Braintree Coronavirus: School Trips Canceled

BRAINTREE, MA — Braintree Public Schools has canceled or postponed all international and out-of-state school trips following concerns over the new coronavirus. The cancellations come after Gov. Charlie Baker declared a national emergency over COVID-19 in Massachusetts.

As of Wednesday afternoon, 89 presumed postive cases and 6 confirmed cases were announced by the state Department of Public Health.

The eighth graders' trip to Washington D.C. was postponed. School officials said they will issue travel vouchers at a later date and will try to reschedule the trip as soon as possible.

Three other trips were also canceled. School officials said they are working with the travel companies to try to maximize refunds for parents. The canceled trips are:

• Braintree High School foreign language trip to France and Spain
• Braintree High School Band and orchestra trip to Nashville
• East and South Middle School foreign language trip to Quebec

"We understand the implications of these decisions and have delayed making them for the last several weeks in the hope that conditions would improve; however, with the Governor’s declaration, we view this as the necessary and appropriate decision," school officials said in a statement. "If you have any questions, please contact your child’s school."

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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.

See more on Massachusetts Coronavirus coverage:

• MA Coronavirus Cases Hit 95, More Than 1,000 Quarantined
• MA Coronavirus Cases Hit 92 As State Of Emergency Declared
• Coronavirus: MIAA Scrambles To Finish Basketball, Hockey Playoffs