Tewksbury Coronavirus: Two More Confirmed Cases

TEWKSBURY, MA — Tewksbury now has three confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, Town Manager Richard Montuori announced over the weekend. The first case was reported Thursday. All three are unrelated.

The Health Department is in regular contact with the three patients, Montuori said in an announcement Sunday. Due to privacy laws, the town cannot share additional information on the patients' identities or locations.

"To all citizens who are in a position to do so, please stay at home as much as possible or limit your person to person connections," Montuori asked. "You will protect yourselves as well as others."

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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. 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.