Milford Board of Health issues $1,500 fine after 200-person party held on Saturday violated state’s COVID-19 regulations

MILFORD, Mass. — The Milford Board of Health has issued $1,500 in three citations after a 200-person party was held in the town last Saturday.

According to Milford health officials, the party took place at a house on Franklin Street during the COVID-19 pandemic, where large gatherings have been prohibited by the state in efforts to curb the spread of the virus.

When Milford Police officers responded to a call regarding the large party, they noticed three violations of Gov. Charlie Baker’s COVID-19 orders: violation of social distancing guidelines, violation of mask and face-covering regulations and violation of an outdoor gathering size limited to only 50 people in a given space.

“We didn’t really think that many people would show up and before people came in, we made sure they were wearing their mask but some people just didn’t want to cooperate and some people just went without masks and it got out of control,” said Jean Loja, whose dad hosted the event.

According to Baker’s orders, anyone found in violation would be subject to a $500 fine by local boards of health and other municipal offices. Citations are civil fines, administered as non-criminal dispositions for violations of local by-laws, rules, or regulations.

Multiple neighbors called police to break up Saturday night’s party. Something police and neighbors say happens almost every weekend.

“$1500? That’s it? This has been going on for years,” said an anonymous neighbor. “All hours of the night, music blasting food trucks. $1500 is nothing. We just need the town to end this. We have a quiet street, we have working people, we have kids, we have elderly people.”

Milford Board of Health issues $1,500 fine after 200-person party held on Saturday violated state’s COVID-19 regulations The Milford Board of Health has issued $1,500 in three citations after a 200-person party was held in the town last Saturday.

But that $1500, a big blow to the family who says they started hosting the tournaments to raise money for their 41-year-old aunt diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.

“The first phase of opening up when he announced that that’s when we started letting a small amount of people in but when the pandemic began we literally shut everything down,” said Loja. “It’s really important to us because my aunt isn’t currently working right now.”

“It does have real ramifications on whether or not we can open schools as early as we want to, of course for all the contact tracing we will have to do, for all the other people who have to take care of people who get coronavirus and end up needing medical care,” said Milford Board of Health Director of Public Health Jacquelyn Murphy. “So it has A ripple effect.”

Police responded to the home two houses away from the police station and dispersed the group with no arrests.

The family says they will have to find new ways to raise money. “It came to us as a surprise,” said Loja. “The police station is right over there we do this every single day but obviously not as many people come Monday through Friday. Police shut us down before we could do our raffle.”

This is the first time the city issued fines for COVID-19 violations.

Follow Wale on Facebook: WaleAliyuTV Twitter: @WaleAliyu or Instagram: WaleAliyuTV

Download the free Boston 25 News app for up-to-the-minute push alerts

>> Complete local and national coronavirus coverage here

RESOURCES:

- Massachusetts Coronavirus Information

- Boston Coronavirus Information

- Follow us on Facebook and Twitter | Watch Boston 25 NOW

- Download our free apps for your phone and smart TV