As of Sunday, Bethlehem has its first presumptive positive case of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Its appearance in the United States has rapidly changed public and social life as organizations and governments cancel events in the name of public safety.

Notifications collected by The Press have been mounting for days, but by Friday increased to a minute-to-minute pace.

Cancelled events include sporting events, Northampton County’s voting machine demonstrations, the Arts Council’s Young at Art expo, on-campus classes at colleges, K-12 public schools, and any number of others.

For any and all public events for the coming week, we suggest residents inquire directly to organizers. Many organizations are emailing notifications to members or posting schedule changes on their websites.

The city’s administration encourages residents to be mindful and follow suggested community strategies, such as suspending large gatherings, avoiding travel to recreational activities like gyms, movie theaters and shopping malls, telecommuting for work when possible, utilizing telemedicine capabilities and social distancing.

The city says, “If you think you have COVID-19 or may have been exposed to someone who does, stay home and contact your health care provider. Both Lehigh Valley Health Network and St. Luke’s University Health Network are providing free screenings online and by phone. For more information, visit www.lvhn.org or www.slhn.org. In addition, the city of Bethlehem will continue to work closely with the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and Lehigh and Northampton County Offices of Emergency Management.

For additional information on the virus and health strategies, as well as ongoing updates of the efforts of local healthcare professionals, visit the Centers for Disease Control and city of Bethlehem’s Health Bureau websites.