Nashua Municipal Leaders Coordinate Coronavirus Response

NASHUA, NH — City officials in Nashua are beginning to coordinate a response to the new coronavirus if and when a Gate City resident becomes infected with the virus. So far, no residents have contracted the virus in the city. Two presumptive positives have been identified in Grafton County.

Bobbie Bagley, the director of the city's public health and community services department, said there were simple things residents could do to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

"Washing your hands is huge and staying home when you are sick," Bagley said, adding that not touching your eyes, nose, or mouth, with unwashed hands, was also a good thing to do. "We really need to allow for people to feel OK about taking off work. Don’t wear masks, cover your cough."

While washing your hands, it was important to use soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Avoiding close contact with people who are sick was also important. Using a tissue when sneezing, throwing the tissue in the trash, cleaning and disinfecting objects and surfaces, should also be done. Officials are also recommending not traveling to "highest risk locations for the virus" which include China, Iran, Italy, and South Korea, and "practicing enhanced precautions when traveling to Japan and usual precautions when traveling to Hong Kong."

Bagley said the public health department was working with state health officials and the Centers for Disease Control monitoring the progress of the virus including monitoring anyone who has traveled to the high-risk countries. Coordination is underway between officials, hospitals, AMR and the city’s police and fire departments to maintain "situational awareness." Log sheets are also ready if public health officials need to monitor a coronavirus patient.

"This is very communicable," Bagley said. "We want to put measures in place to help stop this infectious disease."

Justin Kates, the city's director of emergency management, said while Bagley's department would be handling the public response to the virus, he would be coordinating internally, "including implementing protocols and risk mitigation." If the city's schools close, as an example, he would work with school district officials and city leaders to facilitate the closings. Should city employees need remote services in the event city hall closed, emergency management would also be working on that response.

Mayor Jim Donchess said the health and city was not only his No. 1 priority but also that of the entire city government.

"Nashua is getting prepared for any outbreak of the virus, if it comes," he said.

COVID-19 is a member of a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe illnesses, according to city officials. The "novel coronavirus" is a new strain that has been identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first identified in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. Chinese health officials first reported a cluster of cases of acute respiratory illness on Dec. 31, 2019. The first case was reported in the United States on Jan. 20, 2020, according to city officials.

For more information about Nashua's response to COVID-19, visit the Nashua Public Health Department.

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