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A new partnership with Biobot Analytics, Inc. in Cambridge offers a new approach to tracking COVID-19 outbreaks: analyzing wastewater. This week, for the first time, Cambridge will have access to local wastewater data that will serve as an early warning signal of increased COVID-19 infections in the city. This new monitoring tool will augment more traditional public health approaches for tracking and responding to disease outbreaks.

Since Thanksgiving, Cambridge has seen an increase in COVID-19 illness in the community and in the public schools. Confirmed cases and hospitalizations have also been rising in Middlesex County over the past week, causing the county’s COVID-19 community level designation from the CDC to move from “low” to “moderate.”

Cambridge Police Detectives are seeking the assistance of the public with identifying the individuals pictured with regard to an on-going and active firearms investigation.

Page detailing the application procedure of the Sidewalk Poetry program

Despite the considerable snowfall that Cambridge and the greater region has had this winter, drought conditions have been elevated due to limited groundwater recharge this winter. The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) elevated the Northeast Region of Massachusetts, which includes Cambridge, from a Level 2 - Significant Drought to a Level 3 - Critical Drought earlier this week. In response to the ongoing drought, Cambridge has implemented strict water use restrictions.

The Cambridge Summer Food Program ensures that youth ages 18 and younger have access to free, nutritious meals while school is out of session. In 2024, the program served over 80,000 meals at parks, sports leagues, summer camps, and community events across the city. Beyond meals, the program offers recreational activities and literacy support, including weekly visits from the Cambridge Book Bike, making summer a time for both nourishment and enrichment.

Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) will offer COVID-19 testing to all Cambridge residents via a stand-alone testing center at the CHA East Cambridge Care Center (163 Gore St., Cambridge). The service will launch on Friday, May 8. Cambridge residents eight years of age and older are welcome, regardless of insurance or immigration status. Individuals MUST CALL to set up an appointment using a new hotline number at 617-665-2928.

There will be traffic impacts across the greater Boston area due to Sumner Tunnel and the MBTA Red Line closures in July 2024.

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Applications accepted through October 31