On New Year’s Eve I watched as the clock struck twelve… and yet miraculously, COVID-19 did not disappear out of thin air. While it’s great that everyone is excited about 2021, it’s important to remember that we are still, in fact, in a pandemic.

New Year’s Day brought about a deluge of photos and videos to social media of indoor, maskless partying. Perhaps they were partaking in an irresponsibility competition to which I was not privy? Regardless, the effect was the same. Masses defied Covid guidelines, adhering to a trend that I’ve noticed online: linking the actual year 2020 to COVID-19. The implication at hand is that the two are interconnected, and Covid will go away along with 2020. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Covid is worse than ever, and this new strain is just starting to take off in the US.

There was an unrealistic expectation that once the COVID-19 vaccine was procured, the Trump administration, famous for its efficiency and willingness to help the people at all costs, would quickly mobilize and distribute a vaccine, so that 2021 could be a normal year. Instead, we got a violent insurrection on the democratic process (just as good, right?). With all of that said, here are some tips for you to stay safe until large scale vaccine distribution:

1. When you’re partying on a yacht in Miami, perhaps consider wearing a mask over your mouth (don’t worry about your nose, you can’t transmit covid through your nose, just ask every republican politician over the age of 30).
2. When you’re licking the floor of the gym bathroom, try to social distance from the strewn bat carcasses. 
3. When you’re storming the Capitol, instead of spitting on the establishment scum in the hallways, perhaps instead try a menacing glare from a safe 6 feet away.

In all seriousness, we’re just starting to see the aftermath from the holidays and New Year celebrations, and hospitals are already at full capacity. Just because you have the freedom to make bad decisions doesn’t mean you should.