Provincetown Coronavirus Cluster Rises To 882 Cases

PROVINCETOWN, MA — The number of coronavirus cases linked to a cluster in Provincetown rose to 882 on Thursday, health officials said. Of those, 531 are Massachusetts residents, and 220 live in Provincetown.

Despite officials reporting 117 new cases in town since Tuesday, just seven people have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported, Town Manager Alex Morse said.

Health officials said the cases are cumulative and do not represent the number of people with active COVID-19 cases or the number of people hospitalized. In Provincetown, Morse said there are 103 active cases in town, and 170 people have recovered. Morse said the number here is higher than 220, because some people from out of town stayed in Provincetown to recover.

The cases stemmed from a busy 4th of July weekend, and Morse said 73 percent of those infected were fully vaccinated. Men make up 89 percent of the cases, and the median age is 39, Morse said.

Following the outbreak, the Provincetown Select Board and Board of Health voted unanimously in an emergency meeting Sunday to reimplement an indoor mask mandate.

"We are entering a new stage of COVID," Town Manager Alex Morse said. "COVID, while depressing for many of us, is not going away anytime soon."

Last week, the board approved a mask advisory for both inside and outside, but Morse said the advisory wasn't enough to stop the spread. He said the town's positivity rate for COVID-19 tests needs to drop before emergency measures can be lifted. As of Thursday, Provincetown's five-day average positivity rate was 4.6 percent, a strong decline from the 7.9 percent it was at Tuesday.

"If we have a test positivity rate below 3 percent for a period of at least five days, the mandate will shift to an advisory, and if under 1 percent for a period of at least five days, the advisory will be lifted," Morse said. "If test positivity goes over 1 percent, the advisory is reimplemented, and if the test positivity rate goes over 3 percent, the mandate is reimplemented."

Testing and Vaccines

Town officials reminded the public that testing and vaccines are essential tools to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Morse also reiterated that COVID-19 vaccines are effective, and symptoms are less severe for those who are fully vaccinated.

Outer Cape has administered 110 vaccinations since July 1st, and the Fallon van has administered 54 vaccinations since they began offering the vaccine on July 14th.

Free testing is being offered at the Veterans Memorial Community Center parking lot at 2 Mayflower St. Testing is available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., everyday through Friday, Aug. 6. Vaccinations are also available at the community center Monday through Friday, through Aug. 6.

The site offers the two-shot Pfizer vaccine and the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Vaccines are free and do not require an appointment or health insurance. Vaccines are also available at the Outer Cape medical facility in Provincetown.

Morse said Outer Cape has administered 110 vaccinations since July 1, and the mobile Fallon site has administered 54 vaccinations since July 14.

Town officials said they're also working with the county to distribute 1,200 BinaxNOW at-home COVID-19 testing kids. Officials said they'll be given to local businesses, residents and visitors.