Massachusetts health officials said Tuesday that they are monitoring a COVID outbreak at a nursing home on Cape Cod.
The outbreak was reported at Maplewood at Mayflower Place in West Yarmouth, with the first positive test confirmed on July 10. As of Monday, 24 residents and nine employees have tested positive for the coronavirus, the state Department of Public Health said. Testing is ongoing.
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Most of the residents who tested positive had been vaccinated and are asymptomatic or are experiencing mild symptoms, health officials said. Residents who tested positive for the virus have been offered monoclonal antibody therapeutics.
News of the nursing home outbreak comes one day after officials in another Cape Cod town issued a new mask-wearing advisory after over 130 people tested positive following the Fourth of July holiday.
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The public health advisory from Provincetown officials encourages residents and visitors to the town, a popular LGBTQ+ summer destination, to resume wearing masks indoors, regardless of their vaccination status. It also urges crowded venues and other businesses where social distancing isn't possible to verify that patrons are vaccinated.
The advisory was approved during an emergency meeting Monday with the town’s select board and board of health.
Dr. Catherine Brown, of the state Department of Public Health, said the state has alerted other jurisdictions about the cluster of cases tied to Provincetown.
Local officials said the majority are Massachusetts residents but more than 40 are from out of state. They said more 90% of those infected were men and that their median age is 35. Officials said they're also investigating how many of those infected were already vaccinated.
At least 35 COVID cases in Boston residents have already been traced to the cluster in Provincetown.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
