Andover Coronavirus Closures: Town Announces Limited Services

ANDOVER, MA — The town of Andover announced Friday a number of curtailments to services beginning in the next three days. The library, senior center, youth services and recreation department will all be closing or cancelling services as soon as Saturday, through March 22. The announcement came on the heels of Andover Public Schools closing for the next two weeks.

Memorial Hall Library will close at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Senior Center and Cormier Youth Center will both close effective Monday, and Youth Services and Andover Recreation programming will be cancelled effective Monday.

Home-delivered meals, medical transportation and social work services will still be provided by Elderly Services. Residents should call 978-62-8320 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. for those services.

Read the full announcement and latest coronavirus news here.

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The town offices will remain open, but residents are encouraged to use online bill pay and online customer service whenever possible. The 311 call center will be open for extended service beginning Monday. The center will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Medical questions should be directed to a doctor.

Gov. Charlie Baker issued an order Thursday with temporary changes to the Open Meeting Law. The town will likely announce changes to meeting conduct in coming days.

The annual town election is still scheduled for March 24 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The town clerk has taken steps to protect against the new coronavirus.

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Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.