Andover Coronavirus: Schools To Close For 2 Weeks

ANDOVER, MA — Andover Public Schools will close for two weeks due to the coronavirus outbreak, School Committee Chair Joel Blumstein announced at a special meeting Friday. Schools will be closed March 16 to 27, at least. The district is not providing online learning, but will be providing recommendations for continued learning, Superintendent Sheldon Berman said.

The district is attempting to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, Blumstein said. Berman made the decision and the meeting was called for the committee to vote to support the decision, Blumstein said.

Cafeterias will remain open at two or three schools so that boxed lunches will be provided to students on free and reduced lunch, Berman said. The district is planning routes for home delivery with its refrigerated van.

"Before March 26, the district will review the state of the spread of the virus as well as recommendations from health authorities and decide whether to continue with the closure, or open school to serve students," Berman said in an announcement.

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"We are going on our own and not in alignment with either the recommendation of either the commissioner of education or the Department of Public Health," Berman noted.

Gov. Charlie Baker said Friday that the state is not recommending school closures except in cases of community spread.

Teachers are preparing packets with learning recommendations for elementary students to take home Friday, Berman said. Staff will be at the school Tuesday and Wednesday to prepare further recommendations for students to learn during the closure. Students will not be tested on the packets, but the state has "asked that we try to keep learning alive," Berman said.

For students who are not in school Friday, parents can come in Tuesday to pick up their school materials, the district said in the announcement. The district will investigate arrangements for families who cannot come in to pick things up, Berman said.

The district will continue to pay hourly workers at their regular hourly schedule, Berman said.

The School Committee voted to support Berman's recommendation. Committee members criticized the state's decision not to recommend school closures statewide. They also criticized the United State Department of Agriculture's decision not to reimburse food delivery for school districts with less than 50 percent of students receiving free and reduced lunch.

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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.