New England Health Officials Institute 6 PM Curfew Over Disease Concerns – Residents Furious
Four years after the COVID-19 lockdowns, residents of Oxford, Massachusetts, are upset over a new government-imposed curfew on outdoor activities. The town’s Board of Health approved the curfew, effective at 6 p.m., in response to a resident contracting Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), a mosquito-borne illness. Health officials believe the curfew will help minimize exposure during peak mosquito activity.
However, local parents and sports officials argue that the measure is overly drastic for a single case. Critics, like parent Sarah Fournier and Oxford-Webster Youth Football and Cheer President Bobby Poirier, express concerns that this restricts children’s outdoor activities and sports, which they believe is detrimental, especially after the isolation caused by the pandemic. They contend that parents should be allowed to make decisions regarding their children’s safety and well-being.
Town officials defend the curfew as necessary for public health and safety, emphasizing the serious nature of EEE, which can lead to high mortality rates and severe neurological outcomes. The curfew will also affect school-related outdoor activities, effectively limiting practice and play times.
Nearby Webster has imposed similar restrictions, setting earlier curfews in subsequent months. As the debate continues, residents are torn between the need for public health precautions and the desire for normalcy in outdoor activities.
Four years after COVID-19 lockdowns shaped the lives of the residents of Oxford, Massachusetts, a government edict is raising the ire of town residents.
On Aug. 21, the town’s Board of Health approved a 6 p.m. curfew on outdoor activities, according to CBS.
The board said it acted after a town resident contracted Eastern Equine Encephalitis; EEE is a mosquito-borne disease. Health officials said the curfew will keep people indoors during peak mosquito activity.
However, parent Sarah Fournier said that with one incident, “The numbers don’t require the drastic actions they’re trying to take.”
“Let us decide. I’m a parent. I coach my son, and yes, if things happen, I can take precautions,” “Oxford Webster Football and Cheer Vice President Josh Ziemsk said.
Bobby Poirier, president of the Oxford-Webster Youth Football and Cheer Association, said kids who suffered during COVID should not be penalized again.
“This would basically shut our entire season down. If they kick us off the fields, we wouldn’t have anywhere to play, practice at all,” he said, according to WHDH.
Poirier said he has little faith that the town will abide by its word not to kick people off of town fields if they waive liability.
“Five years ago in 2019, we were recommended to get off the fields then and decided to stay, and they ushered us off the fields anyway,” Poirier said.
“We want to be able to play. We understand those risks and are willing to take it to continue on with our season.”
Oxford Little League President Philip Davis said a similar restriction in 2019 did nothing good, according to CBS.
“We think the parents should be able to make decisions as parents, for our kids, for the well-being of our kids.”
“We took the kids, and we put all the kids back in the house,” Davis said “We saw the effects of this. The effects weren’t great; they were awful. They weren’t outside; they weren’t being active.”
Town officials said the curfew is not a flat-out ban, but the school district will enforce it, which means school-related outdoor activities will be over by 6 p.m.
Rike Sterrett, public health director of the town, said the Board of Health has to be responsible for limiting the potential for disease to strike, according to the -Gazette.
“At the end of the day, the Board of Health’s job is to protect public health, and there is EEE in Oxford. It’s a very serious illness, and we don’t want anyone else to get sick,” Sterrett said.
The Oxford resident with EEE, whose name was not given, is “courageously battling” the virus, according to a memo from Town Manager Jennifer Callahan. State information has said the man is in his 80s, and that the case was the first in Massachusetts since 2020.
In the nearby town of Webster, the curfew for activities on town land is set for 6 p.m. in September and 5 p.m. in October.
“EEE is rare, but of the cases, 51 percent result in mortality, and those that survive most often are neurologically disabled. There are precautions that should be followed to prevent the transmission of EEE,’” said Camille Griffin, the town’s public health director.
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