Barnstable County Health Officials Expect Confirmed COVID-19 Cases to Increase as Testing Increases

HYANNIS – Barnstable County Health Officials are expecting an increase in the number of people tested for Coronavirus in the coming weeks, and with that the number of confirmed cased on Cape Cod is expected to rise.

“We have five confirmed cases reported here on Barnstable County, I think there may be some others out there through some other reports and everything,” said Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment Director, Sean O’Brien.  

“We are definitely increasing our number of cases here on the County and if I had to guess we are going to see more here on the County as well.”

According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, as of Friday, 2,200 people have been tested in Massachusetts with 328 cases confirmed statewide.

43 cases have resulted in hospitalization.

O’Brien said the drive-thru testing facility at Cape Cod Community College continues to see a good amount of people come through, even with the weather being less than ideal.

He added that there is still a three to four day turnaround for test results and that the facility could test a couple hundred people maximum in one day.

As testing becomes more readily available, the turnaround number is expected to decrease.

“We should see things probably being turned around in day once things start to run a little bit more regularly I should say,” O’Brien said.   

The facility will be open throughout the weekend.

County Health Officials will continue to work with Cape Cod towns throughout the pandemic and provide support whenever they can.

While monitoring the situation, officials are making sure to keep an eye on senior centers which is an area of concern.

Health Officials will not self-deploy however, they will wait until a municipality needs assistance.

If there is a positive case in Massachusetts it is first reported to the DPH by medical professionals through a computer program called Maven.

The information is then passed along to a local board of health or visiting nurses association.

At this time all County Health Officials can do is continue to suggest a shelter in place to Beacon Hill, however only Governor Baker can enact it.

O’Brien thinks the Governor is relying on information he is receiving from the DPH.

Health Officials should have an idea in the coming days how much money will be allocated to Cape Cod from Governor Baker’s $5 million fund to all health departments statewide.