Coronavirus: Milton Confirms 2 'Presumptive Positive' Tests

MILTON, MA — Milton town officials said that the Massachusetts Department of Public Health has confirmed that two Milton residents have tested "presumptive positive" for the coronavirus. Officials said the two residents were in direct contact with an infected person at the Biogen conference in Boston and do not have children in Milton Public Schools.

The Milton Health Department said it has been in close contact with these two residents and their families with daily reports to the MDPH. They are being treated as if they are positive for coronavirus.

"As this is an evolving situation, the Health Department is collaborating with community and municipal leaders and MDPH," Town officials said in a statement. "Together, we have been working diligently to slow the spread and transmission of the virus in the Milton Community."

(More on the coronavirus can be found in this fact sheet from the CDC.)

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% 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.

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