Massachusetts News

Police in multiple Massachusetts communities are warning the public that a man has been disabling young women’s vehicles and offering them rides home. The Milford Police Department said in a Facebook post Saturday that a man in his late 30s has been flattening tires in the area and filling gas tanks with water. He is reported to be driving a blue Chevrolet Impala with Massachusetts plates. “If your vehicle has a flat tire DO NOT try and start it,” the department wrote. “Call Milford Police at 508-473-1113.” Police departments in Franklin, Bellingham and Holliston also put out warnings. “Over the past week there have been local reports of an individual seeking to disable cars being operated by young females. In these situations, the individual may let air from a tire or add a gas tank contaminant, then approach the female to offer help in the form of a battery pack, air compressor or a ride,” police in Holliston said. “As in all situations, be aware that individuals offering help may have in fact been involved in orchestrating the situation. If your car becomes disabled, wait in a safe place for a friend, family member, or AAA to respond.” “The individual currently being investigated into this matter was spotted in town yesterday afternoon,” Franklin Police said. “If your vehicle is tampered with or breaks down shortly after starting, give us a call.” “Bellingham Police are also investigating an incident involving this individual,” that department said in a Facebook post. “It is suspected that he tampered with a vehicle in the Charles River Center then approached the female owner when she found her vehicle was disabled.” Bellingham Police warned the public to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity, recommending parking in well-lit areas and not to walk to vehicles alone if possible. Police in Holliston also tagged the Medway Police Department in their Facebook post, but that page had not posted about the investigation as of Saturday afternoon. More Massachusetts news COVID-19 3 hours ago Mass. Announces Major Changes to COVID Testing, Quarantine Protocols in Schools Fatal Shooting 8 hours ago Man Dead in Overnight Shooting in Lynn, Mass.

Massachusetts will end its state-run school COVID-19 testing program after this school year, state officials announced, with other educational testing and isolation policy changes being put into effect this week. Beginning in the fall of 2022, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education says the state will stop supplying self-tests “or other COVID testing services” to schools. “The end of the 2021-22 school year will mark the end of the state-run, state-coordinated K-12 testing program, although districts and schools will have access to state-provided self-tests to conduct symptomatic testing themselves during summer school,” DESE Commissioner Jeffrey Riley said in a memo to school officials Tuesday. For the remainder of the 2021-2022 school year, “self-tests may now also be made available for the school community more widely,” the memo said, adding that they may be provided before in-person, school-sponsored events like proms and graduations. For summer programs, “staffing, software, and all other services currently provided through CIC health will no longer be available through the state-run program,” meaning school districts will need to provide staffing for in-school symptomatic testing, DESE said in the memo. Next school year, when the state stops providing self-tests, “DESE and [the Department of Public Health] strongly recommend that schools and districts interested in implementing their own testing program limit that program to symptomatic rapid testing only,” according to the memo. “Schools and districts may purchase self-tests through the statewide contract.” Additionally, the Department of Public Health has announced that effective May 25, children exposed to COVID-19 who are not experiencing symptoms are no longer required to quarantine from K-12, child care or recreational camp settings. Testing is also no longer required. “Children who are identified as close contacts may continue to attend programming as long as they remain asymptomatic,” the department said in updated guidance on the state website. “Those who can mask should do so until Day 10. A test on Days 2 and 5 is recommended, but not required.” The new policy does not outline any difference in protocols between vaccinated and unvaccinated children in these settings, a distinction that remains in effect in the state’s isolation and quarantine guidance for the general public. Children must isolate at least five days if they test positive, the state said. If they are able to mask, they may return after five days if they are asymptomatic or if their symptoms have improved and they have been fever-free for 24 hours. “If the child is unable to mask, they must have a negative test on Day 5 or later in order to return to programming prior to day 11,” the state’s guidance reads. If children have symptoms but test negative for COVID-19 onsite, they can stay at school or in their programs. “Best practice would also include wearing a mask, if possible, until symptoms are fully resolved,” the state added. If a symptomatic child cannot be tested immediately, “they should be sent home and allowed to return to their program or school if they test negative, or they have been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and their symptoms have resolved, or if a medical professional makes an alternative diagnosis,” the state said in its guidance. ”A negative test is strongly recommended for return if the latter two conditions are met.” Additionally, the state says rapid antigen tests are preferred to PCR tests in educational settings “in most situations for the purposes of exiting isolation or quarantine.” The state notes that staff should continue to follow protocols of DESE or the Department of Early Education and Care, depending where they work. More on the COVID-19 pandemic COVID-19 May 26 New COVID Cases in Mass. Schools Down Over Last Week After Rising for Months COVID Q&A May 27 Can You Get COVID Twice in One Month? Here's What Boston Doctors Say This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

After people attending Day 2 of Boston Calling were told to seek shelter due to severe weather, the music festival is back on. Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued in parts of Massachusetts and Connecticut Saturday afternoon, but have since expired. Click here to see the latest weather alerts. “For your safety, everyone onsite should calmly proceed to the main entrance to seek shelter in Harvard Square or other locations,” Boston Calling said in a tweeted statement. “Fans who exit the festival grounds will be permitted to re-enter.” The festival said in a later new tweet that it would reopen at 5:30, with music resuming at 6 p.m. This weekend’s festival comes after a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Strokes, who were scheduled to perform Saturday, had to cancel due to a positive COVID-19 case. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard also had to cancel their performance because of a COVID case in the band, Boston Calling said in its tweet announcing the resumption of the festival. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

A man is dead after a shooting late Friday in Lynn, Massachusetts, authorities said Saturday. The shooting, on Western Avenue near Anoka Place, was reported about 11 p.m., according to Massachusetts State Police. The slain person was found in a lot behind a building. The shooting is currently under investigation in conjunction with Massachusetts State Police, Lynn police said. Officials didn’t immediately release any information on what took place in the shooting or give the name of the man killed. He was 32, according to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office. The killing does not appear to be random, prosecutors said, adding that there is no danger to the general public. No arrests have been made.

A building in Gloucester, Massachusetts, that three different families called home caught fire early Saturday, authorities said. Firefighters arrived at the three-story building on Western Avenue near Burke Playground at about 1:50 a.m. and found the second and third floors engulfed in flames, according to the Gloucester Fire Department. The residents of the building already safely evacuated. After initially entering the building to extinguish the fire from the inside, firefighters were forced by the severity of the flames to evacuate and fight the fire from the outside, officials said. The fire became so severe that 20 off-duty Gloucester firefighters were called to help. With the additional help, the fire was under control by 4 a.m., according to the fire department While there were no injuries, at least eight people are now displaced according to authorities, firefighters said. As for the condition of the 102-year-old home, the building received extensive structural damage, officials said. The siding of the home next to the building also caught fire during the blaze but was extinguished by firefighters soon enough to prevent the fire’s spread. The cause of the fire was still unknown and under investigated, firefighters said.