Hawaii’s Department of Education has done well to keep masking and other COVID-19 safety requirements in place in the classroom throughout this academic year. And while schools have been given latitude to set rules for proms and graduations, Kaiser High School’s requirement that students wear masks and skip dancing cheek-to-cheek at prom (there’s a “no physical contact” rule) is a good, responsible decision.

Despite any rumors you may have heard: The pandemic is not over, and this is no time to drop our guard. It’d be wise to follow Kaiser High’s example and keep our masks on when in large groups and enclosed spaces.

For each of the past five weeks, COVID-19 infection counts within the public schools have risen, state schools interim Superintendent Keith Hayashi reported last week. The DOE is requiring masks indoors through at least the end of the school year, just four weeks away. And it is monitoring COVID-19 trends to decide whether masking will be mandatory this summer and next year.

There’s good reason to be cautious: The COVID-19 virus continues to mutate, and it’s possible that it could cause more widespread illness with future permutations. And while the dominant omicron variant has not been as deadly as predecessor variants, it continues to cause serious illness.

Those who have not been vaccinated and boosted, and those with health conditions that weaken their immune systems are particularly vulnerable.

Still, there’s no doubt that Hawaii’s public policy on COVID-19 has turned another major “learning to live with it” corner. On Wednesday, Gov. David Ige announced that the state’s response to COVID-19 is downshifting from an emergency, to one of public health management.

That transition calls for more awareness, and use, of protective tools. In a news conference with Ige, state Epidemiologist Sarah Kemble said masking serves a crucial purpose where people congregate indoors, preventing not only infection, but the spread of infection.

Students are “very effective vectors,” or pass-through bodies, for infection, Kemble said. And if these students have vulnerable family members at home, they can expose them to COVID-19.

As hospitalizations have fallen and improved treatments have helped with recovery, it’s tempting to think of COVID-19 as simply “the new flu.” But COVID-19 continues to be more deadly than the flu, and while there is no such thing as “long flu,” long COVID can be disabling for those it affects.

Hawaii’s most recent weekly COVID-19 data release, on April 27, also showed an increase in daily average cases and positivity rate, statewide, for each of five consecutive weeks. Hospitals report that the number of patients who are COVID-positive has been rising slightly, as well. That indicates that as people are increasingly mingling without masks, they are also increasingly being exposed to COVID-19.

How to stay safe? Get vaccinated and boosted. Visit HawaiiCOVID19.com for vaccine and testing locations. If you test positive for COVID-19, isolate yourself immediately. And wear a mask when you’ll be in close contact with others, indoors, and don’t know their COVID status. Wearing a well-fitting mask protects not only you, but others who come in contact with you.

Hawaii dropped its statewide indoor mask mandate on March 25, and we’ve been largely left to make our own decisions about COVID-19 safety.

Elsewhere, some municipalities are turning back to mandates as infection counts rise. Los Angeles County has restored its masking rule for public transportation. And masks are again being required on the commuter rail in the San Francisco Bay Area, after passengers asked for the rule.

Here, if infection and severity rates remain relatively low, mandates won’t be necessary. We can help keep counts low by doing our part, and we applaud Kaiser’s seniors for doing theirs.