Dec. 5, 2020
For immediate release

On Saturday morning, we reported 64 new cases of COVID-19 among patients who were tested at Nantucket Cottage Hospital. This number includes some test results that were still pending from Wednesday, and nearly all of the testing results from Thursday and Friday. This is obviously a significant number of new cases, and while it is important to know these daily testing results as they are returned from the lab, it is more important to look at the trend, which is also very concerning. A total of 159 new cases of COVID-19 have been identified on Nantucket over the past week, and the seven-day positivity rate, which is the percent of tests that come back positive, has climbed to 10.9%. That is the highest rate we have seen since the start of the pandemic.

Among the individuals who have tested positive this week, we have seen an age range from 9 months up to 60 years old. The majority are people in their 20s and 30s. This is important because we know that COVID-19 has more severe impacts on people who are older, and have underlying health conditions. We are seeing transmission of the virus within households, and at this time we believe that this surge is impacting between 40 to 60 homes across the island.

COVID-19 cases have reached record highs in Massachusetts and across the country, and Nantucket is experiencing a similar surge that requires our vigilance. We are grateful, and lucky, that none of these recent active cases of COVID-19 have required hospitalization yet, but the sheer number of people we have diagnosed over the past week is very troubling.
(more…)

Today we reported 28 new cases of COVID-19 among patients who were tested on Wednesday at the Nantucket Cottage Hospital drive-through evaluation site. This the largest number of new cases we have reported for a single day of testing. A total of 105 new cases have been identified over the past week, and the seven-day positivity rate for the island is now at 7.5 percent.

COVID-19 cases have reached record highs in Massachusetts and across the country, and Nantucket is experiencing a similar surge that urgently demands our vigilance. We are grateful, and lucky, that none of these recent active cases of COVID-19 have required hospitalization yet, but the sheer number of people we have diagnosed through testing over the past week creates a potentially dangerous situation for the island.

I ask everyone on Nantucket to take personal responsibility and do all you can to reduce the potential for transmission in our community. That means wearing masks, staying physically distant, washing your hands, and not hosting or attending gatherings with people outside your immediate households. (more…)

Today we reported 46 new cases of COVID-19 among patients tested at the Nantucket Cottage Hospital drive-through evaluation site on Monday and Tuesday. This is by far the largest number of new cases we have reported over a two-day span. A total of 81 new cases have been identified over the past week, and the seven-day positivity rate for the island is now at 7.6 percent.

This represents a significant spike in transmission of the virus on Nantucket, and we must take this situation extremely seriously. Nantucket Cottage Hospital is working actively with the Nantucket Health Department and hospital staff involved with contact tracing and case investigation to learn more about these new cases, and identify and quarantine any other residents who may have been exposed to them. We urge anyone who is contacted for case investigation to cooperate fully with contact tracing efforts and request that you adhere to quarantine requirements if you have been identified as having been exposed.

We implore the community to remain vigilant and take precautions to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus on the island, including wearing masks, physical distancing, refraining from gathering in large groups, and hand hygiene.

Vaccines for COVID-19 are on the horizon and new therapeutics are rolling out, but the country and Nantucket are still experiencing significant transmission of the virus. We ask everyone in the community to take personal responsibility and utilize the simple preventative measures we know will work to keep the island safe.