Stoughton Coronavirus: Town Hall, Public Buildings Closed

STOUGHTON, MA — Town officials announced beginning Tuesday, the Stoughton Town Hall and all other public buildings will be closed to the public in an effort to lessen the spread of the new coronavirus.

Staff will still be on site to conduct business, but anyone who needs documents such as birth certificates or permits should call or email the appropriate department. Town officials said they will set up special emails and will set up a time to hand documents to residents outside the doors of town hall or any other public building.

If you need to drop materials off, the vestibule in the front entrance of the town hall will have bins for you to leave materials. The drop box is still available for smaller documents and tax payments.

Label everything well and seal envelopes. Do not leave anything that is not in an envelope.

More about the Coronavirus:

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, 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.

As of Sunday, there were 165 cases of coronavirus in Massachusetts, including 31 in Norfolk County.

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The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now being transmitted 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 and no antiviral treatment.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the best way of to prevent the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands, wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and 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 if you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, and cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.