Westbrook First Selectman Noel Bishop is cautious about unnecessarily alarming anyone about COVID-19—the disease caused by the novel coronavirus that has been declared a public health emergency in the United States—but he does believe residents and businesspeople in town should be prepared, he said.

Zachary Faiella, Westbrook’s director of public health, receives daily information from the state Department of Public Health (DPH), which is in communication with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He has distributed a memo to supervisors of town departments and all town employees outlining preventive measures to curtail the spread of the virus.

Westbrook Health Department staff is personally distributing CDC guidelines for businesses and employers to businesses in town, Faiella said. In a phone conversation, Faiella said he was planning to speak with Westbrook Public Schools Superintendent Patricia A. Ciccone and that guidelines for employers are similar to those that would apply to schools.

“This is good information for businesses and for all the town employees,” Faiella said. “These are prevention measures we can all take.”

Employers and supervisors are asked to encourage sick employees to stay home—COVID-19 symptoms include a fever of 100.4, cough, and shortness of breath. This also applies to those who participate in Senior Center and Parks & Recreation programs.

Once home, those who are ill should stay home until they are free of symptoms for at least 24 hours. Faiella also urged supervisors to “refrain from punitive policies” discouraging employees from taking sick time.

According to the CDC, symptoms may appear between 2 and 14 days after exposure to the virus.

Washing hands and covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue are crucially important for preventing the spread of any illness. Used tissues should be thrown away. If a tissue isn’t available, an upper sleeve will do.

Faiella asks that supervisors and employers notify his department if an employee has symptoms of COVID-19.

Employees are asked to wash hands and use proper etiquette for sneezing and coughing, to stay home if sick, and to notify supervisors if they come down with symptoms of an upper respiratory virus or have someone at home who does. Town Hall has placed hand sanitizers in public areas and the custodian staff will be asked to sanitize surfaces and doorknobs, according to Faiella’s memo.

The CDC also recommends that people “[a]void touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.”

“There’s been a run on masks,” Faiella said. “The public is buying them up, assuming they need them.”

The shortage is partly due to increased demand worldwide and also to a drop in production, related to the COVID-19 outbreak in China, where many of the masks are manufactured.

The “CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19,” according to its website. Those who are sick should wear masks to keep from spreading the virus to others.

Healthcare workers are encouraged to wear masks when taking care of patients. Westbrook Visiting Nurse Services Administrator Caroline Mullaney said that after much online searching, her department was able to purchase 40 adjustable N95 masks, the masks recommended for healthcare professionals.

Mullaney is receiving guidance from Dr. Jeffrey Bernstein, a local emergency room physician who is on the Visiting Nurses’ advisory committee, she said.

Checking Town Employees

Each town department will have a designated employee who will be issued a scanning thermometer, said Mullaney. An employee with a temperature of 100.4 or above will be asked to go home.

“If they had symptoms of the flu, we would...ask them to see their primary care physician or clinic,” she said. “If they have symptoms of the flu and a temperature and have been in contact with someone from China or the corona virus, we will notify the public health department.”

Her department does not have an isolation room, Mullaney explained.

“If we wanted to question [a patient] further, the best thing would be to have them go out to their car,” she said.

All of these measures are precautions that are designed to keep COVID-19, as well as the flu, from spreading, said Bishop.

“Under [Faiella’s] leadership, we want to be prepared, doing everything we can without overreacting,” he said.

CDC information about COVID-19 may be found at cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV.

The Westbrook Public Health Department may be reached at 880-399-9869; Faiella’s email address is zfaiella@westbrookct.us.

Hours for Visiting Nurse Services are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Mulvey Municipal Center, 866 Boston Post Road. For more information, call 860-399-3088.