North Andover Coronavirus: Second Town Case, Free School Meals

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — North Andover reported a second known case of the new coronavirus, Wednesday. The resident is an adult in the same household as the first case and is following recommended quarantine protocols. This is not a case of community spread, the town said.

Due to privacy laws, the town cannot provide information on the individuals' identities or the circumstances of their infection.

North Andover Public Schools also announced Wednesday that they are offering free meals to all North Andover residents, beginning Thursday. Meals will be available for pickup at the Stevens Memorial Library, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday to Friday. Residents can pick up one breakfast and one lunch for each member of the household.

The grab-and-go meals are bieng prepared at North Andover High School. The prep kitchen will be cleaned and disinfected on an ongoing basis during the service.

Meals are available to all residents, including students and senior citizens, the district announced.

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There will not be any public access to the library. Instead, meals will be brought out for curbside pickup. Residents are asked to bring reusable bags to carry multiple meals.

The district offered the following directions for coming to the library:

• "Come onto Greene Street south of Middlesex Street, then proceed north on Greene Street toward the library.
• DO NOT access Green Street via Middlesex Street.
• Immediately after crossing Middlesex Street, turn into the lane that will be created on Greene Street directly in front of the library.
• If the line is backing up on Green Street before Middlesex Street, please pull over to the right on Greene Street to form a line"

The district can make dietary accommodations for students, they said. Families should contact Erika Murphy at murphye@nak12.com for dietary accommodations.

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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.