There were two new cases of COVID-19 reported by the TestMV site Tuesday, bringing the Island’s total number of confirmed positive cases to 69 — 24 of them from the testing site at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.
The site, which tests asymptomatic individuals, has now tested 12,666 people, with 12,583 testing negative and 59 pending results.
This is as Martha’s Vineyard Hospital has gone the entire month of September thus far without a new positive case of COVID-19. The hospital has tested 4,364 individuals with 45 testing positive to date. Another 4,213 individuals tested negative and there are 106 results pending. There are no current hospitalizations for COVID-19 on the Island.
“We remain vigilant and prepared here at the hospital,” Claire Sequin, chief operating officer for the hospital, said Wednesday during a conference call with reporters. “We are encouraged that our prevalence remains stable on the Island and at the hospital.”
Hospital CEO Denise Schepici praised the efforts of Islanders and visitors to keep numbers low on the Vineyard, even as she urged no letup on coronavirus. She said while it was tough to sometimes see people not wearing masks, overall people did a good job adhering to regulations requiring face coverings.
“I’m really pleased with the way the summer went. I was holding my breath just about every day,” Schepici said. “The early efforts paid off. Overall, people did a great job.”
Labor Day is typically the end of the summer season on Martha’s Vineyard, but Schepici said the hospital will maintain its staffing levels, and is, in fact, looking for three additional primary care physicians. She said the decision to keep summer staffing levels is in part due to published reports that seasonal residents plan to say on-Island longer, and a boom in the real estate market for people looking for year-round homes here while COVID-19 remains a threat. “We do expect we’ll see more activity,” she said.
Schepici also announced the hospital’s push to get Islanders vaccinated against the flu. The hospital will offer appointments in the hospital, as well as at a drive-through site.
Just like for COVID-19 testing, patients will need to have an appointment for the vaccinations. Next week, the hospital is prioritizing pediatric patients because of the need for students to be vaccinated against the flu before returning to school Sept. 17, Seguin said.
To make an appointment, individuals are urged to contact their primary care physicians at
508-684-4500. For pediatric appointments, the number is 508-693-3732.
“I’m very pro–flu vaccine. It’s tough to mandate healthcare,” Schepici said of the state requirement for children to be vaccinated before going back to school. “It’s really good practice. I would highly advise everybody to get a flu shot.”
Because flu symptoms are similar to COVID-19 symptoms in some ways, Schepici said, she expects there to be more of a demand for testing moving forward.
Sequin asked that anyone getting a flu shot elsewhere on the Island let their primary care doctor know.
During Wednesday’s session, Schepici touched on the clinical trials underway for a coronavirus vaccine. While there was no news to report on when one would be available, she praised the companies involved in developing a vaccine for their signed pledge “to uphold the scientific process and efficacy standards.”
When a vaccine is available, Seguin said, the hospital will use lessons learned in the testing process to facilitate offering vaccines on the Island. “You want to make sure you don’t create crowds,” she said, noting the need for appointments. She said it’s also important to pay close attention to necessary supplies like needles and the need for refrigeration.
During the conference call, Schepici also mentioned that September is National Recovery Month, and noted that Sept. 22 is being highlighted by Island organizations. She pointed to the hospital’s online screening tool for opioid addiction, and said the hospital’s substance use disorder team is available 24/7 to provide assistance with placements.
Still no cases from Aquinnah testing
Along with the hospital and TestMV, the town of Aquinnah continues its testing. The town has tested 271 individuals and has had zero positive cases. There have been 200 negative results, and 71 individuals are awaiting test results.
The Martha’s Vineyard boards of health have confirmed one other case separately, bringing the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 69.
Due to the hospital, boards of health, and the town of Aquinnah all reporting their own data at different times of day, and due to some people being tested at multiple sites, exact numbers can be difficult to calculate.
Of the 69 confirmed cases, 44 are female and 25 are male. Of those, 17 of the cases are 50-59 years old, 15 are 20-29 years old, nine cases are 60-69 years old, 12 are 30-39 years old, nine are 20 years old or younger, four are 40-49, and three are 70 years or older.
The boards of health are also reporting on probable cases. The Island’s total number of presumed positives is 24. Of those, 21 were positive antibody tests, and three were symptomatically positive.
Of the probable cases, 14 are female and 10 are male. Of the 20 presumed positive cases, seven are aged 60-69, five are aged 50-59, three are aged 40-49, five are aged 20-29, two are under 20 years old, and two are over the age of 70.
At the state level Tuesday, there were 168 newly reported cases, bringing the state’s total to 121,214. The state also continues to see COVID-19-related deaths. On Tuesday, eight new deaths brought the total number to 8,933.