Last week, on Jan. 10, positive Covid-19 cases plummeted to 107 total, 31 of which are new cases. With many of the positive students from last week returning to school, all has seemingly returned to controllable levels. This comfort is welcomed, but paper-thin.

In early January, COVID-19 cases throughout the US surged due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant. Upon our return from break during the week of Jan. 3, the entire school was tested for the virus. Each day the cases steadily increased. By the end of the week, we had tested 4,083 students and teachers and detected 371 positive cases: a record breaking positivity rate of nine percent.

The following week the administration decided that during the height of the pandemic’s largest surge, we did not need to do mandatory testing. Instead, we only needed testing for students in sports and specific extracurriculars. As a result, only 1,357 students tested and with only 57 positive cases. The only reason that cases sharply declined at New Trier was because of the sharp decline in testing. There are likely scores of positive cases walking our halls that may further prolong this never ending pandemic.