As the second week of November passed by, State High students received an update about COVID cases in the school from the SCASD administration: Nine in-person students at State High tested positive for COVID from Nov. 9 to Nov. 13. 

After receiving the news about rising cases, many students at State High are preparing themselves for the worst outcome. 

“The school is probably going to shut down again, and there [are] probably going to be more deaths in State College,” said freshman Gabi Todd in regard to the consequences of the spikes. 

While there is concern among a number of students, others believe that the numbers of cases will most likely decrease with Penn State going fully remote on Nov. 20, considering the fact that the majority of positive cases in State College are from the University Park campus. 

 “They [PSU students] don’t care about anything but themselves,” freshman Molly MacRae said.

Penn State’s plan to have students finish the semester fully remotely may affect the future of the community as well as the number of local cases. 

“I think it will be good for State College, because then there won’t be as many COVID cases here. But that also means they’ll [students] be bringing COVID back to their towns, and you know, if they didn’t social distance and wear masks here, they’re not going to do it at home,” MacRae said.

While community members are looking forward to Thanksgiving break and expecting a decrease in COVID cases, they are still aware of the risk they are facing right now. All residents and visitors in the community must wear a mask in public and social distance in order to not spread the virus. If COVID symptoms show up, individuals must self-isolate and get a COVID test as soon as possible. There are multiple spots in town that do COVID tests. In order to find out the exact location, search it up on the web. 

As sophomore Luis Otarola said, “We really should take care of ourselves and wear a mask whenever we have to, and if we follow the COVID guidance, we will be safe.”