Cases of Covid-19 continue to spike on the Island, with 620 confirmed cases since the first of the year, health officials reported Monday.
Also Monday a new distribution of rapid at-home test kits was announced that will take place on Wednesday and Thursday this week in all the Island towns.
In a weekly report, the Island boards of health said 490 people had tested positive between Saturday, Jan. 1 and Saturday, Jan. 8, more than number of the cases recorded in all of December. On Sunday, 56 more positive cases were reported, and Monday added an additional 74.
The case counts are a combination of results from PCR tests taken at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, TestMV and other providers and over-the-counter tests reported to the boards of health. The Island boards of health began including over-the-counter test results in their regular reports late last year, though reporting is voluntary.
Of the 490 cases for which detailed data was provided, 267 were tested at the hospital, 39 at TestMV, 37 by other providers and 147 in over-the-counter testing.
The vaccination status of more than half of those cases was unknown, but the boards of health said 184 people had at least two doses of the vaccine, 16 were partially vaccinated and 40 were unvaccinated.
Meanwhile, thousands of new at-home test kits are due to arrive on Island Tuesday morning, with distribution set for Wednesday and Thursday, a spokesman for Island Health Care confirmed late Monday.
Distribution information follows.
Edgartown
Residents must register through the town website and will receive an email which they are required to bring, either on their phone or a printout, along with proof of home address (e.g. a utility bill indicating street address or a government issued photo ID. Both the email and proof of address are required to receive a test kit.
Hours and pickup are:
Wednesday, Jan. 12 from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Robert’s Way entrance to the Edgartown fire station. The entrance is off the West Tisbury Road; residents are asked to not use Pease’s Point Way.
Thursday, Jan. 13 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Edgartown School student dropoff area at the main entrance.
Note: While Edgartown has two pickup window times, residents may only pickup a total of one test kit this week per person registered.
Tisbury
Hours and pickup are:
Wednesday, from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the town board of health office.
Thursday, 4 to 6 p.m. at the Emergency Services building to serve residents who are unable to pick up kits during working hours.
Oak Bluffs
Distribution at the town hall temporary trailers.
Hours are:
Wednesday, from 9:30 a.m. to noon.
Thursday, 4 to 6 p.m. to serve residents who are unable to pick up kits during working hours.
Chilmark
Distribution at the town landfill off Tabor House Road.
Hours are:
Wednesday, from 9:30 a.m. to noon.
Thursday, 4 to 6 p.m. to serve residents who are unable to pick up kits during working hours.
Aquinnah
Distribution at the town hall will be from at 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday.
West Tisbury
Distribution and hours are:
Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the town hall.
Thursday, 4 to 6 p.m. at the public safety building.
Last week saw the boards of health distribute more than 4,000 test kits in the six Island towns.
The test kits are being distributed by the federal government through Island Health Care, the Island’s only federally qualified community health center.
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