Rare Mosquito-Borne Disease Triggers Voluntary Curfew in Massachusetts Towns

Town officials urge people to avoid going outside when mosquitoes are most active.

Visitors stand near a 1921 statue of the Wampanoag leader Massasoit (C) on Cole's Hill in Plymouth, Mass., on June 9, 2021. Steven Senne/AP Photo

Four towns in central Massachusetts are advising residents to stay indoors at night to avoid contracting a rare but potentially deadly mosquito-borne virus.

The voluntary curfew notice was issued after the Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Aug. 16 announced the first confirmed human case of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) in the state since 2020, when five people contracted the virus and one died.