40 people monitored after 40-year-old man is first in R.I. to test positive for coronavirus

PAWTUCKET Saint Raphael Academy is canceling classes Monday and Tuesday after a “member of our community” has tested positive for the strain of coronavirus that is causing worldwide concern, the school said Sunday on its website.

“Saint Raphael Academy is saddened to confirm that a member of our community has had a ‘presumptive positive’ test result to the coronavirus,” a notification on the website says. “It is important to note that this member of the community has not been at the Academy since returning from Europe, and none of his immediate family members are symptomatic at this time.”

“Although not directed by [federal or state health officials], out of an abundance of caution, the SRA Administration has decided that all students, faculty and staff will have Virtual Days at home on Monday and Tuesday (March 2 and 3) while ongoing campus sanitation continues.” the notification says. “All after-school activities and practices (including sports) are also cancelled. Classes will resume on campus as usual on Wednesday, March 4.”

Earlier Sunday, state health officials announced that they are monitoring 40 people who had direct contact with a 40-year-old man, whom they declined to identify, who is the first Rhode Islander to test positive for the strain of coronavirus that is causing worldwide concern.

At a noontime news conference Sunday, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo and the state’s health director, Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, urged Rhode Islanders to take common-sense precautions, such as hand washing and staying home when ill, but said there is no reason to panic.

“The general level of risk for Rhode Islanders is low,” Raimondo said. “There’s no need for panic. There’s no need to be frightened.”

The main way the virus spreads is through respiratory droplets expelled by someone who is coughing, said Health Department spokesman Joseph Wendelken. “If someone is not exhibiting any symptoms there is no need to change your daily routine.”

Family members living in the infected man’s house are in self quarantine for 14 days and none has developed symptoms, the director said.

While 40 people who had contact with the man are monitoring themselves, they are also in daily contact with a state public health nurse for any signs of symptoms such as fever and cough, Alexander-Scott said.

The man is currently hospitalized, she said. Neither Scott nor the governor would give any more identifying specifics about the man, citing privacy reasons.

The man had returned to Rhode Island on Feb. 22 after a trip to Europe, including Italy, which has had cases of the virus. He did not return to work following his trip, Alexander-Scott said, and had “limited travel” in the state since then.

Both Raimondo and Alexander-Scott said the state had been preparing for weeks for the inevitability that someone in Rhode Island would test positive for the virus and stressed the state had a coordinated tracking and response plan for infectious disease in place with health and emergency preparedness officials.

In recent days the Department of Health’s laboratories had also developed the capability to perform testing for the virus.

The number of people tested so far has been “few,” Alexander-Scott said, declining to be any more specific.

If the Center for Disease Control confirms the positive test result in this case, it would be the second case of the virus in New England. Massachusetts health officials announced early last month that a Boston University student who had traveled to China had contracted the virus.

“Everyone should take a deep break,” said Alexander-Scott. “The level of risk for the every day Rhode Islander is low.”

She said people should take the same measures that healthcare providers recommend every season to prevent the spread flu. They include: washing your hands often throughout the day with warm water and soap, or alcohol-based hand jell; cough or sneeze into a tissue; and avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.

Alexander-Scott said people who are well should not wear face masks; only those who have the virus and are showing symptoms should wear a mask to protect others from the risk of getting infected.

Both the governor and Alezander-Scott stressed that anyone who is feeling ill should stay home from work or school and call their doctor first before going to a health center or hospital.

Raimondo would not confirm that the man worked in a school but said no Rhode Island schools had been quarantined.

The department says it is coordinating closely with the hospital where this person is currently being treated and that infection control protocols are being followed.

Alexander-Scott said health officials “We are not seeing widespread community transmission in Rhode Island, and the general level of risk for Rhode Islanders is still low. However, everyone in Rhode Island has a role to play in helping us prevent the spread of viruses, just like the flu.”

Raimondo said she had been in touch with White House officials and the state’s congressional delegation and said she hoped the federal government will provide “additional resources” dealing with the virus.

In a tweet Sunday, U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said: “The whole Rhode Island delegation is closely monitoring this situation to make sure RI is prepared, with adequate federal resources and a coordinated, transparent federal response that supports state-level efforts already underway.”