ANOTHER SUSPECTED
Woman had visited Italy
Massachusetts’ second suspected case of coronavirus was identified in a woman in her 20s in Norfolk County who recently returned from Italy with a school group, state health officials said Monday night.
It was the first case to test positive since testing started Friday at the State Public Health Laboratory.
The woman is recovering at home, officials said.
“The individual’s test results came back positive just this evening,” a Department of Public Health statement said. “Specimens will be sent to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and, if confirmed, this would be the second confirmed positive COVID-19 case in Massachusetts since the outbreak started in the US in January.”
Confirmed coronavirus cases among students and staff back from trips to Italy forced a Rhode Island school to close for the week, while schools in Newton and Bellingham and in New Hampshire sent potentially exposed kids and teachers home on Monday.
In Rhode Island, a teenage girl who recently returned from Italy tested positive for the coronavirus, along with two adults from the trip, prompting Saint Raphael Academy in Pawtucket to close until March 9.
All 38 of the people on the trip are being told to stay at home for 14 days and selfmonitor for coronavirus symptoms.
At Newton North High School, more than 20 students and staff members who returned from Italy will stay home from school until further notice, officials said.
The 19 Newton North students, two staff members and one retired teacher were in Florence, Italy, for three weeks and Rome for one week. They do not have symptoms, but they’re being told to take their temperatures twice a day and selfmonitor for symptoms.
“This is an unsettling time for our community, our staff and our students,” Newton Superintendent of Schools David Fleishman said on Monday. “It’s particularly difficult for our students who have just returned from an outstanding educational experience in Italy.”
In Bellingham, some students and staff members who traveled abroad will also be staying home.
“Out of an abundance of caution, and under the direction of the Bellingham Board of Health, we have asked these students and staff members to stay home from school next week,” schools officials wrote over the weekend. “There is no need for concern at this time as this is a precautionary measure. The schools will continue to monitor the situation, disinfect classrooms each night, and take further actions if warranted.”
Coronavirus has recently spiked in Italy. More than 1,600 people there have been infected and 34 people have died. More than 89,000 people around the world have been infected and more than 3,000 have died.
There have been at least 80 cases in the U.S. and six people have died. The first confirmed case in Massachusetts was a UMass Boston student who had traveled from Wuhan, China, where the disease was first detected. New Hampshire announced its first case Monday — a person recently returned from Italy.
In Kearsarge, N.H., 35 high school students recently returned home after traveling to Italy. “Out of an abundance of caution, I am asking the students and staff who attended the trip to stay home from school next week, and return on Monday, March 9,” Kearsarge Regional School District Superintendent Winfried Feneberg said.