Docs Call For New Mask Mandate After Baker Balks: Patch PM

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — It's Tuesday, Dec. 14. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• School administrators in Fitchburg are investigating an Instagram page titled "fhsslaves," which contained "a variety of pictures of Black students at Fitchburg High School.
• A 74-year-old man was hospitalized after falling from a horse-drawn carriage at Krochmal Farms in Tewksbury Monday afternoon.
• Sexual abuse allegations against two Catholic priests with Cape Cod ties were determined to be credible by the Diocese of Fall River.

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

Today's top story

A group representing thousands of Massachusetts doctors and medical students is calling for masks to be worn in all indoor spaces.

The Massachusetts Medical Society cited an uptick in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations and said going back to universal masking could slow the spread of the virus over the holidays.

"As the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue an alarming upward trend that is straining our health care system, the physicians of the Massachusetts Medical Society recommend that masks be required at all public indoor settings in the Commonwealth, regardless of vaccination status," Dr. Carole Allen, president of the society, said in a statement to media outlets.

The statement from the association, which has 25,000 members, comes a day after Gov. Charlie Baker said he has no plans to reinstate a statewide mask mandate. Instead, Baker emphasized the importance of getting vaccinated and receiving booster shots once eligible.

Read the full story.

Tuesday's other top stories

'Slaves' Instagram page with photos of Black students surfaces: Officials are investigating after an Instagram page titled "fhsslaves" surfaced, with pictures of Black students at Fitchburg High School posted to it. "A variety of pictures" of Black or African-American students were on the page, WCVB reported, and it has since been taken down.

Man injured in fall from horse-drawn carriage in Tewksbury: A 74-year-old man was injured in a fall from a horse-drawn carriage at Tewksbury's Krochmal Farms Monday, police said. Police and firefighters responded to the South Street farm around 1 p.m. Monday for the reported fall. First responders found the man lying on the ground "with a possible traumatic spinal cord injury."

Sexual abuse claims against two Cape priests are credible: Sexual abuse allegations against two Catholic priests with Cape Cod ties were deemed credible by the Diocese of Fall River. Reverends James Buckley and Edward Byington, both retired, were added Monday to the Diocese's list of credibly accused clergy. Both priests were suspended, but now neither are allowed to return to ministry.

Woman killed in crash after teen runs red light: A woman in her 50s was killed after state police say a teenaged driver ran a red light in Brighton at a high rate of speed, crashing into her car late Monday night. State troopers say 53-year-old Dina L. Donahue, of Topsham, Maine, suffered fatal injuries when her car was hit at the intersection of Birmingham Parkway and Western Ave. just before 10 p.m.

First wings of new Arlington High School set to open: The first wings of the new high school will open in a few months, followed by the next phase of construction on the project, according to an update from the Arlington High School Building Project. The Performing Arts and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics) classroom spaces are slated to open in February 2022, and the auditorium is expected to be completed in April 2022.

Picture this

Police at Framingham State University are looking for this man, who they say littered the campus with white supremacist propaganda.

They said it

"When the recent media created a firestorm of opinions that we legally aren't allowed to comment on, it became an increasingly difficult situation. One that has taken a toll on students, staff and me, as well as a community as a whole. I understand there is a natural curiosity for people to know every detail of situations, but in this case, it simply isn't legally possible."

• Danvers Public Schools Superintendent Lisa Dana on allegations of racist and homophobic hazing within the boys' hockey program, which were revealed in a front-page story in the Boston Globe last month.

In case you missed it

When will COVID-19 pills be available in Massachusetts? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is preparing to make decisions on COVID-19 pills from Merck and Pfizer, clearing the way for millions of Americans to pick-up treatments for the coronavirus at their local pharmacy. FDA approval could come for both pills by the end of this month. Once approved, Massachusetts doctors could immediately order the pills directly from medical distributors for their patients.

Forklift joyride down a Cambridge street leads to woman's second OUI: A Somerville woman is facing her second round of OUI charges, but this time it wasn't with a car. Elissa Haley, 35, was arrested after police say she operated a forklift in a "reckless manner" down Prospect Street in Cambridge. Police first received word of the incident just before 3 a.m. Sunday and were able to stop her shortly after arriving at the intersection of Hampshire and Prospect Street.