Brookline Public Schools To Close For 2 Weeks

BROOKLINE, MA — Brookline schools will be closed for two weeks beginning Friday, according to the superintendent's office.

Brookline follows Newton which just canceled school until the end of next week. Arlington, Bedford, Belmont, Burlington, Lexington, Wellesley and Winchester school districts all also announced plans on March 12 to close from Friday, March 13 until at least until March 27 in an effort to mitigate the spread of the new coronavirus called COVID-19.

The town also closed the libraries in Brookline until March 27.

On March 10, the same day Boston cancelled the St. Patrick's Day parade, Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency. Then, on March 11, the World Health Organization declared it a pandemic. The pandemic declaration refers to the scope of the new coronavirus — but not its severity — and means it has become a "worldwide spread of a new disease.”

As of this week there were 92 cases of coronavirus in Massachusetts.

On Wednesday the town announced two adults had tested positive for coronavirus and one of them had a student at the Lincoln School, prompting a closure there for two days. Read more>> Brookline Coronavirus: 2 People Test Positive, School To Close

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. 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.

Read more>> Boston November Project Cancels Workouts In Brookline Because Of Coronavirus