Barnstable Coronavirus: School Canceled Next 2 Weeks

BARNSTABLE, MA — School officials have closed all public schools in Barnstable for the next two weeks following growing concern surrounding the new coronavirus. School will be closed from Monday through March 27.

The closures also include the Family and Community Engagement Center. Superintendent Meg Mayo Brown said the reccomendation did not come from state officials, but the district is taking the action as a premptive measure to encourage social distancing and and avoid group events.

Any extension of the closure beyond March 30 will be communicated to the community as soon as the decision is made.

"The health and well-being of our BPS community, and of our friends and neighbors outside of the schools, is our top priority," Superintendent Meg Mayo-Brown said in a statement. "While I understand that the decision to close schools will cause a significant disruption to our everyday lives, we believe this action is in the best interest of the entire Barnstable community in order to slow the spread of COVID-19."

School officials said futher information on the availability of school meals will come in a later update.

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, 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.

As of Wednesday there were 95 cases of coronavirus in Massachusetts, including 23 in Norfolk County.

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The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now being transmitted 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 and no antiviral treatment.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the best way of to prevent the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands, wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and 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 if you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, and cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.
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