Waltham Public Schools To Students, Teachers: Self Quarantine

WALTHAM, MA — In response to concern across the district, Interim Superintendent of Waltham Public Schools George Frost said in a second email update home to families this week, there are no known cases of Covid-19, or coronavirus, within Waltham Schools, or for that matter, the county.

However, he said, given the heightened threat level of the coronavirus in Italy, South Korea and Iran in addition to China, Frost asked anyone who has returned from those countries recently -or is planning to travel to those countries - to self-quarantine at home for 14 days upon return to the country and coming back to school. That's in accord with the Center For Disease Control designation of those countries as Level 3 threats.

"To be abundantly cautious, this recommendation applies to travelers who have recently returned from these countries," Frost said.

Monday, Feb. 24 was the first day back from February break. Patch reached out to the district for the number of students or staff who are in self quarantine currently, but Frost declined to specify, citing the sensitive nature of the matter.

"Because of privacy concerns we do not comment on individual staff or student matters," Frost said in an email.

Gov. Charlie Baker recently requested schools suspend international trips until further notice on account of concern related to the coronavirus.

Still, of Thursday morning, there had only been one confirmed case of coronavirus in Massachusetts since the strain, known as COVID-19, was first identified in Wuhan, China in December. Tuesday night state officials announced a possible second. According to state health officials there are 608 people in quarantine, some 377 of which completed quarantine with no symptoms.

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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, 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.

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.

RELATED: Waltham Coronavirus Response Includes More Cleaning At Schools

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.