Coronavirus In MA: Where To Get Meals During School Closures

ANDOVER, MA — Hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts kids get free and reduced-price meals at school. With the state shutting down all schools for at least three weeks, districts and other providers are stepping up to continue providing meals during the closure. Project Bread, an organization which works to end hunger in Massachusetts, compiled a map of sites offering meal pickups.

The list, which will continue to be updated, is available as a Google spreadsheet here.

"Project Bread is working with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and many schools and community partners to provide families with access to school meals while schools are closed," the organization said.

On the map below, you can scroll to zoom, click and drag to move around the state and click on pins for details.

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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.