On Monday, Brazil's Rio de Janeiro Education Professionals Union (Sepe-RJ) announced a strike to protest the return to face-to-face classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The protest will be called "Strike for Life" and was approved after a virtual meeting where 84.5 percent of the 707 participating teachers voted against in-person classes' resumption.
Sepe-RJ general coordinator Gustavo Miranda pointed out that the 2020 school year was "practically lost" while adding that the same should not happen this year.
"These education teachers understand that it is necessary to preserve the health of the population, children, and school community," Miranda said.
Sepe-RJ officials stated that the Rio de Janeiro State and municipality's teachers should be considered a priority group for vaccination and included in the immunization campaign.
Rio de Janeiro's State Education Secretariat informed that classes' resumption was fundamental, especially for students in situations of greater social vulnerability. The return to classrooms is scheduled for March 1st.
As of Tuesday morning, Brazil confirmed 9,230,865 COVID-19 cases and 225,159 related fatalities.