TYLER, Texas — College students are visibly excited to return to in-person classes again this fall after two years of distanced learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The past two years were challenging for college students like Creighton Lee, who attended Tyler Junior College during the pandemic but is now attending the University of Texas at Tyler as a junior.
"We were wearing masks and social distancing and we weren't even sure if we were going to be fully face to face but I'm just really excited that we're all back face to face now," said Lee.
Although the college experience is returning to some form of normalcy, another health concern has begun to rise: monkeypox. In Texas, Dallas has the highest amount of reported cases this week, totaling at 815. Both universities and students, like incoming UT Tyler freshman Dario Rodriguez, are keeping a close eye on the evolving situation regarding the virus.
"I feel like we need to take precautions that we didn't take with COVID-19 and stay aware of what's happening so we try to prevent another pandemic from happening," Rodriguez explained.
Students are taking extra health precautions as they return to campus by staying aware of what is happening. Eveline Gonzalez, a freshman at UT Tyler, is trying to be safe by maintaining distance during first-meetings.
"[I'm] making sure I'm not hugging everyone I meet," said Gonzalez. "I heard it's contagious like through clothing so I eased down on the thrifting and just staying clean.
In Nacogdoches, Stephen F. Austin University is taking similar precautions from their COVID-19 protocols to limit the spread of monkeypox on campus.
"We did a great job with managing COVID so we're prepared to manage whatever level of cases we get -- hopefully we don't get any," Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Andrew Dies said. "If they stay on campus, we have one of our residence halls, that will be our isolation residence hall [and] if they are positive, they'll stay there through the remainder of their isolation period."
To learn more about the latest cases of monkeypox in the State of Texas, along with updates in protocol from the CDC, visit the Texas Department of State Health Services' website.