Here comes the summer spike

Also: Cardinal Sean O' Malley to retire as archbishop of Boston; Sumner Tunnel reopens [❤️ Donate]( [View in Browser](   August 5, 2024  ☀️ Today is sunny, with a high near 92. Good Morning Boston, The City of Champions has another team to congratulate: the New England Free Jacks, who won their [second consecutive major league rugby championship]( this weekend. They also earned [props from a high-profile fan.]( Now, let's get to the news: - Summertime sickness: Massachusetts is now among 19 states with "very high" levels of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [Data shows]( the amount of the virus detected in Massachusetts' wastewater more than tripled in July. - Trend lines: Experts say this has been a pattern for the last three summers. "We're seeing what we've seen in many of the summers previously, actually all of them except for the first summer, which is that cases have definitely increased," Dr. Paul Sax, clinical director for the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women's Hospital, told WBUR's Dan Guzman. "On the plus side, the number of people hospitalized with severe COVID is nowhere near what we used to see." Sax chalks up the waning severity of illness to widespread population immunity, which has been built up through vaccinations and years of enduring COVID. - By the numbers: There have been a total of 7,280 confirmed cases of COVID and 36 confirmed COVID deaths in the state this respiratory illness season. [Click here]( to see data from your city or town. - What should you do? Sax says if you've got an important event coming up - like a wedding or a vacation - you might want to consider masking up in crowded public settings. He also suggests getting your COVID booster shot in the fall, which will be equipped to handle new variants of the virus. - Here's some good news, Boston: The monthlong Sumner Tunnel closure is over. The tunnel - which is crucial to many commutes and for travel from Logan Airport - is open to traffic as of today. But there are still a few more weekend closures on the horizon, WBUR's Andrea Perdomo-Hernandez [reports.]( - Work on the Sumner is around 90% complete, according to Gulliver. Contractors still need to paint roads within the tunnel, and wrap up some electrical and fire safety tasks. "Some of this work will continue to be done during the weekend closures that are coming up," Gulliver told WBUR. [Those closures are slated for the weekends of Aug. 9, Aug. 16 and Aug. 23]( with more planned in September and October. - How bad was this recent full-time closure? Traffic was "difficult but manageable," said Massachusetts Department of Transportation Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver. According to state data, folks traveling through Boston sat in an average of 20 minutes to an hour of additional traffic while taking detours around the tunnel. - The fallout from Steward: With the [upcoming closure]( of Steward's Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer and Carney Hospital in Dorchester, Massachusetts will lose 70 beds licensed for patients experiencing a mental health crisis, WBUR's Martha Bebinger reports. - According to Eliza Williamson, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 36 of the lost beds are meant for geriatric patients in need of psychiatric care. Older patients are difficult to place, Williamson told WBUR. "Even if there was a place for them to go, [it] would be deeply challenging but there really is nowhere for people to go. It's really a crisis that keeps intensifying," she added. - Check your flights: As of 7:40 a.m., over 40 flights to and from Logan Airport had been [canceled]( and more than 60 others were delayed. The disruption follows an [airport jam this weekend]( by diverted planes avoiding bad weather in the New York area. P.S.- Looking for a way to enjoy the sunshine and get around? Go for a bike ride! Bluebikes is offering free day passes every Monday in August in honor of National Wellness Month. Today, you can use the code BLUECROSS05 in the [Bluebikes App]( to unlock a two-hour ride. Each Monday has a different code, so be sure to check back [here](. Hanna Ali Associate Producer, Newsletters The Rundown [Cardinal Sean O' Malley, retires as archbishop of Boston at age 80]( Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Sean O'Malley as archbishop of Boston. The Pope named the current bishop of Providence, Rhode Island, Richard Henning, as the new leader of one of the most important Catholic archdioceses in the United States. [Read more.]( [Cardinal Sean O' Malley, retires as archbishop of Boston at age 80]( Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Sean O'Malley as archbishop of Boston. The Pope named the current bishop of Providence, Rhode Island, Richard Henning, as the new leader of one of the most important Catholic archdioceses in the United States. [Read more.]( [Boston announces a new climate resilience office]( The Office of Climate Resilience will focus on rising sea levels, inland flooding and extreme heat. [Read more.]( [Boston announces a new climate resilience office]( The Office of Climate Resilience will focus on rising sea levels, inland flooding and extreme heat. [Read more.]( [Garber sheds interim title, will remain Harvard president into 2027]( The Harvard Corporation said Friday it plans to "launch a full-scale search" for Garber's eventual successor in the late spring or summer of 2026. [Read more.]( [Garber sheds interim title, will remain Harvard president into 2027]( The Harvard Corporation said Friday it plans to "launch a full-scale search" for Garber's eventual successor in the late spring or summer of 2026. [Read more.]( [Why a weaker jobs market is sparking recession fears]( U.S. employers added just 114,000 jobs in July as the unemployment rate rose to 4.3%. The weaker-than-expected report is adding to fears of an economic slowdown. [Read more.]( [Why a weaker jobs market is sparking recession fears]( U.S. employers added just 114,000 jobs in July as the unemployment rate rose to 4.3%. The weaker-than-expected report is adding to fears of an economic slowdown. [Read more.]( [Thousands were arrested at college protests. For students, the fallout was only beginning]( Some 3,200 people were arrested this spring during a wave of pro-Palestinian tent encampments protesting the war in Gaza. While some colleges ended demonstrations by striking deals with the students, or simply waited them out, others called in police when protesters refused to leave. [Read more.]( [Thousands were arrested at college protests. For students, the fallout was only beginning]( Some 3,200 people were arrested this spring during a wave of pro-Palestinian tent encampments protesting the war in Gaza. While some colleges ended demonstrations by striking deals with the students, or simply waited them out, others called in police when protesters refused to leave. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - Great white shark activity is becoming more predictable along Cape Cod - and some tourism companies are cashing in on their presence in local waters. Working with spotter planes, chartered boats are taking those willing to pay a (hefty) price to see sharks up close. [Here's what it's like onboard one of these tours]( courtesy of NPR's Picture Show. - A stage adaptation of "Queen of Versailles," the story of a young woman in pursuit of a lavish life and an even more lavish home, is dazzling audiences at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in its pre-Broadway run. [Theater critic Jacquinn Sinclair writes]( the musical is "funny, heartwarming and comes with a message for all of us trapped in - and perhaps enamored by - capitalism." - Two Mass. locals scored bronze medals on Saturday during the Olympic Games: Gymnast [Stephen Nedoroscik, of Worcester]( (aka [pommel horse guy]( who also won bronze during the team finals) and rower [Henry Hollingsworth, of Dover](. It was an especially big accomplishment for Hollingsworth - a first-time Olympian - and the men's eight team, [who had not won a medal since 2008.]( - When Chelsea Conaboy heard Boston Mayor Michelle Wu's pregnancy announcement, she had questions about how the mayor would work, heal and manage life with a newborn. "These questions - all of them - were the wrong ones," Conaboy [wrote in this Cognoscenti essay.]( one we should be asking isn't should she or shouldn't she, but why does it matter?" What We're Reading 📚 - What makes Mondo fly? ([Washington Post]( - Inside the Secret Negotiations to Free Evan Gershkovich ([The Wall Street Journal]( - Do Not Say The Boeing Starliner Astronauts Are Stranded In Space, Which They Cannot Presently Return From Due To Problems With Their Spacecraft ([Defector](   Tell Me Something Good [For better or worse: Our readers' most memorable wedding stories]( Our readers really dove for the bouquet on this one, sharing memorable moments of matrimony, from the funny to the cringeworthy. [Read more.]( [For better or worse: Our readers' most memorable wedding stories]( Our readers really dove for the bouquet on this one, sharing memorable moments of matrimony, from the funny to the cringeworthy. [Read more.]( Play: [WBUR's daily mini crossword.]( Can you keep your streak going? Before you go: [A very Monday vibe.]( 😎 Forward to a friend. 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