Coronavirus In MA: Tewksbury School Staff Member Self-Quarantined

TEWKSBURY, MA — A Dewing Elementary School staff member is in self-quarantine due to potential contact with someone with the new coronavirus, Superintendent Chris Malone said in a letter posted Wednesday. The district is not changing school operations, Malone said. The staff member has displayed no symptoms, but they attended a "large function in another town last week where there was likely a person present who has tested positive for coronavirus."

The maintenance team will focus cleaning efforts on the Dewing School Wednesday night, using a Protexus electrostatic spray gun, Malone said.

In a separate letter to Dewing parents, Malone said the event was in Somerville.

The district is also taking several actions in response to the outbreak and Gov. Charlie Baker's declaration of a state of emergency, including:

• All out-of-state student travel is canceled.
• Larger group use of school facilities will be canceled in the short term, and potentially the long term.
• Field trips out of town "will be considered on a case-by-case basis and will likely be subject to cancellation or rescheduling."
• Indoor town-wide recreation activities in school facilities will be subject to cancellation.
• All options, including dismissals and cancellations, are on the table.

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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.