A coronavirus case cluster that has contributed to an overall spike in Covid-19 patients on Island this week continues to expand, with Island boards of health and the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital reporting a combined five new cases Thursday.
One of the new patients is connected to a case cluster that health agents identified earlier this week, Tisbury health agent Maura Valley confirmed. The cluster stemmed from a wedding held on the Island over Columbus Day weekend. There have now been 10 patients to test positive who were connected to the wedding, eight of whom remain on Island, and at least six of whom are in isolation.
The new positive patient connected to the wedding cluster is a contact of a wedding guest, but did not attend the actual event, Ms. Valley said. This is the first individual connected to the wedding who tested positive but did not attend the event.
“The individual is a contact of one of the wedding positives,” Ms. Valley said. “It wasn’t some kind of incidental contact with the event.”
Three of the new patients Thursday, including the individual connected to the cluster, were reported by the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. In a phone interview, Ms. Valley confirmed that the boards of health had learned of two additional patients who had tested positive at TestMV.
The five total new cases on Thursday add to a week that has already seen the highest number of virus cases on-Island since the pandemic began. Two new patients were reported Friday, six on Monday, three Wednesday and now five on Thursday, making 16 in the last seven days and 14 since the weekend.
Seven of the patients have tested positive at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Eight others have tested positive at TestMV. One was tested off-island.
The hospital tests symptomatic patients and their close contacts for the virus, while TestMV is a free, comprehensive testing site focused on asymptomatic patients.
In the hospital’s daily Covid-19 update, which is accurate as of 9 a.m. Thursday, 59 patients have tested positive for the virus — an increase of three from yesterday’s numbers. Forty-four patients have tested positive for the virus at TestMV.
The hospital also reported on Monday that a patient had been hospitalized over the weekend in fair condition.
The patient was released from the hospital Tuesday in good condition, according to spokesman Marissa Lefebvre. Two Covid-19 patients have now been admitted to the hospital in October, after the Island went the entire summer without a Covid-19 hospitalization.
Including the five new patients Thursday, the Island has now eclipsed the 100 positive test mark, with a total of 103 patients having tested positive for the virus. An additional 24 patients have either tested positive for viral antibodies or been symptomatically diagnosed with the virus.
Statewide, case numbers have continued to climb, with the state Department of Public Health reporting more than 1,000 new cases for five straight days. Hospitalizations and the seven-day average positive test rate have also nearly doubled since lows in mid-September, according to the DPH.
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October 30, 2020 at 01:57AM
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Five New Cases Reported Thursday, Including One More Traced to Wedding Cluster - The Vineyard Gazette - Martha's Vineyard News
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