FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (WDVM) — The Fairfax County Federation of Teachers Union (FCFT) is pushing back against FCPS and the state to delay the return to in-person instruction until “until the state has COVID-19 under control.”

According to FCFT, the positivity rate within the county is two times more than New York City. Fairfax County has 368 new Covid-19 cases per 100,000 compared to New York’s 31.2 per 100,000. 

FCFT is calling on Governor Northam to follow in the footsteps of the New York City public school system and other school systems in the country that have set what they’re referring to as a “safe threshold” of when students can be in-person, which would be below a 5% positivity rate. Fairfax County is currently at an 8.1% positivity rate. 

“New York schools are so far ahead of Fairfax County when it comes to controlling the spread of this virus… The five mitigation practices that FCPS is looking at are not being consistently done in the schools, and that’s why we see the numbers surging,” said Tina Williams, President of FCFT. 

FCFT has started a petition urging Governor Northam to keep schools virtual for the time being. So far, the petition has 254 signatures with a goal to reach 400.