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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; State Rep. Gerald Mullery and state Rep. Mike Carroll Friday called on Gov. Tom Wolf to grant public schools statewide the authority to close effective Monday, March 16, or at the discretion of the local district officials, to stop the spread of COVID-19.
				Their request comes as state health officials announced that there are now 33 COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania &mdash; 27 presumptive positive cases and 6 confirmed. None are in Luzerne County.
				Mullery, D-Newport Township, said the action Wolf has taken in Montgomery County, which currently has the most presumptive cases of COVID-19, needs to be taken statewide to keep students, faculty and staff safe from the virus.
				Mullery said that school superintendents were on a conference call this morning with the state Department of Education and Wolf&rsquo;s administration, but no authorization to close districts was granted to school leaders.
				&ldquo;School districts in certain counties across the state, have made the decision to close Monday and I expect others to follow,&rdquo; said Carroll, D-Avoca. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s imperative the Pennsylvania Department of Education immediately allow the use of alternative learning days and vigorously pursue the cancellation of assessment tests including PSSA tests. By doing so, student instruction can immediately resume once schools reopen.&rdquo;
				Both Mullery and Carroll said that ordering statewide school district closings will help concerned parents who are not sure if they should be pulling their kids out of school over COVID-19.
				Counties impacted to date, per the state, include:
				Bucks 2
				Delaware 5
				Monroe 3
				Montgomery 17
				Northampton 1
				Philadelphia 3
				Pike 1
				Wayne 1

Mullery, Carroll ask Wolf to mandate statewide school closures; Pa. cases at 33