A rare mosquito-borne disease has prompted a town in Massachusetts to close its parks and fields each evening, with four other towns advising residents to avoid outdoor activities at night.
The concern is over eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), a disease that state health officials confirmed last week had infected a man in his 80s – the first human case in Massachusetts since 2020. Plymouth, located about 40 miles southeast of Boston, announced on Friday that it would be closing public outdoor recreation facilities from dusk until dawn daily after a horse in the town contracted the disease.
State health officials have also issued a warning for a cluster of four towns south of Worcester – Douglas, Oxford, Sutton, and Webster – stating they are at “critical risk” following an Oxford man’s contraction of the virus.
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Health officials at both the state and local level are urging residents in these towns to finish any outdoor activities by 6pm until September 30, and then by 5pm thereafter until the first hard frost. They are also recommending that people across Massachusetts use mosquito repellents when outdoors and drain any standing water around their homes…