Melrose Prepares for Coronavirus

Police Chief Michael Lyle, Mayor Brodeur, Health Director Ruth Clay, and Fire Chief Ed Collina discuss coronavirus preparations
Police Chief Michael Lyle, Mayor Brodeur, Health Director Ruth Clay, and Fire Chief Ed Collina discuss coronavirus preparations

Mayor Brodeur and the Melrose Health Department are following developments concerning the 2019 Novel Coronavirus in China and preparing for a response if necessary. While there are two suspected cases in New Hampshire, there are none in Massachusetts.

“We don’t know whether this new virus will have a significant impact on Melrose,” said Brodeur. “While the number of cases is increasing rapidly, there have been similar outbreaks in the past that were successfully contained. Our Health Department has the most up-to-date information, excellent relationships with state health agencies, and years of experience with public health.” 

 Health Director Ruth Clay said the Melrose Health Department is prepared to deal with the virus. “Those of us in the public health community have not been saying ‘if,’ we always say ‘when,’” she said. “We have assumed this would happen. We are watching like hawks.” In fact, the Health Department, together with the police and fire departments, did a drill earlier this month for a similar scenario.

2019 Novel Coronavirus is a new coronavirus that had not been previously identified. Symptoms have included mild to severe respiratory illness with fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. Scientists are still trying to determine how contagious and how virulent the virus is. If you have symptoms such as this, contact your doctor.

The Melrose Health Department participates in a weekly conference call with the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) every Monday and they also receive daily updates. The Massachusetts Department of Health has kits for diagnosing the virus if needed. A vaccine is in development and should be available for early human testing in approximately three months.  

At this time the national public health strategy is containment, which means identifying cases, tracing back and following up with all contacts, and treating or isolating as appropriate.

This is an emerging and rapidly evolving situation, and the Health Department will continue to daily monitor and learn of the latest information.  More information is available on the CDC website at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus.