COVID-19 positivity rate on Nantucket highest in state

Denise Coffey Cape Cod Times 

Published Dec 21, 2022 

NANTUCKET — The town's positive case rate for COVID-19 was a whopping 236.86 per 100,000 people, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report last week. The center considers anything over 10 per 100,000 a high transmission rate. 

The town’s wastewater sampling report from the Surfside Wastewater Treatment Facility showed one of the highest levels of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, according to the center. It was the highest rate for any county in Massachusetts.  

A “high” transmission is 100 or more cases per 100,000 people, or a positivity rate of 10% or higher. 

Nantucket’s year-round population is estimated at 14,500, but that number increases dramatically during the summer months. 

Four Cape towns reported rates higher than 10% as of Dec. 15 when the state Department of Public Health released its weekly report. Barnstable was 11.5%, Brewster was 11.4%, Harwich was 10.98%, and Yarmouth was 11.81%.  The state database does not account for at-home COVID test results.

Those high numbers portend higher COVID-19 case rates should people not take precautions, according to Yarmouth Health Director Bruce Murphy. 

“COVID is spreading everywhere,” Murphy said.  

Tracking the presence of COVID-19 RNA in wastewater

Sandwich Health Director David Mason has been watching test results done by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. The authority tests wastewater from the Boston area three to five times a week, and the presence of COVID-19 RNA is trending upwards, he said.  

An estimated 40% of people infected with the COVID-19 virus shed virus RNA in their stools, according to the Centers for Disease Control. 

"I think people are relaxing more, they’re feeling COVID is over,” Mason said. “It’s not being reported readily in the media. There’s not a continual reminder that it's still out there.” 

With the holidays here, health experts are urging people to take precautions. and get booster shots. 

“There’s a lot going on that people don’t realize,” Murphy said. “People with health issues, the elderly and others need to take precautions. 

COVID recommendations from the CDC

The CDC encourages residents to wear a mask indoors in public and on public transportation, and to stay up to date on COVID-19 vaccines, and get tested if they have symptoms. 

Murphy recommended using as many prevention strategies as possible, including using hand sanitizer, avoiding large gatherings and staying home if not feeling well. Yarmouth has given out about 20,000 COVID-19 test kits since they were made available. The Baker administration released more test kits for municipalities recently. Yarmouth is making theirs available at the town hall, library, senior center and food pantry.