A look at coronavirus-related developments around New England on Saturday:
RHODE ISLAND
Rhode Island is cracking down on crowding and illegal parking at the state’s beaches and asking residents from Massachusetts and Connecticut not to come for day trips to the shore amid the hot weather.
“We are basically saying to folks … ordinarily (we) would love to have you come visit our beaches, but with COVID-19 and with crowding, it is just not a good idea,” said Mike Healey of the Rhode Island Department of Emergency Management.
South Kingstown has increased parking fines to $150 dollars and Narragansett and Westerly also boosted fines to $75 dollars for parking in a tow or no-parking zone, WJAR-TV reported.
Vehicle capacity at Misquamicut State Beach in Westerly and Scarborough State Beach in Narragansett has been reduced to 25%.
“If you can’t get into the parking lot you really just can’t get onto the beach,” South Kingstown Town Manager Rob Zarnetske said.
Last month, Rhode Island had a nearly 80% increase in the number of visitors to the state beaches compared with June 2019, official said.
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MASSACHUSETTS
Some Massachusetts residents are complaining about people not wearing facial coverings on the subway.
As T ridership has increased slightly since the pandemic first hit, passengers have griped to the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority over standing riders and employees who have reportedly not followed the state guidelines on face coverings in public, the Boston Globe reported.
“Where are your watchers? 7 young men just got off #blueline at Orient Heights WITH NO MASKS,” a passenger tweeted this week. “Saw them as they passed my car. Not one. Not 2 but SEVEN!!!!”
“Lots of folks with no masks on the Orange Line - so much for enforcement,” another wrote.
Riders and employees are required to wear facial coverings when on the T, in accordance with Gov. Charlie Baker’s executive order, the MBTA said. An exemption allows people with certain health issues not to wear a mask, the agency said.
T employees may remind riders of the governor’s order but “the MBTA does not ask riders to provide proof of a medical reason for not complying with the mandate,” said Joe Pesaturo, a MBTA spokesman.
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MAINE
The University of Maine has postponed the fall sports season because of concerns about COVID-19.
The UMaine football team is part of the Colonial Athletic Association which also announced on Friday the suspension of fall competition.
“Everyone is disappointed that we won’t be playing football in the fall, but safety is our top priority. We’re aligned with the university and the CAA’s decision and we really hope that the country can take a step in the right direction against this very serious disease,” said UMaine head football coach Nick Charlton, according to the Bangor Daily News.
CAA said it’s committed “to exploring the possibility of conducting a football season during the spring and will continue to analyze this scenario as more information becomes available and conditions continue to evolve.”
The America East conference, which is made up of schools around the Northeast including UMaine, also announced Friday is has postponed its fall sports season.
Maine on Saturday reported two more deaths from COVID-19 and 10 more positive cases of the virus that causes the illness. So far, the state has had 3,646 positive cases and 117 deaths.
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VERMONT
The number of Americans who are eligible to visit Vermont without quarantining on arrival is continuing to decline. Several weeks ago, the state set up a system that allows people to visit the state without quarantining if they are from counties in states within about a one-day drive that have a virus level that is less than 400 active cases per million inhabitants.
When the state started using the travel map about 19 million people from as far away as Virginia or Ohio could visit without quarantining, said Vermont Financial Regulation Commissioner Michael Pieciak, who is managing Vermont’s COVID-19 data during the pandemic.
Now, the geographic area remains the same, but the number of people living in eligible counties has dropped, first to 13 million then 11 million and now 6.9 million people.
“I think this illustrates how the map can both expand and contract based on the experiences that other states are having,” Pieciak said.
Vermont reported three cases of the virus on Saturday for a total of 1,338. The number of deaths has remained at 56 for a month.
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CONNECTICUT
The University of Connecticut said Saturday that all residential students returning to the Storrs or Stamford campuses must be tested for COVID-19 two weeks before the first day of classes.
Residential students will arrive on campus on Aug. 14, be tested and then be quarantined for 14 days before classes start, WFSB reported.
Students commuting to campus for classes must get a negative test result before the fall semester starts. UConn says it will provide testing to commuter students that don’t get tested on their own. Students commuting to campus from states that are under Connecticut’s travel advisory are asked to get a negative test result within the state’s allotted time frame and then to self-quarantine for 14 days before coming campus.
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NEW HAMPSHIRE
Applicants to Rivier University’s undergraduate nursing program no longer have to submit SAT or ACT scores.
Sister Paula Marie Buley, Rivier’s president, said the decision acknowledges some challenges in completing testing during the coronavirus pandemic.
The policy change means all of the school’s undergraduate programs now include the test-optional admissions policy. Officials said making the tests optional makes college more accessible, streamlines the application process and encourages a more diverse applicant pool.
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