Coronavirus Prevention: How Stoughton Officials Are Responding

STOUGHTON, MA — Stoughton health officials have remained in contact with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health about the coronavirus. Town officials are monitoring reports and information about the virus, but they have not been told anything that should make anyone panic, Town Manager Robin Muksian Grimm said in a statement released Sunday.

Grimm and Fire Chief Michael Laracy sat in on a conference call with state health officials Monday and were told the risk in Massachusetts is still low.

"That being said, we are still advising that you take precautions as you would during flu season and maybe be a bit extra vigilant," Grimm said in a statement. "If you must call 911 for any reason and someone in your home has lower respiratory symptoms, please advise the dispatcher so that our first responders can properly protect themselves and ensure that the rescue is properly sanitized after transport if it occurs. Also, while the federal government is only screening passengers from China upon arrival at airports, we are asking here in town, that you are particularly aware of any symptoms you or a family member has notably if they have travelled to China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, and Japan."

Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease, told reporters in a conference call last week the question is no longer if the coronavirus, now officially called COVID-19, will spread across the United States but when that will happen.

School Superintendent John Marcus said the focus at schools has been on the flu and other contagious diseases that use the same preventative measures as the virus, but the district is taking the situation seriously.

"I want to assure the Stoughton Public Schools community that we continue to take this issue and all others around the health and safety of our students, staff, and families very seriously, and that we have been and will continue to take the steps necessary to keep our students and staff safe and healthy," Marcus said in a statement. "Our nurse leader, Danielle Gallan, and Director of Facilities Joyce Husseini, have been meeting weekly, and are in contact with local and state agencies. They continue to review new and emerging information from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control who are monitoring the situation closely and providing schools, cities and towns with important advisories."

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.