Kim Powers is a one-woman drug-addiction harm reduction brigade. She is waging a solitary campaign to stem the rising tide of drug overdoses and deaths on Cape Cod and the […]
Health & Healthcare
CHILDREN'S HEALTH
Two Bills Aim to Boost Child Immunizations
Low vaccination rates in Wellfleet, Eastham sway Peake and Cyr
There is not yet a Covid-19 vaccine for children under 12. But public awareness of the importance of vaccination has cast the Outer Cape’s low childhood immunization rates in a […]
BACK TO SCHOOL
Masks Likely to Be Required at Schools on Outer Cape
With no remote option, all students will be back in classrooms this fall
As vaccination rates ramped up last spring and the daily count of Covid-19 cases came down, many hoped this fall’s start of school could feel more like normal. That no […]
CASE LOAD
Truro Sees a Jump in Covid-19 Cases and Takes Action
The town reinstates a mask mandate both indoors and outdoors in crowds
TRURO — New Covid-19 infections here, some connected to the July Provincetown cluster, have led officials and business owners to reinstate pandemic protocols. At the beginning of July, Truro had […]
BREAKTHROUGH
Covid Cluster Puts Provincetown on the Bleeding Edge
By some measures, the outbreak peaked here on July 19
PROVINCETOWN — The entire nation got a new universal indoor masking advisory last week, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put Provincetown squarely in the middle of their […]
IMMUNITY
Local Businesses, Health Care Providers Resist Requiring Vaccine
Experts agree on the vaccines’ effectiveness, but not on mandates
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new information since its publication in the Aug. 5 print edition. PROVINCETOWN — Since May, Patrick Patrick, head of the Provincetown Chamber […]
PANDEMIC
Provincetown Brings Back Indoor Mask Mandate
Rising case count includes 171 Provincetown residents
PROVINCETOWN — The board of health and select board held their second emergency joint meeting in only seven days on July 25 and imposed an indoor mask mandate, effective immediately. […]
CONSPIRACIES
Misinformation on Covid Vaccines Abounds
The U.S. Surgeon General urges everyone to join the fight, a ‘moral imperative’
A bitter rift has opened between those vaccinated against Covid-19 and those who have chosen to remain unvaccinated. Evidence of it is easy to find: just check out the comments […]
PANDEMIC MATH
On Outer Cape, Data Show Whites Have Lowest Vaccination Rate
The Jamaican pastor of Truro's Chapel on the Pond leads by example
PROVINCETOWN — The official statistics from the state Dept. of Public Health say that 114 percent of the residents of Provincetown have been vaccinated against Covid-19. Obviously, that is impossible. […]
PANDEMIC
‘Provincetown Cluster’ Now Has at Least 430 Cases, Officials Say
Select board calls emergency meeting for 5 p.m. Sunday, July 25
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with the latest information from local and county public health officials as of Saturday, July 24. We will continue to update as new […]
PANDEMIC
Lessons From the VaxBus in Provincetown
Longer stops, better location, and a good DJ would have helped
PROVINCETOWN — The state’s “Pittsfield to Provincetown” mobile vaccination tour made a full-day stop at Provincetown’s bus stop near the Municipal Parking Lot at MacMillan Pier last Thursday, July 15. […]
NEW NORMAL
Covid Returns, ‘Less Severe, More Manageable’
Many vaccinated people are infected, but none are hospitalized
PROVINCETOWN — There is a new outbreak of detected Covid-19 cases in Provincetown. “Since the end of last week, they’ve been finding several cases a day” at Outer Cape Health […]
TREATMENTS
A SOAP Program Designed to Keep Patients Clean
An increase in reimbursements from MassHealth is ‘financial game changer’ for OCHS
PROVINCETOWN — Outer Cape Health Services has begun offering a form of intensive outpatient treatment to help people with addiction disorders. The Structured Outpatient Addiction Program, or SOAP, provides group […]
ANIMAL CLINIC
Telltale Signs of the Veterinary Worker
The importance of a sense of humor and a poker face
You can look at some people and know what they do for work. I think that’s true for those in the veterinary world. There are the standard clues: they’re covered […]
CHIN UP
A Walk Down Commercial St. Reveals Current Conundrums
Mask preferences and policies mark this not really post-pandemic moment
PROVINCETOWN — Kohi Coffee Co., at 199 Commercial St., set back from the sidewalk in a beachfront space, currently has a sign on its front door informing customers as they […]