×
×
homepage logo
LOGIN
SUBSCRIBE

Salem, Mass., to require negative test for large Halloween events

By The Associated Press - | Sep 19, 2021

A student holds her mask as she listens to Gov. Tom Wolf speak at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Reading Area Community College in Reading, Pa., Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The city that hosted the Salem witch trials more than three centuries ago will require a negative COVID-19 test for people to attend some large Halloween events, officials said as they brace for the typical influx of visitors in the weeks ahead of the holiday.

The Salem Board of Health voted Friday to require people to have a negative test taken within 72 hours to attend indoor events with more than 100 people at a public space.

The requirement goes into effect on Oct. 1 and lasts through Nov. 1. Masks are required inside all public businesses through mid-November.

“The delta variant is so transmissible. We are seeing an increase in COVID case counts in Salem,” said Mayor Kim Driscoll. “Thankfully, more people are vaccinated, so we’re not seeing the crush of hospitalizations. But those numbers are up, too.”

Details about rapid testing in the area will be announced soon.

Vaccine mandates are in place for some events like the Horror Fest, which includes 50 indoor movies throughout October.

“We’ll do whatever it takes to keep our audience safe,” said Kay Lynch, of Horror Fest. “We’ve capped our audience. We’ve required vaccination. Masks are required indoors.”

___

NEW HAMPSHIRE

New Hampshire House Speaker Sherm Packard is drafting legislation that would prohibit state or local enforcement of federal vaccine mandates.

President Joe Biden recently announced a sweeping vaccine mandate last week that covers more than 100 million Americans, including executive branch employees and workers at businesses with more than 100 people on the payroll.

Packard, R-Londonderry, said that while it is unclear how the order will be implemented and enforced, the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature will fight what he called the latest overreach from Washington.

“We have made it clear that government mandates are not the path to successful vaccination rates and will only cause further division in this country,” said Packard, R-Londonderry, who filed the bill title this week.

Packard became speaker of the House after former Speaker Dick Hinch, R-Merrimack, died of COVID-19 a week after taking office in December 2020.

___

MAINE

Maine reported 587 new COVID-19 cases and one death Saturday.

It’s the first time the daily number of new cases has been below 600 in the past five days as the delta variant drives a spike in infections, Maine Public Radio reported.

A total of 204 were hospitalized with COVID-19, including 76 in intensive care, and 34 who were on ventilators, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of hospitalizations is the same as it was Friday, which was the highest number of people in intensive care since the start the pandemic, the Portland Press Herald reported.

The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Maine has risen over the past two weeks from 373.14 on Sept. 2 to 484.71 on Sept. 16.

The seven-day rolling average of daily deaths in Maine has risen over the past two weeks from 1.71 on Sept. 2 to 3.14 on Sept. 16.

The AP is using data collected by Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering to measure outbreak caseloads and deaths across the United States.

___

VERMONT

An information technology glitch with an outside vendor led to a delay in reporting COVID-19 cases causing Vermont’s daily cases on Thursday to be artificially inflated, state officials said.

Vermont had reported a new, single-day record of 314 new cases that day. The number was inflated by 109, the state said on Friday.

The glitch has been resolved, officials said. After further analysis, state agencies also found that nearly 11,300 Vermonters experienced delays in receiving test results, officials said.

The state reported 187 new COVID-19 cases and two additional deaths on Saturday. A total of 42 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, including 14 in intensive care, according to the Vermont Health Department.

The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Vermont has risen over the past two weeks from 150.71 on Sept. 2 to 203 on Sept. 16.

The seven-day rolling average of daily deaths in Vermont has risen over the past two weeks from 0.71 on Sept. 2 to 1.71 on Sept. 16.

The AP is using data collected by Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering to measure outbreak caseloads and deaths across the United States.

Newsletter

Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter.

Interests
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *