LETTER FROM HAPPY ENGLISH SCHOOL Nov. 25th, 2022

Hello, how are you doing? The number of new Covid cases is rising and again I have heard that some students haave been infected with the virus recently. The virus seems to be never contained, but we may have learned how to cope with the pandemic with vaccinations and prevention methods. In fact, the Omicron variant currently being prevalent, many people with the COVID-19 are not likely to develop serious symptoms. Deaths from the virus are declining and the terrible images of coronavirus patients connected to ECMO (the heart-lung by-pass machines) are not seen in the news any more.

Indeed, as far as I know, no spectators at the World Cup in Qatar wear masks and they fervently cheer for their national teams in the stadium. Fortunately the Japanese team successfully won their first match with Germany and got three points in Group E, to which Spain, Costa Rica also belong. Many fans in Japan were so excited and they took to the streets to celebrate the team’s win. It seems that people do not care much about the virus. Is it about time that we moved on to the period when we can live with the COVID-19? Hopefully, with the Covid medicine that Shionogi has developed and that is set to be approved, we can enter the post-Covid era.

I am happy that we can continue to offer lessons in person to students, though we still need to wear masks. I do not know when we can go without masks. I am sometimes surprised that students look different when they take off their masks. It has been almost three years since I saw students’ maskless faces last. I haven’t seen new students’ faces as they are never without masks on their faces. I wonder if I am able to recognize students when they are maskless on the street.

コロナ感染者がまた増加しているようで、当スクールでも、生徒が休むケースがまた少しずつ出てきました。サッカー・ワールドカップに沸くカタールでは、テレビで見る限り、スタジアムでマスクをしている観戦者は一人もいません。オミクロン変異株が優勢となって、ワクチン接種も進み、重症者が減少したためにマスクなしでコロナと共生する時代に入るのでしょうか。

しかし、日本ではマスクを外すことが、まだまだ先でのように思えますが、とにかく対面でレッスンを行えている今の状態を有難く思います。もうマスクをしている顔しか知らないので、通りなどでマスクなしの生徒に会っても、わからないかもしれません。