Texas governor, Greg Abbott, lifted the statewide mask mandate for Texans March 10 and it looks like Colorado is following in its footsteps.  Colorado governor Jared Polis has decided that Colorado will lift the statewide mask mandate April 4. Businesses and local governments will still be able to decide whether or not they want people to wear masks inside their establishments and masks will stay mandatory in middle and high schools.

Students at Smoky Hill are divided. Some show no concern for the possibility of others going maskless around them. “The mask was never an issue for me but, I mean, I already got COVID a long time ago so I don’t really fear it,”  sophomore David Domingo said.

Other students are upset with the governor’s decision and think that it will only set progress back. Even the CDC director has advised states not to lift restrictions as more contagious variants spread, including in Colorado.

“Yes people are getting vaccinated, but the masks are to protect other people. The pandemic is never going to go away if we keep avoiding the things that are keeping us safe,”  junior Tsomo O’Brien said.

Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Texas, Wyoming, Alabama, Indiana, and Utah are all states that either have or will lift their mask mandates this April.