PASADENA, California– On Wednesday, May 11, all my hopes for a perfect coming-of-age-movie-worthy prom shattered to the ground like a disco ball crashing to the dance floor. My eyes welled up with tears as I saw the cruel crimson line show up on my rapid COVID-19 at-home test and I knew all my weeks of planning had been pointless because I would have to stay home and self-quarantine for five days. 

If you had told me at the beginning of this school year that I would be missing my junior prom I would have assumed it was because I’m socially awkward and not because I tested positive for COVID. While I don’t necessarily underestimate the virus, in fact I am often one of the only people in a classroom still wearing a KN95 mask, I didn’t expect that COVID-19 would still be controlling my life two years after the pandemic originally started. But I was woefully mistaken, as well as the seven other Mayfield students who tested positive in the same week as me, making evident the ever-present grasp that COVID still has on our local community. 

As a state, California’s COVID-19 cases are increasing by 21.7% compared to the previous two weeks according to the Los Angeles Times. Closer to home, one of three people in Los Angeles County are testing positive for the virus. With the school year coming to an end and the summer months fast approaching, more people are getting out and participating in large group gatherings as life has begun to get back to normal. However, just because we can start bringing out our swimsuits and sunglasses doesn’t mean we should be forgetting about our masks. 

Throughout the month of May, 47 Mayfield students tested positive for COVID-19, the highest case counts the school has yet to experience. According to Nurse Cota, 13 freshmen, 3 sophomores, 14 juniors, 8 seniors, and 9 members of the faculty and staff tested positive this past month. Moreover, the Mayfield community is no stranger to the almost weekly emails relating the news that there has been yet another positive case on campus. However, these cases spiked even more anxiety within the community as the month of May marked special events like prom, finals, and graduation. 

Nurse Cathy Cota urges students to “get vaccinated, get a booster if they are eligible, wear masks indoors, do as many activities outdoors as possible, stay away from anyone who is obviously sick and test if they even think they might have symptoms.” Her warnings come in the face of a Covid surge in Los Angeles, underscoring that it is vital we continue to follow all precautions to keep us safe this summer. 

This recent surge of the virus is associated with symptoms including coughing, having a runny nose or congestion, fatigue, having a sore or itchy throat, and having headaches. Furthermore, Cota remarks how Covid symptoms “[are] not the same person to person so everyone has to be aware of changes in their health.” While many students are vaccinated and boosted, the newest Covid variants are even more transmissible and with the mask mandate lifted, people are still susceptible to getting the virus. 

However, there is a silver-lining to the gloomy clouds of Mayfield’s COVID storm. After experiencing a sudden surge in cases, the Mayfield community is better prepared for next school year and will hopefully be able to quickly combat more cases. Cota shared that Mayfield is “keeping [their] testing arrangements just in case we need to keep testing next year,” and has also planned to meet with the health department in early August to plan for the upcoming school year.