A man in his thirties is the latest confirmed case of Covid-19 on Martha’s Vineyard, public health officials said Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases on the Island to 12.
In a morning report, Martha’s Vineyard Hospital said it has conducted 168 tests to date, with 12 positive, 146 negative and 10 pending results. No one is currently hospitalized for treatment of the virus.
Later in the day, the Island boards of health – who are responsible for finding and alerting people who may have come into contact with an infected person – supplied age and gender information for the latest positive case. No other identifying information is given.
Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported 1,588 new cases of Covid-19 across the state, the most reported in a day since the outbreak began. A total of 16,790 people in the state have tested positive, and 433 have died, an increase of 77 from Tuesday’s report.
The state numbers, released around 4 p.m. daily, continue to show only eight cases in Dukes County. Officials say that is due to a lag time in reporting laboratory confirmed cases.
On Wednesday, Cong. Bill Keating announced that Island Health Care, a Vineyard-based community health center, would receive a $561,830 grant as part of the federal government’s Covid-19 relief efforts.
The grant is part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding that is being administered by the Health & Human Services branch. It is one of six awards that will go to community health centers around the region. The awards total $3.5 million.
Since 2018, the Island boards of health have subcontracted a large part of their public health nursing services through Island Health Care -- -a federally qualified community health center with a nurse-practitioner model. Part of their contract with the boards of health also covers disaster preparedness and response. Public health nurses at Island Health Care, Lila Fischer and Lori Perry, have been leading the effort to conduct contact tracing for Vineyard residents who test positive for Covid-19.
“We are so very grateful for this funding to help us sustain basic services during these turbulent times, highly doubtful that we could make it through otherwise,” said Cynthia Mitchell, director of Island Health Care in a press release from Cong. Keating’s office.
Outside the hospital, the parking lot was eerily empty Wednesday, but preparations continue inside for an uptick of cases in the coming days and weeks.
Hospital leaders are urging Islanders to continue to follow the strict stay-at-home orders now in place in every Island town. The orders were recently extended to May 4, with construction bans extended to April 21.
Also, beginning Thursday the Tisbury board of health is requiring that anyone entering a grocery store in Vineyard Haven wear a face covering. The board of health is recommending also that customers wash their hands before going to the store, use hand sanitizers provided by stores and maintain a distance of at least six feet from other shoppers.
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