More than 80 healthcare professionals and school board members wrote a letter to Arizona Governor Doug Ducey urging him to keep the schools close.

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Reutersconnect

The petition to keep the schools shut down for at least during the first quarter of the academic year was made after Ducey ordered in-person school reopening in August. Around 87 healthcare professionals and school board members signed the letter.

The letter said: "Many of us are also parents of school-age children. The tremendous pressure to return to in-person schooling in August is ill advised and dangerous given the uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 in our community."

It can be remembered that Ducey issued an order last month, which states that schools will receive limited funding if they do not open their schools for in-person classes. The order mandated to have at least five days of instruction in the school.

In their letter, the healthcare professionals and school board members that they understand the terrible predicament that school districts across the state face as a result of the order.

They also wrote in their letter the financial solvency in the district, while also looking into the health of their students, staffs, and communities.

They also firmly believed that no educator should be forced to make this choice. Teachers and healthcare professionals, who are parents as well, were alarmed after the order was released. This was because the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections in the state continues to increase.

On Saturday, the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center tallied its highest death count. Arizona now had 147 deaths and it has surpassed the previous record on July 7, when 117 deaths were recorded.

The letter described the state of Arizona as one of the "worst-hit regions" in the country and the world. They also added that the state should expect a community transmission and virus spread for at least the next few months.

They also asked to adjust the school calendar or the number of days. The healthcare professionals and school board members asked that the 180-day instructional day requirement should be waived for the meantime.

In one of the published news report, teachers are raising concern for the possibility of virus contagion if students will return for the in-person classes. Teachers said they cannot ensure to disinfect everything inside the school from time to time.

One of the teachers said: "Schools are breeding grounds. You're touching everything and it's just not possible to disinfect everything. Every desk, every sink, every toilet after someone uses it."

Meanwhile, three Arizona teachers, who conducted online classes together, caught the coronavirus last month despite following all precautionary measures. One of the teachers died, while the other one survived from the deadly COVID-19.

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