Eve Zuckoff

Nearly 7 million Massachusetts residents have been advised to stay home, but that doesn’t apply to those who support the operation, inspection, and maintenance of construction sites and projects.

Paul, a construction laborer in Hyannis, didn’t want to use his last name for fear of retribution, but said the company he works for employs around 100 people who repair roads and maintains sewers. That means he and his partner still have to go to work. 

While toilet paper is in high demand and low supply, some may be turning to sanitary wipes, but towns throughout the state are urging people to stop flushing them before it’s too late.

“[Wipes] are the bane of every wastewater treatment operator in the world and every septic maintenance guy in the world,” said Brian Baumgaertel, director of the Massachusetts Alternative Septic Test Center in Sandwich. “They can easily plug up the pumps and all the electronic stuff that’s keeping the wastewater moving away from your home.” 

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker ordered the closure of all non-essential brick and mortar businesses in the state to help slow the spread of COVID-19 on Monday.

The closure order goes into effect on Tuesday, March 24, at noon and is effective until April 7 at noon.

This move comes just as the number of confirmed cases in the state reached 777, up from 646 the day before. Nine people have died from the virus in Massachusetts.

Science centers in Woods Hole are trying to do their part, as hospitals across the region put out pleas for more n-95 face masks and other gear to protect healthcare workers from coronavirus infection. 

In the wake of a state-wide ban on gatherings of more than 25 people, Alcoholics Anonymous groups across the region are adapting with the help of technology. 

Susan Moran, a democrat from Falmouth, and Jay McMahon III, a republican from Bourne, will compete in a general election later this month to fill the Plymouth and Barnstable District seat after winning their respective primaries on Tuesday.

Voter turnout appeared to be strong across Massachusetts on primary day, thanks in part to spring-like weather. 

“It's a right as a citizen of this country, and I think it's important that everybody gets their voices heard,”  said Priscilla Bartlett of Mashpee. “I don't care how [people] vote, just that they vote.”

The Canadian government has unveiled new regulations to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.

To help prevent entanglements with fishing gear, Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced in a press release that it will implement new season-long fishing closures in parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence where right whales are aggregating between the months of April and November.