According to Martha’s Vineyard Hospital chief nurse and chief operating officer Claire Seguin, three cases of the B.117 COVID-19 variant, known as the British variant, have been detected.
Seguin spoke to reporters on Friday afternoon and said the hospital had received results for testing the variants conducted by the state epidemiologist this week. Four of the six samples tested came back with three positives for the B.117 variant and one negative. The other two samples are pending the results and the hospital expects the results to be early next week.
Since Wednesday morning, the hospital has reported 27 new positive cases of COVID-19 and one patient is in a ‘reasonable condition’ hospitalized with the virus.
‘This is such an important reminder of the need for us to be vigilant and work together as a town, even after you have been vaccinated. You must wear a mask, disinfect your hands and distance yourself socially. This is not the time to get together, ”Seguin said.
Island samples selected for variant testing are considered a high risk because the individuals around other major dispersal events were through contact tracin or have recently traveled.
According to the Massachusetts COVID Command Center, the B.117 variant was detected in other Massachusetts communities with 59 cases at the Cape.
“I was not surprised because our number of cases is higher. I was suspicious about it because our number of cases increased, “said Seguin.
Seguin said the B.117 strain is more virulent and in some studies it has been shown that people get sicker, Seguin said. Treatments are the same regardless of the voltage of COVID-19.
The hospital is working with the health council on whether additional variant tests should be performed.
Hospital officials said Wednesday that the Brazilian P-1 variant has been detected more than in any other state in Massachusetts, but the four samples they received did not test positive for it.
25 cases in the last two days
The health council has reported 25 new cases of COVID-19 in the past two days – five cases Thursday and Friday 20 for a total of 57 new cases this week.
In total, there have been 1,154 confirmed positive cases since testing on the island began in March. Of these, 577 are male and 577 female.
Health data show that most new cases are those 40 years and younger, with 18 of the new cases of the week in their thirties.
The hospital performed a total of 16,019 tests with 827 positive, 15,230 negative and 60 pending results.
TestMV, located in the parking lot at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, has now taken 36,356 tests, with 302 positive results, 35,719 negative results and 335 tests pending.
The city of Aquinnah conducted 444 self-administered tests, one of which was positive, 441 negative, and two results were pending.
The Martha’s Vineyard Public Schools passed 9,469 tests. Of these, seven tested positive.
The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) reported a total of seven positive cases of COVID-19.
Depending on how tests are performed, there may be a difference between the number of positive individuals and the number of positive tests reported.
Businesses close due to COVID
The Barn Bowl & Bistro will reopen on Tuesday, April 13, after closing its doors last week because four employees tested positive for COVID-19.
In a Facebook post Thursday, The Barn wrote a lengthy message outlining the series of events that led to their decision to reopen.
‘After hearing about the employee’s positive test result, we immediately closed the business and notified the Oak Bluffs Board of Health. Shortly afterwards, we learned that several other employees had also tested positive for the virus, and of course, we extended the closure. We had to wait and make sure that all our employees who were possibly exposed to the virus were tested five days after their potential contact with it. (This is how long it takes the virus to identify itself as detectable in someone). Fortunately, all those employees have tested negative since then, ”reads the report in part.
According to the post, the four employees who tested positive were asymptomatic. Three other people attached to the employees also tested positive.
The island has had a total of eight groups in the past two weeks with King’s Barbershop (eight), Shirley’s Hardware (six) and the Barn (seven). The other groups were a wedding in October (eight cases), Cronig’s Market (19 cases), a Bible study group (11 cases), MV Hospital (five cases) and Project Headway (four cases).
A group is defined as more than two people from different families or households with a shared source of infection.
The Scottish Bakehouse closed on Thursday after the positive test of an employee. According to Tisbury health agent Maura Valley, contact is being tracked. A sign at the Bakehouse reads: “We will be closed until further notice due to possible exposure to COVID-19.”
Meanwhile, Martha’s Vineyard Hospital test for COVID variants amid the steady increase in cases the island has seen over the past few weeks. As of Wednesday, there were 133 cases over a ten-day period, an increase in cases not seen since January. The Martha’s Vineyard Board of Health will release an updated COVID report on Friday afternoon.
The hospital is sticking to its vaccination schedule. New appointments start on Saturday at 08:00 and Monday at 17:00. Seguin said that although the hospital understands the frustration of the public, the current system is the best option for the hospital.