Patient being tested at the Cape Cod Healthcare drive-thru facility at Cape Cod Community College
BARNSTABLE – Barnstable County health officials warned that the next two weeks will see an increase in coronavirus cases as the community comes closer to the peak of the outbreak.
“I want to make sure that the folks here within Barnstable County understand that the next week, maybe two, probably two weeks, are going to be our tougher weeks when it comes to this,” said Sean O’Brien, Department Director of the Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment.
“Everybody has been doing really well, staying home, doing their social isolation as advised by the governor’s office. This is key, because this helps us. This helps us be able to control the spread of this. But this week and next week, these are going to be the important times to stay home and socially distance.” said O’Brien.
The drive-through testing location at the Cape Cod Community College was closed Friday due to weather.
Saturday saw 85 cars at the facility, while Sunday saw 12 cars.
O’Brien said that data from the community and data from the CDC indicates that the outbreak is still on the climb towards its peak in the Commonwealth, and that he expects the location to become busier in the coming weeks.
He also thanked the volunteers who have been coming out to assist in various capacities to fight the virus.
“We’ve had such an outpouring of volunteers for the Medical Reserve Corp. Folks who were retired from medical fields, and those not retired from medical fields, coming in and volunteering,” said O’Brien.
“It’s just been absolutely outstanding the way people have been able to step up and make themselves available, and hopefully be available as we continue on through all of this, especially as we move forward and start to see hospital surge and other things going on within the county.”
O’Brien also shared his appreciation for donations of medical supplies like masks, both the official N95 masks and homemade cloth masks sewn by the community.
“We really appreciate all the hard work they’re doing too, in order to assist in keeping businesses going and protect the workers, whether at a market or essential store.”
O’Brien stressed the importance of ensuring that N95 masks are on-hand for the first responders and other medical professionals who need them most, but that he supports cloth masks and other coverings for the public at large.
“It’s really shown how well Cape Codders stick together and work together when it comes to times of crisis, which helps to make our jobs easier in such a tough time. It’s just a big thank you to the community out there,” said O’Brien.
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