Meetings Ahead
From provincetown-ma.gov, click on the calendar or the list on the meeting you’re interested in. When event details are in view, click on the link provided. From there click on the agenda for the meeting. Instructions on viewing and participating are included there.
Monday, April 27
- Select Board, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 28
- Licensing Board, 5:15 p.m.
Conversation Starters
Coronavirus Update
As of April 20, Provincetown had three confirmed active cases of coronavirus and one death from complications related to Covid-19; 22 additional cases are considered recovered and have been cleared from quarantine by the public health nurse.
Testing at Seashore Point
On Monday, April 20, Pleasant Bay Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, a facility owned by the same company that recently purchased Seashore Point in Provincetown, reported that 60 of its 92 residents had tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Pointe Group, which bought Seashore Point last year and renamed the nursing facility Advinia Care, participated in on-site testing provided by the state, said David Ball, the Pointe Group’s spokesman. The residents and staff of the nursing facility at Seashore Point were also tested but the results were not available at the Independent’s deadline Tuesday, Ball stated.
The Pointe Group agreed to the testing voluntarily in order to see who had the virus. This information is useful since many cases are asymptomatic, but those patients may still be able to transmit the virus, according to a company spokesman.
Though the testing at Seashore Point was done voluntarily, town boards of health can order long-term care facilities to test all of their residents, said Sean O’Brien, emergency management coordinator for Barnstable County. But there must be a good reason to set mandatory rules, said Steve Katsurinis, chair of the Provincetown Board of Health. There was no compelling reason to order mandatory testing at Seashore Point, Katsurinis said, whereas at Pleasant Bay many patients had complained of symptoms prior to the April 10 testing, according to the Cape Cod Times.
Over half of the deaths in the state are at long-term care facilities. Age is the biggest predictor of the outcome of the coronavirus, Katsurinis said.
Anyone concerned about nursing home residents and Covid-19 may call the state Dept. of Public Health’s Nursing Home Family Resource hotline at 617-660-5399. The hotline is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week to answer questions and connect people to resources.
To see the number of positive tests at specific hospitals and nursing homes, the state offers a list updated daily at 4 p.m. at: mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-response-reporting.
To check Seashore Point’s cases look under Advinia Care in Barnstable County. —K.C. Myers
