The student news site of Pleasant Valley High School

Spartan Shield

The student news site of Pleasant Valley High School

Spartan Shield

The student news site of Pleasant Valley High School

Spartan Shield

Essential workers face COVID-19 head on

Essential+workers+are+constantly+putting+their+lives+at+risk.+but+with+the+proper+safety+measures%2C+they+are+able+to+minimize+exposure.
Ani Pradeep
Essential workers are constantly putting their lives at risk. but with the proper safety measures, they are able to minimize exposure.

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the landscape of the world, consequently affecting the traditional practices of the modern workplace. Moreover, the pandemic has thrown essential workers in the direct path of the high risks of COVID-19.

In many hospitals, physicians and nurses face constant exposure to patients who contracted the coronavirus. They often have to perform physical examinations on these patients which puts them at risk of contracting the virus.

Physician assistant Brett Josie believes they are taking the necessary safety precautions to keep both employees and patients safe. “Safety precautions I take are I wear a mask and a face shield with every patient regardless if they have any symptoms of COVID. Mainly because I do get close to patients to exam them and even near their face and mouth,” remarked Josie.

Since patient-physician interactions are usually one on one, doctors are able to control the spread more easily than teachers. 

In the last few weeks, PVHS has seen numerous students switch to online schooling due to being exposed or contracting the virus. For teachers specifically, being in a class of 5-20 students every day significantly increases their risk of contracting the virus — especially when the number of students quarantining is on the rise.

As a result, teachers have a mixed feeling working under these conditions, like English teacher Robyn Samuelson “There are a range of feelings from teachers, I can only speak for myself: I feel somewhat nervous about becoming infected with COVID-19, but life must keep moving forward. Like many people around the world, I am experiencing pandemic fatigue and wish things would return to the way they were,” Samuelson asserted. 

 While teachers try to have all students who enter their class sanitize before sitting down, there is still a small probability that they could contract the virus. As a result, they have pushed students to keep masks on in class as well as separate student desks 6 feet apart.

Health care workers and teachers are only a few of the several essential workers who put their lives at risk to help people, as there are many more who come to work in the face of such dangers.

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Ani Pradeep, News Editor
Ani Pradeep is currently a Senior in high school and plans to study medicine at an undecided college. While being very invested in his studies, Ani also expands his musical skills with his clarinet year round. He made the Iowa All-State band in 2019 and is currently working to become a two year member of the All-State band. In his freetime Ani enjoys running, hanging out with friends, traveling, volunteering at the Mississippi blood bank and watching sports. However, Ani’s favorite hobby is football, whether it’s watching the Green Bay Packers or working to draft the best fantasy football team, Ani is very passionate about the sport. Therefore, it is no surprise that he spends some of his weekends playing in the IFL, a pick-up football league created by himself and some other friends. Ani understands that this year will bring unique challenges, but he is excited and looking forward to the future as a News Editor at the Spartan Shield and a Senior at Pleasant Valley High School.   
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Essential workers face COVID-19 head on