Coronavirus cases continued to surge on the Island over Martin Luther King Day weekend, with the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital reporting 18 new positive tests since Friday and one new hospitalization.
The 18 new cases Monday come after the Island saw another 18 new cases on Friday, making 36 over the past four days.
Health agents also reported 91 active Covid-19 cases on Friday, the second-highest number since the pandemic began. One week prior, the Island boards of health reported 94 active coronavirus cases, on Friday, Jan. 8.
In a daily online update, Martha’s Vineyard Hospital reported that there are currently two patients admitted to the hospital with the virus. Hospital spokesman Marissa Lefebvre said in an email Monday that both patients are in good condition.
A patient admitted last week was discharged on Friday, Jan. 15, according to Ms. Lefebvre. But a third patient was admitted to the hospital on Saturday, Jan. 16, meaning that there are still two patients hospitalized.
Ms. Lefebvre said in the email that there had not been any coronavirus-related transfers since a patient was airlifted to Boston in serious condition on Tuesday of last week. An update on that patient has not been provided.
Due to the holiday Monday, health agents did not release a daily case update, meaning that there are likely more new cases than the 18 cases reported by the hospital.
Daily updates from health agents compile all new positive coronavirus tests reported, including cases tested at the hospital, TestMV, the Wampanoag Tribe and off-Island providers. Monday’s numbers from outside the hospital remain unknown.
But the hospital has reported 510 positive cases since the pandemic began, with more than 400 of them coming since November. The Island’s total caseload now sits at 724 confirmed positive PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, with another 26 patients testing positive for viral antibodies and 19 symptomatically diagnosed.
More than 200 patients have tested positive at TestMV.
According to Friday’s expanded daily report from health agents, 64 of the 154 cases reported over the past two weeks are symptomatic, 22 are asymptomatic and 68 are unknown.
All three down-Island towns are now high risk communities for Covid-19 transmission, according to a state Department of Public Health report that came out on Thursday. West Tisbury is now a moderate risk community for viral spread.
Island towns are considered high risk if they report more than 25 cases in a two week period. Edgartown has reported 51, Tisbury 47 and Oak Bluffs 32, according to the report. West Tisbury has reported 17.
Statewide, the DPH reported a slight dip in case numbers Monday, with 3,224 new positive tests reported. The state had reported a seven-day daily average of more than 6,000 cases as recently as Jan. 8. That number has since decreased to 3,786. Hospitalizations have also declined slightly across the state, down from approximately 2,400 on Jan. 8 to approximately 2,200 on Monday. Approximately 17 per cent of hospital beds are available in the state’s Southeast region.
The DPH reported 52 new deaths on Monday, bringing the total to 13,424. There have been no Covid-19 related deaths on Martha’s Vineyard.
