Wayland Man Dies Of Coronavirus, Town Recommends Face Coverings

WAYLAND, MA — A Wayland man in his 60s is the town's first coronavirus-related death, health officials said during a meeting late last week. The man died on Thursday, and town health officials found out about it early Friday morning.

The death comes as Wayland's overall case count rose to 19 on Friday, up from 7 cases reported on March 27. Included in those 19 cases are 3 people who have been "clinically diagnosed," which means a physician made the diagnosis without an official COVID-19 test.

The Wayland death was reported toward the end of a Friday Board of Health meeting, and appeared to catch some members by surprise.

"It appears to have happened very quickly where this individual was admitted and things happened very quickly," Health Director Julia Junghanns told the board members.

The town is also now recommending that residents where cloth face masks while out in public. The Centers for Disease Control recently made the same suggestion, although state health officials have not.

Cloth face coverings can't protect healthy people from contracting the virus, but they may help people who are sick from spreading the virus in close quarters, according to the CDC. Face masks rated N95 provide the best protection from spreading and contracting the virus, but those items are being reserved for medical personnel and first-responders.