Town officials say the resident and all household members, who are not currently displaying COVID-19 symptoms, are self-quarantining.

EASTON — Town officials announced the first case of the novel coronavirus in Easton on Saturday evening.

In a statement, officials announced that a resident has tested positive for COVID-19. The case is considered presumptive positive until further testing is conducted.

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Emergency Management Director and Fire Chief Kevin Partridge, Director of Health and Community Services Kristin Kennedy and Town Administrator Connor Read made the announcement late Saturday evening after they were informed about the presumptive positive test by the state Department of Public Health.

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The Department of Public Health's updated numbers on Saturday included one Bristol County case, but the department doesn't release the cities and towns victims live in.

"Although the Commonwealth of Massachusetts publishes presumptive positive cases on a county by county level only, town officials are providing this information in order to keep the community educated and informed," Easton officials wrote in the statement.

Town officials say the resident and all household members, who are not displaying COVID-19 symptoms, are self-quarantining "to limit the risk of spread and will be monitored by Easton health officials on a daily basis," the release states.

Officials did not release the victim's gender or age or any information about how the person may have contracted the disease.

"In order to protect the resident’s medical privacy rights, no additional information can be disclosed," the statement says.

Easton was one of many local towns on Friday to announce a two-week closure of all public schools. Officials say that decision was made before the town knew of a case of the coronavirus in town.

"It was not an easy decision, nor one made lightly by town and school leaders, to proactively close public schools and major public buildings before Easton had its first presumptive positive case, but this notice from DPH underscores how important it is that we all take proactive and preventive steps now to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our communities, the Commonwealth and the nation," Read said.

In Easton, the town offices and Frothingham Hall will also be closed for one week — from March 16 to 20.

As of Sunday, there are 164 Massachusetts residents who have tested positive for the COVID-19. The first case was reported in Plymouth County on Sunday. Town officials in Hanover announced a resident has tested presumptive positive for COVID-19. There were 31 cases in Norfolk County as of Sunday.

Senior reporter Cody Shepard can be reached by email at cshepard@enterprisenews.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @cshepard_ENT.