North Andover Announces Additional Coronavirus Closures

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — North Andover announced Friday that several town services will join the public schools in closing for the next two weeks. The Library, Youth Center and Senior Center will all be closed to the public March 14 through March 29, and all town events are cancelled for the same period. Other town offices will remain open but residents are encouraged to use phone and online services wherever possible.

The Senior Center's Meals on Wheels, brown bag program and limited transportation services will remain available.

Other town buildings will have skeleton crews, according to the announcement from Town Manager Melissa Murphy-Rodrigues. She asked that residents make sue of online payments or use the dropbox outside Town Hall for check payments.

"We ask you to be respectful of the health of our employees and not visit town buildings if you are ill," Murphy-Rodrigues continued. "Please consider calling our offices before you visit so we can help you process your needs electronically."

Town officials are preparing a policy on public meetings. Gov. Charlie Baker signed an order Thursday suspending parts of open meeting law to let local municipalities make quicker decisions during the COVID-19 state of emergency. Town officials are also evaluating whether the town can hold its town meeting on May 19, as scheduled. Legally, the town meeting must be held by June 30.

The school district announced Friday that it was joining 21 other Merrimack Valley school districts in closing for the next two weeks.

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The full announcement is available here.

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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