EEE And Covid-19 Restrictions Complicate Outdoor Dining, Activities
HALIFAX (CBS) - As if we need another reason to shut places down, here come the mosquitoes and more dangerous diseases.
"We're asking people not to use the town's properties from dusk to dawn," said Halifax Town Administrator Charlie Seelig. He said restaurants with outdoor dining have been put on notice to start thinking about precautions. Athletic fields will be off-limits from dusk until dawn, along with town beaches and playgrounds.
They are the same facilities that recently reopened after the pandemic shutdown. "This week is the first we've been to playgrounds with masks," said Michelle Tordoff, who brought her son to the playground Thursday.
The new restrictions have parents in a catch-22 of sorts. COVID-19 sends them outside, but mosquitoes are now limiting that. "It's really hard for the kids right now, because they can't get together and play like they normally do," Tordoff said.
A Halifax man in his 90's is the latest person to become infected with EEE in the state this year, bringing the total to three. As a result, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health raised the EEE risk level in several towns. Halifax, Carver, Middleborough, and Wilbraham are in the critical zone. East Bridgewater and Hanson just joined seven other towns considered high risk.
"Restaurant owners and their customers need to be thinking ahead," said Seelig.
Some residents have already said they won't be eating out. "It's another place for mosquitoes to find you," said Harry Sprague.
"We don't want to discourage businesses in town, we certainly don't want to discourage restaurants," said Seelig. "But we also need to be protective of people's health."
