Amid the recent increase of the Omicron Variant of the COVID-19 virus, Riverside Brookfield High School has implemented some new safety guidelines in an attempt to reduce the number of cases while keeping students in school. 

RB maintains the guideline that all persons in the school must wear a mask while in the building, except while eating lunch. The only new guideline in response to this outbreak is separating students at lunch by one seat at all tables as well as added space for students to eat lunch in the alumni lounge. 

Dr. Kevin Skinkis, the superintendent of District 208, is one of the leading persons in charge of handling pandemic protocols and guidelines for Riverside Brookfield High School. Skinkis, and other members of the administration face a challenge of being able to balance quality education with the safety of RB students and staff.

“When we go through peaks like this, like we’re currently going through, wearing masks in indoor settings… but other than that I think people are going to have to learn to live with the virus,” Skinkis said. “If you’re vaccinated and eventually boosted, the doctors and scientists… are saying the symptoms are very similar to that of the cold or the flu.” 

With the recent surge in positive COVID cases in the RB community, and in the country, students and their families are wondering whether or not RBHS will ever return to a remote learning environment.

“They have made it clear, from the governor and the state board of education, that they do not want schools going remote,” Skinkis said. “The only way we would go remote is if the government or health department tells us we need to take an adaptive pause… they would have to tell our school specifically if there were an outbreak.”    

With the almost certainty of remaining in school for the rest of the 2021-2022 school year, students and staff still have concerns regarding the safety of the community, and what is being done about the surge in cases. According to the COVID-19 Dashboard on the RB website, in January 2022 alone, 95 students and 12 staff members have tested positive for COVID. This has brought health anxiety amongst the community, and many have questioned the administration about what they are doing to maintain a safe learning environment

“We have taken this pandemic very seriously since the beginning. We have instituted mitigation measures, extra cleaning in the common areas, and hand sanitizer and wipes in every classroom,” Dr. Freytas said, the principal of RB. “We have done at least five vaccination clinics, with two booster clinics coming up.”

The next vaccination booster clinic will be on January 21, 2022 from 3 pm – 6 pm in the RB cafeteria. The clinic is offered to all individuals 12 and up who are five months out of their second COVID vaccine dose.

RB most recently has changed protocols in the lunchroom, which as stated separates each table by one seat in order to maintain distancing while eating. The administration has also added additional seating in the Alumni Lounge for students to eat outside of the cafeteria as a measure to help reduce the spread.

Although RB administrators have maintained and upheld the recommended COVID guidelines from the CDC, students and staff also have a role in controlling the spread.

“If you are sick don’t come to school, we have eliminated all attendance incentives. We want you here healthy… health and family comes first,” Freytas said. “We are offering students and staff to get tested here if you are showing symptoms. The most important thing the community can do is continue to wear your masks correctly, and get vaccinated.”