Incidence Rate in the Town of Barnstable
The average daily COVID-19 incidence rate of Town of Barnstable residents, calculated from case reports received during the past fourteen days, remains at an average of 8.8 new cases per day (see right side of graph below). This calculated average remains unchanged compared to one week ago.
Local, County, State, and Nationwide Cumulative Case and Cumulative Death Counts
A cumulative total of 11,028 Town of Barnstable residents have been diagnosed with COVID-19 to date. In Barnstable County, there have been a total of 42,818 confirmed cases cumulatively resulting in 638 deaths of Barnstable County residents; this includes five (5) deaths which occurred during the past week. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported there have been a total of 1,838,163 positive cases in the State of Massachusetts cumulatively to date in the State, resulting in 20,063 deaths. In the United States overall, according to the John Hopkins University, there have been 94,028,202 positive COVID-19 cases cumulatively resulting in 1,043,089 deaths nationwide as of August 26th.
Hospitalizations in Barnstable County
Cape Cod Healthcare reported to us today that there were a total of seventeen (17) patients who were being treated for COVID-19 at Cape Cod and Falmouth hospitals yesterday. The number of patients at these two hospitals remains unchanged compared to one week ago. One (1) of the seventeen patients was in intensive care.
Hospitalizations in Massachusetts
According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, on August 23rd there were a total of 182 patients primarily hospitalized for COVID-19 in Massachusetts. In total, there were 587 patents hospitalized with COVID -19. Of those 587 patients, 335 patients (57%) were reported to be fully vaccinated when they contracted COVID-19.
Deaths of Massachusetts Residents During the Past Week
There were thirty-eight (38) new, confirmed deaths of Massachusetts residents during the past seven days. The average age of death was 77 years old.
Vaccination and Booster Status/ Barnstable County Residents
Seventy-eight (78) percent of the Barnstable County residents are fully vaccinated. Sixty-three (63%) of Barnstable County residents received booster doses after being fully vaccinated, compared to 59% of the Massachusetts population and compared to 48% of the national population.
Low COVID-19 Community Level Designation/ Recommendations
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now classified Barnstable County as being at a low COVID-19 community level. Community levels can be low, medium, or high and are determined by looking at hospital admissions and the total number of COVID-19 cases in an area.
The following prevention steps are recommended:
• Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines;
• Get tested if you have symptoms.
Updated Guidance/ Quarantining and Isolating
With may tools available for reducing the severity of COVID-19, there is significantly less risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death compared to earlier in the pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated its guidance for people who know they have been exposed to COVID-19.
• If you were exposed to COVID-19, regardless of your vaccination status: CDC recommends that instead of quarantining, you wear a high-quality mask for 10 days and get tested 5 full days after your last exposure (day 6).
• If you have COVID-19: regardless of vaccination status, you should isolate from others for 5 days. If after 5 days you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of medication and your symptoms are improving, or you never had symptoms, you should test on Day 6. If the test is negative, you may end isolation but should continue masking around others and in public. If the test is positive, you should continue to isolate.
• Individuals with moderate illness or severe illness or with a weakened immune system, should isolate through day 10 and consult your doctor before ending isolation.
• The joint early childhood & K-12 guidance for students and staff has also been updated to reflect the updated CDC guidance on exposure and isolation in these settings.
This updated guidance is additional acknowledgement that while COVID-19 is still with us, for a majority of people, COVID-19 no longer severely disrupts their daily lives.
Respectfully submitted,
Thomas McKean, RS, CHO,
Director of Public Health
August 26, 2022 COVID-19 Update | Community Level – Low
