CAPE COD – Feature story: On Tuesday, 8 Harwich Firefighters were at Pine Oaks Village – Phase 1 and 2 to administer vaccines to the residents.
This clinic, part of a collaboration between Outer Cape Health Services, Harwich Council on Aging, The Harwich Health Department and the Fire Department was the first part of the at home vaccination programs for those that are unable to leave their homes or are in congregate housing.
The teams of three would administer the vaccine and then stay with each person to observe them for the required 15 minutes. While waiting they would help each person update their file of life, check the home for hazards and look for any other needs or assistance that could be offered. This additional service was coordinated as part of the Senior SAFE program that is managed by Captain Leighanne Smith.
Next week the second phase will take place as we continue to provide vaccinations to residents throughout the town that are unable to access the public vaccination sites.
A huge shout out to Health Director Kathleen O’Neill, COA Director Emily Mitchell and Assistant Town Administrator Meggan Eldredge for their work putting this together, as well as all the staff from Outer Cape Health. A special thank you to Melanie Bach from Pine Oaks for the refreshments for the troops today. It was greatly appreciated.
Latest state data: The Massachusetts state death toll from COVID-19 is at 16,876. There were 667 new cases of COVID-19 in Barnstable County compared to 626 last week. A total of 12,398 cases of COVID-19 have been reported on Cape Cod since the pandemic began. There were 8 new deaths from COVID-19 in Barnstable County during the past week bringing the total on Cape Cod to 451.
Hospitalization in Southeast Massachusetts is at 79.3% capacity. ICU capacity is at 71.6%.
Click here to read the entire weekly in depth MassDPH report.
The latest state map shows:
Barnstable, Brewster, Dennis, Harwich, Mashpee, Sandwich, Yarmouth are red (high risk)
Bourne, Chatham, Eastham, Falmouth, Orleans are yellow (medium risk)
Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet are grey (nil)
Local updates: Provincetown reports 2 active cases down from 8 last week. Barnstable reports 405 new cases in the 14 days preceding March 26th. Falmouth reports 23 new cases between March 19th and 26th.
