New cases of COVID-19 declined for the third week in a row with the Martha’s Vineyard boards of health reporting 32 new cases last week.
In an expanded report Monday, the boards of health reported that of the 32 positive test results between May 2 and May 8, 17 were from the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, 10 were from TestMV, two were from school testing, one was from the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), and two were from other providers. Of the cases, 14 were symptomatic, six had no symptoms, and the status of 12 was unknown.
In total there have been 1,385 confirmed cases since testing began in March 2020 with 711 males and 674 females.
Younger age groups continue to see the highest number of cases. Last week’s cases consisted of 10 cases aged between 11 and 19, seven in their 20s, five in their 40s, four in their 30s, and three younger than 10.
As of May 7, 18 students at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School are in quarantine due to being a close contact to a positive case.
Meanwhile, Massachusetts is entering the next phase of its reopening plan allowing some phase four step two outdoor industries to open again.
Large venues such as indoor and outdoor stadiums, arenas, and ballparks will be allowed to increase capacity from 12 percent to 25 percent. Amusement parks, theme parks, and outdoor water parks will be permitted to open at 50 percent capacity. Road races and other large athletic events will be permitted to take place with staggered starts after submitting safety plans to the local board of health. Additionally, youth and adult amateur sports tournaments will be allowed for moderate and high risk sports.
Singing at performance venues, restaurants, and events are now allowed as well.
Testing data
As of Monday, the hospital has administered 17,595 tests, with 989 positive results. There have been 16,576 negative tests and 22 results pending.
TestMV, which is located in the parking lot at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, has now administered 37,902 tests, with 355 positive results, 37,158 negative results, and 389 tests pending.
The town of Aquinnah has conducted 444 self-administered tests, of which one has come back positive, 443 negative, and no pending results.
The Martha’s Vineyard public schools have administered 13,131 tests. Of those, 14 have tested positive.
The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) has reported a total of 11 positive cases of COVID-19.
Due to how tests are conducted, there can be a discrepancy between the number of positive individuals and the number of positive tests reported.
There were also four probable cases reported last week, for a total of 79 since March 2020. Of those, 45 are male, and 34 are female.
The Island has had eight COVID clusters, including an October wedding (eight cases), Cronig’s Market (19 cases), a Bible study group (11 cases), M.V. Hospital (five cases), Project Headway (four cases), King’s barbershop (eight cases), Shirley’s Hardware (all six staff), and the Barn Bowl & Bistro (nine cases). A cluster is defined as more than two people from different families or households with a shared source of infection.
Good News: The CDC now says you can read the MVTimes without wearing a mask.
The Public Health worlds reluctance to tell people that fully vaccinated are at very low risk of contracting or spreading the disease especially in its worst forms has also worked to lower vaccinations. Masking outdoors in open spaces has never had much rationale and with 150mm vaccinated is ridiculous and now the CDC finally says so. The recent NYTimes expose of CDC exaggeration cause most people to question the ”experts”.
32 cases in a week is still a lot of cases.
About 1/3 of the cases are people under the age of 20.
The CDC and leading infectious disease experts have been telling us that young people can get and spread this.
We are not done with this– the CDC guidance has been evolving as we have learned more about this disease. Keep following it, and don’t be distracted by liars and /or fools who spread disinformation or mock people for attempting to be safe and keep others safe.
I have 2 friends who are “hesitant” to get the vaccine because they think it will change their DNA. It ,of course, will not.
”the CDC guidance has been evolving” is a quote that tells us nicely that they have given us misinformation and exagerated over the last year and they are bureaucrats and not experts. The recent NYTimes article tells us the CDC has pushed 10 percent instead of 1 percent on outdoor gatherings risk and this from liberal NYTimes.
Andrew–Yes, the CDC said that we could reach as many as 100,000 total deaths.– Boy, were they wrong.
We only have to review the comments of our FORMER president and yourself to know what the truth has been all along.
Those 15 cases that trump spoke about in March of 2020 “miraculously” went away, — that is true. None of those people currently have covid.
And we are “not even close” to 1,000 deaths from this disease.
And the CDC has always said children can get this and pass it on. —
And, they are STILL saving that, despite the fact that only 1/3 of the current cases are in people under 20.
So much misinformation
When one considers the lies about Covid, told by Trump and echoed by his sycophants for a year, and which caused the pandemic to worsen and kill more peope than had we had the truth, it should be laughable to hear anyone gripe about the difference between a 10% risk and a 1% risk of going maskless outdoors. It’s very low risk to go maskless outdoors. Everyone knows this. It’s a difficult call to make about going maskless indoors, since the virus is so contageous and there is no way of knowing who’s vaccinated and of little concern for spread. It’s not a hardship to wear a mask, so why all the fuss? Being courteous and respectful toward others is a good thing, not something to moan or nitpick about.
We’re up to almost 600,000 covid deaths now, a far cry from one commenter’s $1000 bet of a dollar a human head when he believed the lies from Trump and falsely and indifferently claimed there’d be fewer than 1000 deaths.
To remind people of the deadly lies told by the disgraced ex-President of the United States during his deadly reign of covid lies:
~A CDC study shows that “85 percent of the people wearing masks catch” the virus.
The lie also distorts the purpose of mask-wearing, which is chiefly to protect other people from the virus, not to protect only the mask-wearer herself.
~The outbreak would be temporary: “It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle—it will disappear.”
~“99%” of COVID-19 cases are “totally harmless.”
~(March 6 and May 11, 2020) “Anybody that needs a test, gets a test. We—they’re there. They have the tests. And the tests are beautiful” and “If somebody wants to be tested right now, they’ll be able to be tested.”
~(May, 2020, multiple times) “Coronavirus numbers are looking MUCH better, going down almost everywhere,” and cases are “coming way down.”
~(June 17, 2020) The pandemic is “fading away. It’s going to fade away.”
~(July 2, 2020) The pandemic is “getting under control.”
~(July 6,2020) “We now have the lowest Fatality (Mortality) Rate in the World.”
~If the economic shutdown continues, deaths by suicide “definitely would be in far greater numbers than the numbers that we’re talking about” for COVID-19 deaths.
This is only a partial list of the deadly lies Trump told to Americans. I am quoting from an Atlantic article, “”All the Presidents Lies about the Coronavirus, An Unfinished Compendium of Trumps Overwhelming Dishonesty During a National Emergency” from a November 2, 2020 article.
Republicans seem to live in a bizarro world where truth is false and lies are their truth. They want to complain about the CDC misleading with some numbers that hurt no one? Just today the GOP fired Liz Cheney from her leadership position for not going along with the “stolen election” Big Lie. That’s like throwing in jail the kid who told the truth in “The Emperor’s New Clothes”. How low can these lying GOPers go? But glomming onto the horrors of being advised to wear a mask for 5 minutes longer than neccessary will set off the outrage meter into alarm mode? Pathetic.
It’s comical listening to conservatives have hissy fit over hissy fit over the notion they may have been advised by the CDC to wear a mask outdoors for a moment “too long”. Horrors! Imagine the pearl clutching when they see respectful and smart Americans who continue to wear a mask in public, like on a bus or subway and AIRPLANE, long after the pandemic has passed. I guess conservatives never consider why there’s been no flu season this year. I haven’t even had a sniffle in over a year. But oh goodness, conservatives can’t stop the hand wringing and insult to their “freedoms” because they felt obligated to wear a mask outdoors for 5 minutes too long. Seriously, ENGELMAN, yours is the complaint of privileged white people with nothing better to kvetch about.
Meanwhile, vaccinated people who have listened to the experts like Fauci all along are joyfully experiencing reunions with grandchildren and children and fearlessly have gone back to most activities while still respectfully (don’t faint) wearing their masks in public around strangers when vaccination status is unknown. Normal, respectful people look forward to even more activities when vaccine passports become more popular. Indoor restaurant dining will especially take off! This is all good news.