First COVID-19 death reported for Cape Cod

First COVID-19 death reported for Cape Cod 


By Cynthia McCormick
By Ethan Genter

Posted Mar 25, 2020



Health care facilities feel financial impact of shutdown related to virus.

State public health officials Wednesday announced the first death in Barnstable County from COVID-19 as Cape health organizations reel from the financial and practical implications of the pandemic.

The Cape Cod man was in his 80s, had preexisting conditions and was hospitalized at the time of his death, according to the state Department of Public Health.

The state released no further information.

Family members of Brewster resident Richard Ottaway, 88, a retired professor and Episcopal priest, said he was diagnosed with the disease last Thursday and died early Monday at Cape Cod Hospital.

“It was blindingly fast,” Ottaway’s son-in-law J.T. Rogers said.

Rogers and his wife, Ottaway’s stepdaughter Rebecca Ashley, said Ottaway’s wife also has tested positive and is in quarantine at home.

The Barnstable County death was one of four fatalities related to the disease caused by the new coronavirus announced for the state Wednesday.

The deaths of a Norfolk County man in his 80s and a man and woman from Worcester County, both in their 70s, have brought the total number of fatalities statewide to 15.

State public health officials said Wednesday there were 679 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 1,838 across the state, including 51 in Barnstable County.

Truro officials announced the first case in their town Wednesday.

Cape Cod Hospital is caring for one COVID-19 patient in an intensive-care unit and five patients with confirmed COVID-19 on the medical floors, Dr. Kevin Mulroy, senior vice president and chief quality officer for Cape Cod Healthcare, said during a telephone conference Wednesday afternoon.

Falmouth Hospital has three coronavirus cases in its ICU and none on the regular floor, Mulroy said.

In addition, 43 patients at Cape Cod Hospital and 22 patients at Falmouth Hospital who have been hospitalized for conditions including flulike illness and respiratory issues are awaiting results of coronavirus tests, Mulroy said.

The pandemic has created financial strain on hospitals and physician practices, which have seen a decline in regular patient visits and have postponed all but necessary elective surgeries.

Outer Cape Health Services announced Wednesday it was putting 70 staff people on temporary furlough, reducing the work hours “for select employees” and laying off “a smaller number of individuals.”

Outer Cape Health officials said the staff reorganization affects 50% of their 200 employees and is a direct result of “the severe reduction in patient visit volumes experienced by OCHS due to the public health crisis at hand.”

He said he received approval from the Cape Cod Healthcare board of trustees to refrain from drawing a salary for the month of April, which he said comes to $78,000.

The board matched his salary with a contribution to the health care system’s Employee Assistance Fund, which has raised about $300,000 in recent days.

Lauf also asked the public to contribute to the fund, which helps out with matters such as car payments, because the pandemic already has had a financial impact on the partners, spouses and family members of employees.

Nearly 20,000 people have been tested for the coronavirus during the past few weeks in Massachusetts. Department of Public Health officials said Wednesday the number now stands at 19,794.

Cape Cod Healthcare has tested 647 people at a mobile testing site at Cape Cod Community College and triage tents outside Cape Cod and Falmouth hospitals, Mulroy said.

Eight percent of the total tested received positive diagnoses, he said.

Six percent of people ages 21 to 40 have tested positive, but no one under the age of 20 has been diagnosed with COVID-19, he said.

The Chatham Board of Health is urging part-time residents who have recently returned to their Chatham homes from New York City or the Greater New York metropolitan area (New Jersey, New York, Connecticut) to isolate themselves in their homes for 14 days.

The board said its request was based on a recommendation from the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

“This voluntary self-isolation, out of an abundance of caution, recognizes that New York City is the current epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, with more than 15,000 confirmed cases in New York City alone,” Chatham town officials said in a statement.

The relatives of the Brewster man who died Monday said his diagnosis with the coronavirus was shocking because he rarely left his home.

Ottaway “did have some underlying health issues, but none of them were lung-related, so it kind of came out of the blue,” Ashley said. His death certificate lists several underlying causes, including sepsis and acute respiratory failure.

Ottaway first started experiencing symptoms March 13, with a persistent dry cough, Ashley and Rogers said.

He died at 12:30 a.m. Monday, they said. The Rev. Brian McGurk, a priest at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Chatham and a family friend, was able to administer a prayer to Ottaway over the phone during his final hours, they said.

Ottaway’s wife remains in quarantine but has friends who are bringing her food and chatting with her by video.

“She’s getting the best care she can right now,” Ashley said.