BOSTON (WWLP) – The American Federation of Teachers in Massachusetts issued a statement Friday morning regarding the unprecedented outbreak of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth of Nations.

Federation President Beth Kontos said, “Massachusetts public school students and their families have grappled with the uncertainty and anxiety of the COVID pandemic for two years. They have the right to know that after the holidays they are going back to safe schools. Given the ever-increasing infection rate and virulent behavior of the current COVID strain, we know they won’t. ”

Currently, Massachusetts is experiencing record infection rates, causing families and educators to worry about how schools will operate amid these public health issues in January 2022.

Additionally, the Massachusetts school district provider for COVID-19 testing was unable to meet the Friday deadline for distributing test kits to schools across the states, leaving people wondering if Monday will or will not be a safe return for students and staff. They plan to try and hand out tests this weekend before schools reopen on Monday, January 2.

“The state-provided tests test all teachers and staff, and that should continue. It should then be followed by a period of distance learning until the current wave of infections subsides, ”Kontos said.

Kontos added: “Now is not the time to point fingers. It is time for Governor Baker and the Reilly Commission to accept that we are in the midst of a runaway public health crisis that is beyond our control. They must recognize that returning students to school on Monday will inevitably worsen the crisis. “