Coronavirus: Sharon School Closure Extended Through March 27

SHARON, MA — Sharon Public Schools, which were closed on Friday, will now stay closed through at least March 27 amid concerns around the coronavirus pandemic. Sharon had been closed for the day on Friday so the district could asses the coronavirus impact on the town with Dr. Victoria Greer announced Friday afternoon that assessment had led to the decision to remain closed for two weeks.

Several school districts are closing for anywhere from weeks to a month as officials scramble to curtail the spread of the new coronavirus. Everett Public Schools was the first to announce prolonged break, saying Thursday afternoon it would cancel class for 30 days. Arlington, Bedford, Belmont, Burlington, Lexington and Winchester followed suit soon after, saying they were closing until March 27.

LIST: All school and college closings across Massachusetts.

The announcements come as Massachusetts — and the country — continues to grind to a halt in a flurry of cancellations and postponements in the face of the contagious COVID-19. The Boston Marathon has been postponed, with officials eyeing a fall date. The Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins will be off for the foreseeable future as MLB, NBA and NHL suspended all league operations.

Gov. Charlie Baker prohibited many large gatherings Friday as the number of positive tests of the new coronavirus continued to increase across the state. The Department of Public Health said there are 123 cases as of Friday afternoon, 15 more than Thursday's numbers.

Ninety-four of the cases are related to the Biogen conference in February. The updated numbers came hours after Baker said Massachusetts is prohibiting most gatherings of more than 250people in the latest drastic measure to slow the spread of COVID-19.

(More on the coronavirus can be found in this fact sheet from the CDC.)

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 other that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndromes (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 you hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% 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.

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