March 2020 marked the beginning of fully remote learning at Portsmouth High School. In the September of 2020, students resumed in-person school learning with a mandatory mask mandate.  

Before February break this year, Superintendent Stephen Zadrevac announced via email that on March 8th, 2022, masks would become optional at PHS. 

Throughout the pandemic, the nurses at PHS, Gina Lapage and Maria Costa, have been buried in extra work keeping students and the community safe.   

COVID-19 numbers have been on the decline recently in the school. “The number of COVID cases have gone down… we have 3 cases currently,” Lapage said as of March 22nd, 2022. 

When asked where she sees COVID numbers in the future, Lapage said “I am curious to see that. It is too soon to tell right now.”

Students at PHS shared their thoughts about masks being optional. “I like the option, it is a lot less stressful and is a lot better to get back to how it used to be in school,” said Carmine Zingariello, a senior at PHS, when asked how he feels about mask optional school.

Many others responded with a simple, “I like it.” A majority of the student body seems to feel comfortable without wearing masks at school.

Some students even found when masks were required they weren’t very effective. “I feel comfortable without wearing masks in school because even though they were required previously they were seldom worn properly and rarely enforced,” explained Chase Poulin, grade 12.

Some students felt the mask mandate in school was dragged out too far considering lower numbers of positive Coronavirus numbers within PHS. They thought it should have been a personal choice.

There are still some students who decide to wear masks, “I would feel more comfortable wearing one. It’s almost like I’m accustomed to wearing one, having worn one for the last two years. I would also like to be protected from Covid -19 as well as the common cold, flu, etc,” explained Renee Martin, grade 10. 

Even with the mask mandate lifted, Portsmouth High School aims to remain healthy and out of COVID’s destructive path.