Provincetown COVID-19 Update: Positivity Rate, Active Cases Drop

PROVINCETOWN, MA — The coronavirus situation in Provincetown is improving, with both active cases and positivity rates seeing steady declines, town officials said.

The number of active coronavirus cases among Provincetown residents decreased from 103 on Friday to 59 on Monday. This means more than 70 percent of the 231 town residents who contracted COVID-19 during the outbreak have recovered.

"We are well on our way to containment," Town Manager Alex Morse said in a statement. "The number of people recovering each day far exceeds the number of new cases being added. We are optimistic this will continue."

Morse said the town's positivity test rate has also continued to drop. On July 15, Provincetown's COVID-19 outbreak was at its worst with, 15.1 percent of tests coming back positive. Positive test rates hit a new post outbreak low of 3.3 percent on Saturday, though the rate did see a slight increase to 4 percent on Sunday.

But more progress is needed before town officials can safely lift Provincetown's indoor mask mandate. Morse said the town needs a positive test rate below 3 percent before officials will consider shifting the mask mandate to an advisory. That rate would need to be below 1 percent for at least five days to lift the indoor and outdoor mask advisory.

The Provincetown Cluster

The cases stemmed from a busy 4th of July weekend, and Morse said 73 percent of those infected were fully vaccinated. As of Friday, 932 cases were linked to the Independence Day cluster.

Morse said the town stopped adding new cases to the cluster Saturday, per guidance from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, as those new cases stemmed from outside the 14-day incubation period.

Despite the high number of cases, just seven people have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported, Morse said.

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 57 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.