No Vaccine Required For Patriots Season Opener: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Thursday, Sept. 9. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• The site of a reported 610,283 coronavirus shots as a mass vaccination location this winter and spring will not be requiring them from fans to watch the Patriots home opener on Sunday.
• A Wakefield high school was evacuated because of a gas leak on Thursday morning.
• Heavy rain from Storm Ida is rekindling environmental concerns in Wayland after rubber pellets from the artificial football field gushed toward nearby riverways.
• A 20th anniversary 9/11 tribute was vandalized in Boston.
• Danvers officials apologize to a family after they accused a local attraction of racial profiling.

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today's Top Story

Gillette Stadium was the site of a reported 610,283 coronavirus vaccination shots this winter and spring as the state's biggest mass vaccination location.

Fans, however, will not need proof of getting one of those shots to walk into the stadium and watch the New England Patriots host the Miami Dolphins in the season opener on Sunday.

In what will be the Patriots' first regular season home game since the 2019 season, the team is not requiring proof of vaccination, as will be the case in other stadiums across the NFL.

According to a team statement: "While vaccinations will not be required for fans' stadium entry, all ticketholders must agree that neither they nor their guests will attend an event if they have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 14 days, been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 14 days, or experienced symptoms of COVID-19 within 48 hours prior to the event.

Unvaccinated fans are asked to wear a mask to Gillette Stadium events."

President Joe Biden during his speech on new federal coronavirus measures late Thursday afternoon implored owners of stadiums and large entertainment venues to require proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test as a condition of attendance.

Read more on the 2021 Patriots here.

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Today's Other Top Stories

Gas leak at a Wakefield high school sends kids home: A gas leak led to the evacuation of a Wakefield high school Thursday morning. Students and faculty at Northeast Metro Tech School in Wakefield were sent home shortly after the start of school after reports of a propane leak just a little after 7 a.m. There were no injuries and no fire or damage to the building has occurred.

'Big mess' after storm floods Wayland HS crumb rubber field: Recent heavy rains washed pieces of Wayland High School's new crumb rubber football field into nearby waterways, exacerbating concerns about a material that residents have raised environmental questions about. Facilities Director Ben Keefe told the Wayland School Committee on Thursday heavy rain during storm Ida last week washed water and crumb rubber into a filter system and clogged it. Wayland got more than 5 inches of rain in just a few hours during that storm.

Boston Public Gardens 9/11 tribute vandalized: Just two days before the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, visitors to the Boston Public Garden were shocked to find someone damaged the memorial display overnight.

Danvers responds to racial profiling accusation at Connors Farm: Danvers officials on Thursday publicly apologized to a Cambridge School Committee member and her family — saying "discriminatory behavior has no place in Danvers or any other community" — after Rev. Manikka Bowman said her family was racially profiled this weekend at Connors Farm.

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National Guard fears EPA review may 'sink' Cape gun range: An environmental group is urging Gov. Charlie Baker to shelve a proposed machine gun range at Joint Base Cape after emails showed the Massachusetts National Guard is worried the project won't hold up to growing environmental scrutiny..