Massachusetts has seen a slight increase in positive COVID-19 tests, according to Gov. Baker.
Speaking to reporters during a press conference Thursday, Baker said there have been a few clusters of cases related to parties and others not complying with mask and social distancing orders.
“I can’t express this enough,” Baker said. “Don’t be careless or complacent. Wear a face covering, socially distance…We must do our part as individuals, as families, and as communities to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
Martha’s Vineyard has also seen an uptick in cases in recent weeks.
The total confirmed case count on Martha’s Vineyard sits at 52, based on reports from the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital (MVH), Island boards of health, the TestMV site, and the Aquinnah laboratory testing site.
So far, 9,252 total tests have been performed on-Island, with 8,172 tests coming back negative, and 1,028 pending tests.
The hospital reported no new COVID-19 cases Thursday, with the total number of confirmed cases remaining at 37.
In total, the hospital has tested 2,901 patients for COVID-19. Of those, 2,807 tests have come back negative, with 57 pending tests. There are currently no hospitalizations due to COVID at MVH.
The TestMV site reports 6,566 total tests performed, with 5,427 negatives, 15 positives, and 1,124 tests still pending. According to the TestMV website, due to high demand for COVID-19 molecular testing nationwide, results for TestMV asymptomatic patients will now be available in seven or more days. First responders and health care workers can continue to expect results within one to two days.
The Island boards of health report one new confirmed positive case, having conducted 17 antibody tests.
The Aquinnah laboratory so far has conducted 69 tests, with 65 total negatives and four pending tests.
The total number of cases, including presumptive (positive tests, antibody tests, and symptomatic positives), has risen to 72.
The MVH, the town of Aquinnah, boards of health, and TestMV, the testing site at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, each report their own testing numbers. Those numbers are then all compiled by the boards of health. The actual number of cases can be difficult to count due to lag time and overlaps in testing each day.
After a rise in cases recently, hospital CEO Schepici said she attributes that to people arriving on-Island and getting tested. “More density, more tests, more cases,” Schepici said Wednesday. When asked if the hospital has preparations in place to pull back services like it did at the outset of the pandemic, Schepici said she hopes that the numbers will not go in that direction, and those extreme circumstances will not present themselves. “But we do have plans in place if the numbers drive us in that direction,” Schepici said.
According to Schepici, the last nine cases reported by the hospital have been in the younger age range, from age 18 to 25, although none of those people were hospitalized.
“I understand everyone wants to be free and just have a great time, but it just isn’t the time for that,” Schepici said.
