Coronavirus In Rhode Island: Schools Closed, Store Shelves Empty

RHODE ISLAND — Two days after a pair of "presumptive" coronavirus cases were announced in Rhode Island, state health officials said the main focus remains prevention. Three local schools remained closed Tuesday over virus concerns and officials reminded citizens to wash their hands frequently and stay home from work or school if they feel sick.

On Tuesday, Meadowbrook Farms Elementary School in East Greenwich was closed "out of an abundance of caution" after the sibling of a student at the school woke up with a fever and a cough, East Greenwich News reported. The sibling does not attend East Greenwich Public Schools, Superintendent Frank Pallotta said in a message to parents.

The test results for the third possible case of the virus, a woman in her 30s, came back negative Tuesday night, the Rhode Island Department of Health said. Achievement First Academy in Providence, where she works, was closed on Monday and Tuesday for cleaning. Both the Providence and Cranston campuses are expected to reopen on Wednesday.

Taking Preventive Steps

Catholic churches around the state have been encouraged to suspend the passing of the peace through handshake or embrace, as well as to avoid offering wine from a communal chalice. Several parishes have taken the step of asking Eucharistic ministers to use hand sanitizer at the beginning of mass or right before distributing communion.

Across the state, there are reports of empty shelves at pharmacies and other stores as resident clamor to buy hand sanitizer, soap and disinfectant. At one CVS, a woman was overheard saying she needed to find the supplies since she heard they "were getting impossible to find" and needed them. Photos taken in a Warwick Walmart show completely barren shelves.

Coronavirus in Rhode Island

The first "presumptive positive" case of COVID-19 in Rhode Island was announced on Sunday morning and officials said a man in his 40s caught the virus. Later that day, the Rhode Island Department of Health reported a second presumptive positive case in a teenage girl, as well as a third case that was being tested. While the woman's test results were initially expected on Monday, the department said that night the results were delayed, likely until Tuesday.

Tuesday afternoon, the Department of Health confirmed a fourth person on the trip was the woman who tested "presumed positive" in Norfolk County in Massachusetts Monday night.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is coordinating the contact tracing for this individual and communicating very closely with RIDOH.

All four of the individuals undergoing testing were part of a school trip to Europe in mid-February organized by St. Raphael's Academy in Pawtucket. The school remained closed for the entire week for cleaning and all 38 people on the trip have been instructed to self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days, per Centers For Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

According to the health department, the man identified as the first presumptive positive case is still in the hospital. The teenage girl, a student at St. Ray's, is at home with mild symptoms.

The woman who is awaiting test results also has mild symptoms and is at home, the department said. She is an employee of the Achievement First Academy Hartford in Providence, and both that school and the Garfield campus in Cranston remain closed Tuesday for cleaning.

The Massachusetts woman is recovering at home.

Across the state, schools are on high alert, following health department recommendations for cleaning classrooms, buses and other high-traffic areas. Several districts, are also making plans for at-home online learning should schools need to close for several days.

Recommendations from the CDC and RI Department of Health

At this stage, the top priority remains prevention, Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the director of health at the Rhode Island Department of Health, said on Monday. Rhode Islanders are asked to take the same precautions that they normally would during cold and flu season, as the new virus is also spread through respiratory droplets. These include:

• Wash hands frequently with warm water and soap, or use alcohol-based hand sanitzer if handwashing is not possible.
• Get a flu shot, and encourage those around you to do the same.
• Cough or sneeze into your elbow rather than a hand or the air.
• Stay home from school or work if sick.
• Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth, as germs can spread easily this way.
• Keep surfaces, especially bedside tables, bathrooms and children's toys clean by wiping them down with disinfectant.
• Get plenty of sleep, by physically active, manage stress, drink plenty of fluids and eat nutritious foods to maintain good health.

The CDC does not recommend that otherwise healthy people wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory viruses, including the new coronavirus. Only wear a mask if a healthcare provider instructs you to do so, the Department of Health said. Those with symptoms are asked to wear a mask to help prevent spreading the disease to others.

What is the new 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, 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.

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