Austin’s very own Travis County is crazed with excitement. The CDC had announced on March 4 that Travis County is now in Stage 2 of Covid protocol. 

“I think that it’s kind of weird but also like it,” freshman Rell Hinojosa said. “I don’t feel as scared to not wear my mask anymore and be more free. I think that it’s good that we’re slowly getting back to normal.”

Many students and teachers are personally impacted by the pandemic, and some are still dealing with the consequences that Covid has left them with.

“My grandfather passed away from Covid the summer of 2020 before the vaccine was available,” geometry and algebra teacher Caren Garza said. “It was heartbreaking and I miss him everyday. He was alone and scared in the hospital and no one could be there when he passed.”

Although the Covid vaccine has already been distributed across the world, as stated by the CDC Covid precautions are still valued.

“I think that at least some precautions are necessary. In my opinion, masks should still be enforced inside but optional outside,” freshman Jayden White said. “Even though Covid numbers are low there should still be precautions in effect until it’s certain there won’t be another outbreak.”

Many other counties such as Anderson, Victoria, and Milam have reached success in less Covid cases early than Travis County. 

“I think Travis County has taken some time to get to Stage 2 because it’s full of social interactions,” White said. “and no matter how many precautions Austin had to put in place the city is still very prone to Covid outbreaks.”

Multiple Covid studies show that more densely populated cities have more cases.

“I think that Travis County reached Stage 2 now because we all needed some time to process what was happening and how to control it.” Hinojosa said.

As of early March, AISD announced their new mask mandate stating that masks are optional to all students and staff. 

“Covid cases might go up because of the mask mandate but I think we’re at a point now where most people want to keep mask requirements in the past.” White said. “Masks will probably still stay optional.”