Salem Coronavirus Rapid Tests Find 11 Cases In 3 Days: Patch PM

Salem MA

04 October, 2021

3:56 PM

Description

SALEM, MA — It's Monday, Oct. 4. Here's what you should know this afternoon: The free rapid coronavirus test site in downtown Salem set up in conjunction with the city's mandatory test order to attend large indoor October parties detected 11 positive cases in its first three days.The sweeping probe into the Boston Police Department's rampant overtime fraud has reached the former head of the patrolmen's union.Monday night's Powerball jackpot now sits at $685 million — the eighth-largest prize is U.S. lottery historyAn Arlington resident is among 18 castaways on the latest season of the long-running reality series "Survivor."A wall in The Point neighborhood of Salem includes murals with a message on the American Dream. Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today. Today's Top North Shore Story: Coronavirus Cases Caught The Salem downtown rapid coronavirus test site set up late last week in conjunction with the start of the city's mandatory negative test policy to attend large indoor events in October caught 11 positive cases out of the 415 people tested Thursday through Saturday. The positive-test rate of 2.65 percent is slightly higher than the statewide rate of 1.96 percent reported on Friday. The Salem Board of Health unanimously approved the negative test order for indoor events at venues open to the public from Oct. 1 through Oct.31. Anyone attending a Halloween-themed ball, large party, wedding reception or other similar events with 100 or more guests must receive a negative virus test — regardless of whether they are vaccinated or not — within 72 hours of the event for entry. Read the full story here. Today's Top Statewide Story: Police Fraud An ongoing investigation of overtime fraud at the Boston Police Department's evidence warehouse had the former president of Boston Police Patrolmen's Association set to plead guilty Monday. Thomas Nee, 64, of Quincy, and the former president of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, was set to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and one count of embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds, according to the Department of Justice District of Massachusetts. According to federal documents, from at least January 2015 through February 2019, the former president and former Boston police officer submitted false and fraudulent overtime slips for hours he did not work at the evidence warehouse. Nee is one of 15 Boston police officers to be charged in connection with committing overtime fraud at the department's evidence warehouse, and the ninth officer to have pleaded guilty. Read the full story Like this article? Sign up for our newsletter and get it delivered every weekday. It's free! Monday's Other Top Stories Well, do ya feel lucky? The Powerball jackpot has swelled to the eighth-largest prize in U.S. lottery history, and residents in Massachusetts and beyond will test their luck again Monday night. The jackpot is for an estimated $685 million; the cash option is an estimated $485.5 million. It would be the sixth-highest Powerball prize in the game's history. Monday night's prize would also be the richest since a $731.1 million jackpot was won on a Maryland ticket. It will be the 41st Powerball drawing since June 5's jackpot hit for $285.6 million in Florida. I will survive: An Arlington resident is among 18 castaways on the latest season of the long-running reality series "Survivor." Evvie Jagoda is a 28-year-old Ph.D. student competing for the $1 million prize on the 41st season, which was shot in Fiji and delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Facebook, Instagram down: Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, three apps owned by Facebook, are down in a major outage Monday that is affecting customers around the world, according to reports. Here are five things to know about the outages. The 2021 Boston Marathon is Oct. 11. Read the latest on Patch's 2021 Boston Marathon hub. Picture This: Salem's American Dream Emily Kwong, mural artist Emily Kwong's mural is one of 18 that now show off different visions of the American Dream that fill the Peabody Street wall in Salem as part of the Punto Urban Art Museum's mission to "foster dialogue around the cornerstone principles of the United States.". They Said It "It was pretty amazing. It was a beautiful night and I got to have family, colleagues, and friends come and watch. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity." Brookline High teacher Joslyn Vendola, who was selected to throw out the first pitch at Fenway Park last month.