MCPS needs to transition Whitman into virtual learning for two weeks — immediately.

 By Editorial Staff

JANUARY 4, 2022

Since our return to in-person school, Whitman students have, for the most part, managed to avoid a surge in coronavirus cases. We’ve worn our masks, stayed home during sickness and gotten tested when necessary in an attempt to keep the pandemic on a downward trajectory. 

Despite our efforts, 101 of us — 4.56% of the student body — have reported testing positive for coronavirus with active cases as of January 3. 

For many, the possibility of resorting back to virtual learning may feel like the worst-case scenario. But the recent spike in cases indicates that we are, indeed, confronting a dire situation –– one that threatens not just our community but the rest of our in-person school year. 

And that’s why MCPS should immediately transition Whitman’s instruction to virtual learning for 14 days. 

The rapidly spreading omicron variant — which has already outpaced delta — poses a danger we’ve never seen before. For almost all of the country, the variant has resulted in the tightening of previously-loosened pandemic rules. The U.S. is averaging nearly 500,000 cases a day, over the last seven-day period, with urban areas remaining particularly vulnerable...

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