256 People Linked To Cape Coronavirus Cluster: Patch PM

PROVINCETOWN, MA — It's Thursday, July 22. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• State and local officials are investigating an environmental incident along the Charles River that has killed fish and left an oily sheen and "noxious" odor emanating from the water.
• An acrobat was hospitalized after falling off the "Wheel of Death" during a show at the Barnstable County Fair Wednesday evening.
• Dave's Hot Chicken, which previously said it would open 10 Boston-area stores, doubled that plan to 20 on Wednesday.

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

Today's Top Story: Cape COVID-19 Cluster Grows

A coronavirus cluster, which forced Provincetown to reimplement a mask advisory,grew with another 124 cases reported Thursday.

As of Tuesday, Provincetown town officials has reported 256 new confirmed COVID-19 cases to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Barnstable County health officials said 190 of the cases are Massachusetts residents, and 109 of them are Barnstable County residents. The remaining 66 cases came from out-of-state tourists.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, town officials during an emergency meeting Monday voted to advise people to wear masks indoors, regardless of their vaccination status. Town officials also voted to advise clubs and music venues where social distancing isn't achievable to enforce vaccine verification prior to admittance.

Read the full story.

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Thursday's Other Top Stories

Dead fish, odor in Charles: State and local officials are investigating an environmental incident along the Charles River between Medfield and Natick that has killed fish and left an oily sheen and "noxious" odor emanating from the water. The Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) first reported the incident Wednesday. State officials are investigating if there has been a discharge into the water, according to CRWA.

Doctors trying to save man's arm: Massachusetts State Police are investigating after a serious single-car crash on the ramp from Route 95 north to Route 128 north in Canton Wednesday night sent a man to the hospital. Troopers say they got to the scene around 1:25 a.m. Thursday morning, where they found a 28-year-old driver from Randolph suffering serious injuries, with his left arm amputated in the crash. A Trooper applied a tourniquet to the man, who was transported by ambulance to Boston Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. Emergency crews located the man's arm and rushed it to BMC.

Acrobat fall during Barnstable County Fair show: An acrobat was hospitalized after falling off the "Wheel of Death" during a show at the Barnstable County Fair Wednesday evening. Fire and emergency officials were on standby at the fair, when they reported the fall around 5:45 p.m. The acrobat fell from the top of the "Wheel of Death," a large rotating structure with wide hoops on both ends, the Cape Cod Times reported.

No injuries in Natick standoff: Natick police took a man into custody Wednesday afternoon after a brief standoff near a North Avenue home. According to Natick Lt. Cara Rossi, police went to the home after a 911 call made around 1:30 p.m. about a disturbance. A woman there told police a man involved in the incident had gone inside the home. The man barricaded himself inside the home and refused to leave for almost 90 minutes, Rossi said. He eventually surrendered with no injuries involved.

Eat fresh: Patch's 2021 Massachusetts Farmers Market Guide

Picture This

Cleared for takeoff: Tailwind Air, a New York-based airline will be the first to bring commercial seaplane services to Boston Harbor in two weeks. The Federal Aviation Administration gave Tailwind its final approval for the Boston to Manhattan flights last week.Tailwind says one-way fares will cost anywhere from $395 to $795, and trips will take 75-90 minutes from port to port. (Shutterstock)

They Said It

"This event has not halted our ability to respond to emergency calls, patrol the Brockton community, or perform our vital policing functions. We have no reason to believe this was a targeted attack."

• Brockton Mayor Robert F. Sullivan. The city disclosed that a cyberattack targeted the Brockton Police Department.

In Case You Missed It

State not bringing back coronavirus restrictions: "We're not looking at changing any of our existing rules or policies," Gov. Charlie Baker said in a Thursday morning news conference in Sandwich, less than 30 miles from the site of the largest COVID-19 outbreak in months. Baker cited the efficacy of vaccines as to why things will stay the way there are — at least for now. "The vaccines are overwhelmingly effective," he said.

Muffin recall: Several kinds of muffins sold at Stop & Shop, Walmart and 7-Elevan in Massachusetts have been recalled after it was discovered the items may have listeria contamination. The voluntary recall was issued by Give and Go Prepared Foods and shared Tuesday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It affects 26 different kinds of ready-to-eat muffins sold at 7-Eleven, Stop & Shop, Walmart or Sam's Club.

Cape restaurant owner talks about rude customers on national TV: A Cape Cod restaurant owner remains fed up after unruly customers forced her to temporarily close her restaurant after they berated staff to the point some employees cried. And now, she's using the incident to draw national attention to a post pandemic trend of impatient customers verbally abusing workers at understaffed eateries. Brandi Felt Castellano, the co-owner of Apt Cape Cod in Brewster, went on MSNBC and shared her frustration with anchor Stephanie Ruhle, about what Castellano calls the worst customer behavior in 20 years.

Eat Mass: Is Massachusetts Ready For Nashville Hot Chicken?

Eat Mass is Patch's weekly round up of food and restaurant news in Massachusetts. Click for more, including:

• Dave's Hot Chicken, which previously said it would open 10 Boston-area stores, doubled that plan to 20 on Wednesday.
• A Cape Cod restaurant owner remains fed up after unruly customers forced her to temporarily close her restaurant after they berated staff to the point some employees cried.
• A look at the long-lasting changes the coronavirus pandemic brought to the Massachusetts restaurant industry.

Have a food news tip, question or suggestion? Email dave.copeland@patch.com. Want to make sure you don't miss each week's roundup? Sign up for our newsletter and get it delivered every weekend. It's free!