North Andover Coronavirus: Personal Service Providers Closed
This article originally appeared on the North Andover Patch
NORTH ANDOVER, MA — North Andover has ordered personal service providers to close on Saturday at midnight as part of efforts to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. Town Manager Melissa Murphy-Rodrigues issued the order under authority granted by the state of emergency the town declared Wednesday. The town playgrounds are also closed, effective immediately.
Both orders were recommended by the Board of Health, according to the town announcement. They will last the duration of the state of emergency.
The order applies to the following types of businesses: nail salons, hair salons, barber shops, massage services, body art tattoo services, acupuncturists and "other personal service providers," according to the announcement.
The announcement also notes that the town election is still scheduled for March 31, but absentee ballots are available and "isolating/quarantining due to COVD-19 is a valid reason to request an absentee ballot." Absentee ballot applications are available online here and will be available outside Town Hall starting Monday. With a signature, you can submit your application by mail, fax, email or using the drop box outside Town Hall.
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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.
Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.
