Signs of water contamination were all around Oak Bluffs this week.

At the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School and Oak Bluffs grammar school, water fountains were covered and written signs warned students not to drink the water.

Vineyard schools superintendent James H. Weiss said an announcement was made over the public address system each day reminding students about the water problem. School kitchens switched to paper plates and poured boiling water over all cooking utensils, pans and plates to kill any bacteria.

“We have been extra cautious. We have taken extra steps to make sure the students are safe,” Mr. Weiss said.

The Martha’s Vineyard Hospital used bottled water for hand washing and the hospital kitchen switched to bottled water for food preparation. Arrangements were made for dialysis patients to receive treatment off-Island.

Marie Devine, whose husband receives dialysis treatment at the hospital three times a week, said it meant some long days this week for her husband. “He left [on Wednesday] to receive dialysis in Mashpee around 11 a.m., and he didn’t get back until after 9 p.m. . . . it was a long and tiring day for him,” she said.

Hospital chief executive officer Timothy Walsh did not return telephone calls from the Gazette this week seeking comment about how the hospital was coping with the boil-water order issued by the state late last week.

Several hospital officials who asked to remain anonymous said they believed that no patients suffered ill health effects from the water problem. School officials also reported no health problems among students related to water use or consumption.

The boil-water order did create a major inconvenience for restaurants, who were unable to make ice, wash dishes or make coffee. At Linda Jean’s on Circuit avenue employees stopped putting ice in beverages and had to explain to customers that they were unable to serve tap water.

“We’ve been serving a lot more juice and soda as a result,” one employee said on Saturday.

At Sharky’s Cantina owner J.B. Blau and Josh Aronie brought in bagged ice on Friday so they could continue to serve drinks. “As soon as we heard, we arranged to bring in ice . . . and we went through a lot of ice over the weekend,” Mr. Blau said. Sharky’s was also credited with performing a public service by putting the word out early about the boil-water order through e-mail blasts that it uses to inform regular customers about restaurant specials.

Tony’s Market did not sell coffee all week.

“It’s a sad day when you can’t get a cup of hot coffee at Tony’s in the morning,” owner David Richardson said on Monday.

At another popular coffee spot, Mocha Mott’s on Circuit avenue, the owner solved the problem by bringing in coffee from his other store in Vineyard Haven. “It’s worked out pretty good . . . we haven’t run out of coffee in the middle of the day yet,” employee Jamie Young said. “The only thing is we can’t do is hot espresso drinks, which does upset some people.”