Barnstable, Dukes, Nantucket State Rep. Dylan Fernandes
HYANNIS – The Cape Cod Reopening Task Force praised the state’s recently announced vaccine distribution plan while COVID-19 case numbers are on the rise as the holiday season continues.
Task force member and State Senator Julian Cyr (D-Truro) said that while he and others on the task force have been disappointed by the state’s handling of coronavirus testing in the Cape Cod region, he was pleased by the vaccine plan.
“I do want to say that this vaccine distribution plan is exceptional. I think the level of communication to the delegation, to Cape Cod Healthcare and the Reopening Task Force has been very, very good. We’re going to continue to look at how we get vaccine access,” said Cyr.
Cyr added that he is still concerned about how residents without a primary healthcare provider will receive the vaccine, though said the issue is not urgent as the general public will not be receiving the vaccine until the spring of 2021.
On the testing front, task force officials said that the Cape is seeing some improvements, though there are still gaps to be filled.
Yarmouth and Wellfleet have improved notably, said Cyr, though Barnstable still has lower testing rates despite high positivity rates.
“We’re hoping that the sites that were announced this week, particularly the site in Hyannis, will put a dent in this inequity. We are also noted in saying that the new sites will not meet all of the demand that we think that we have,” said Cyr.
The two new sites, one at the Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis and one at the Barnstable Fairgrounds in Falmouth, will provide testing for asymptomatic and symptomatic residents by appointment only.
State Representative Dylan Fernandes (D-Falmouth), who acquired $300,000 for the testing, said that the Falmouth testing site will be officially open on December 15 and will provide drive-through testing from 10 to 2 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Fernandes said he hopes that the Falmouth site will provide at least 50 to 75 self-administered tests a day at significantly less cost when compared to private entities.
“For those who cannot afford to pay for the test, they will not be turned away. They will get the testing that they need, and that’s really important because we have a lot of vulnerable residents here who need access to testing. We have essential workers going to work every day who cannot work remotely and need access to accessible, low-cost testing resources,” said Fernandes.
Outer Cape Health Services will also be opening additional testing locations in Provincetown and Wellfleet, as well as their Harwich Port location, said Cyr.
Fernandes said that the new testing sites are not related to the state’s Stop the Spread testing sites available in several places across the Commonwealth, and that the task force will continue to push for the state to open a site on Cape.
“Cape Cod remains one of the only regions in the Commonwealth without one, and we do have, as Julian mentioned, some real testing needs and a bit of a testing gap on Cape Cod,” said Fernandes.
Task force members reminded residents to continue to follow COVID-19 safety guidelines, including mask wearing and social distancing, even as vaccines begin to roll out to front-line healthcare workers and at-risk groups of the population.
About Grady Culhane
