Quincy Health Commissioner Issues City Coronavirus Update

QUINCY, MA — Quincy Health Commissioner Ruth Jones issued an advisory on the coronavirus disease Tuesday after the state's second "presumptive positive" test was reported in Norfolk County on Monday.

"We know that outbreaks of new virus infections among people are always of public health concern and are working to make sure you have all the information you need to understand what is happening and how to protect yourself and your family," she said.

Chinese health officials have reported tens of thousands of cases of COVID-19 in China, with the virus reportedly spreading from person to person in parts of that country. COVID-19 illnesses, most of them associated with travel from Wuhan, also are being reported in a growing number of international locations, including the United States. Some person-to-person spread of this virus outside China has been detected. The United States reported the first confirmed instance of
person-to-person spread with this virus on Jan. 30.

Although the risk to residents of Massachusetts is still low, many of the things you do to help prevent colds and the flu can help protect you against other respiratory viruses:

* Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.
* Cover your coughs and sneezes.
* Stay home if you are sick.

There are currently no vaccines available to protect against this novel coronavirus infection.

"We are not recommending that people wear masks when they are in public," Jones said. "Masks can be useful in some settings, such as a clinic waiting room, to prevent someone who has a respiratory illness from spreading it to others. There is no hard evidence that wearing a mask protects the wearer outside of the healthcare setting."

State and local health officials are actively working to help protect the health of our residents and we have no indications that COVID-19 is spreading in our community at this time.
For more information visit the CDC website at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html.

Residents with questions are asked to contact the Quincy Health Department nurses: Taylor Pecoraro at 617-376-1285, Katelyn Picot 617-376-1286 or Commissioner of Health Ruth Jones at 617-376-1272.

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