Coronavirus In North Andover: Town Reports Presumed Positive

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — A North Andover resident is presumed positive for the new coronavirus, the Health Department announced Saturday. This is the first known case in the town and the resident is quarantining. The risk to residents remains low, the town said.

A case is considered "presumed positive" until the positive test is confirmed by the federal Centers for Disease Control.

For privacy reasons, no information about the resident's identity, location or exposure can be shared, the town said, but it was not a case of community spread. The Board of Health is in regular contact with the person, according to the announcement.

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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