Nobody expected 2020 to be this. 'This' is inclusive of numerous things; I'll leave it up to you to make a never-ending list of events and incidents. Despite all, words to remember 2020 will probably include 'a global pandemic.'

One day, while scrolling through the news, one statement took me by a surprise; it was "German Schools, reopened a month ago, have seen no major coronavirus outbreaks," from the Washington Post. Compared to other nations, I, currently living in South Korea, had the luxury of e-learning, and never experienced a lock down. However, I couldn't hide my jealousy that German schools fully reopened and still is maintaining a low rate of community transmission. Even when Korea had single cases, fully reopening schools has never been implemented. If students could go to schools for a couple days a week, it was then usually "accompanied by some panicked closures and quarantines." However, apart from these comparisons, what Germany has accomplished so far with reopening schools has been remarkable.

Reading through The Washington Post article, I could not agree more that schools are not the driving force of increased infections; other leisure activities are. Similarly, lessons learned from Germany, Norway, and Denmark are that "schools can reopen and remain open -- if they build the kind of foundations" which are quickly deploying widespread testing, effective contact tracing, and tests with rapid results. Policymakers and scientists say that the rate of positive coronavirus tests among the general population must be below 3 percent to safely open. As Germany's figure is under 1 percent, it seems fair and safe that German students and teachers can enjoy their school lives that aren't quite different from the pre-coronavrius times.

Now that there were successful cases of re-openings of schools, it seems that re-opening is not a luxury, but rather what should be accomplished naturally with a competent government and rational, socially-responsible citizens. If simply matching the conditions of wearing a mask, washing hands, and staying at home are things that a nation's people cannot sacrifice to reopen cities and schools, like most nations, and most parts of the US, will just have to wait until there is a vaccine, which could potentially take a few years.

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