the door closed, actively eating, actively drinking at their desk or workstation, or if they are the only individual present in a large open workspace.”
“If you are still afraid of COVID in this day and age, you haven’t been paying attention and you should probably go see some sort of mental health professional, rather than place all of your concern in something like COVID,” Chen says.
It’s not only the Hollywood studio that’s making a big deal out of re-implementing mask mandates. Morris Brown College has also reintroduced a mask mandate for both students and staff.
