With the announcement Monday that Eastern will be shifting to online-only classes following Thanksgiving Break and cancelling Spring Break next semester, we at The Daily Eastern News hope that COVID-19 safety will be everyone’s top priority.

For everyone that is returning home for Thanksgiving, we urge that they still follow protocols to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Many families will be gathering in large groups to celebrate Thanksgiving, but before they do, they should consider the possible repercussions.

COVID-19 cases are surging all over the country, and Thanksgiving gatherings will almost certainly cause the spike to continue.

As for Spring Break being canceled, we are sure that many students are upset. They likely were looking forward to having fun or possibly traveling, but the likelihood that it will be safe to do that in the spring is low.

Looking at the big picture, missing out on Spring Break next year is really not that bad.

It is much better to not catch or spread COVID-19, possibly bringing it back to campus from all over the country.

This pandemic is far from over, and we have to keep making sacrifices to make sure it does not get even worse.

None of us though that this virus would take up so much of our lives when it first began, but it is something that we all should be used to by now, unfortunately.

Many universities have made these decisions months ago, and Eastern waiting until the last minute to do the same surely adds stress to student’s lives.

But it is better late than never, and we hope that all students try to stay safe in the coming months.