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MAIN BARNSTABLE COUNTY > MAIN COUNTY FEATURED NEWS > Provincetown Expands Testing in Response to COVID-19 Cases

Provincetown Expands Testing in Response to COVID-19 Cases

Published on: July 17, 2021

Vaccination Available at Testing Site Starting Monday

STATEMENT ON RECENT COVID-19 CASES IN PROVINCETOWN

from

Town of Provincetown

Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment

Outer Cape Health Services

Honorable Sarah Peake, State Representative

Honorable Julian Cyr, State Senator

PROVINCETOWN, MA – In response to a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases, the Town of Provincetown is working with state and county public health officials and has expanded access to safe and reliable COVID-19 testing through Friday, July 23. COVID vaccination will also be available at the testing site starting Monday, July 19.

Anyone experiencing even mild symptoms should get testing. Local officials also encourage testing for anyone who is a close contact with an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19 regardless of vaccination status. While this is a more conservative recommendation than current CDC guidance, local officials are recommending this given the current uptick. Please note that you should consider yourself a close contact if you have been within 6 feet of a case for 15 minutes or more.

COVID-19 testing is free and does not require an appointment. Testing will be conducted at Veterans Memorial Community Center parking lot located at 2 Mayflower Street, Provincetown (off Winslow Street) and will be available daily Sunday, July 18 through Friday, July 23 from 10AM-3PM.


Vaccination will also be available at the Veterans Memorial Community Center testing site beginning Monday, July 19.  The site will offer the two-shot Pfizer mRNA vaccine and the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Vaccination is free, easy, and no appointment, ID, or insurance is required.

People are also strongly encouraged to enable the Massachusetts exposure notification technology, MassNotify, on their phones. Users can anonymously notify others that they have tested positive for COVID-19 and receive alerts about possible exposures to COVID-19 through this technology. For instructions on enabling MassNotify on your smartphone, visit Learn more about MassNotify | Mass.gov

“Vaccination is easy and free and we strongly encourage ages 12 and above to receive the COVID-19 vaccination,” said Provincetown Town Administrator Alex Morse.

The low to moderate intensity of symptoms indicates the vaccines are working as predicted. Health officials expect to continue to see some level of positive cases through the summer in a community such as Provincetown with a seasonal population of approximately 60,000. As we enter a new phase of living with the virus, vaccination remains our strongest defense in preventing serious illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19.

The CDC and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health advises all unvaccinated individuals to continue to wear masks in indoor settings and when they cannot socially distance. The public is urged to practice good hygiene, including hand washing.

Assistance is available for residents and visitors who test positive for COVID-19 and need to quarantine. See the Provincetown Health Department resources webpage for information and further assistance.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Town of Provincetown, Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment, Outer Cape Health Services, state Representative Sarah Peake, and state Senator Julian Cyr continue to actively monitor recent cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Provincetown. The positive cases were identified in individuals presenting with mild respiratory symptoms and were tested for COVID-19.

In addition to the mobile testing options, COVID-19 testing and vaccination remains available at Outer Cape Health Services’ location in Provincetown. Individuals seeking testing and/or vaccination can either call the Outer Cape Health Services Patient Access Center at (508) 905-2888 to schedule a test OR they can arrive at the Provincetown health center at 49 Harry Kemp Way and call from OUTSIDE: (508) 487-9395, ext. 1

Provincetown has among the highest vaccination rates in the Commonwealth, with nearly all residents age 12 and older fully vaccinated. According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 114% of the eligible population in Provincetown has been fully vaccinated. (More people reported Provincetown as their residence upon receiving their COVID-19 vaccinations than the official population count for this community, reflecting a percentage above one hundred.)

A joint meeting of the Provincetown Select Board and the Provincetown Board of Health is scheduled for Monday, July 17 at 10:00AM to review the latest information and discuss possible action steps. Representatives from Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment will join the meeting.

Additional information about testing elsewhere in the region can be found on the Barnstable County website.

Please direct press inquiries to Senator Julian Cyr, who is serving as public information officer for the response, via julian.cyr@masenate.gov.

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