9/25/2023 0 Comments Provincetown covid outbreak![]() jurisdictions outside Massachusetts associated with recent travel to the town in Barnstable County during July 2021. ![]() On July 15, MA DPH issued the first of two Epidemic Information Exchange notifications to identify additional cases among residents of U.S. Ct values were obtained for 211 specimens tested using a noncommercial real-time RT-PCR panel for SARS-CoV-2 performed under Emergency Use Authorization at the Broad Institute Clinical Research Sequencing Platform. Specimens were submitted for whole genome sequencing § to either the Massachusetts State Public Health Laboratory or the Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough cases were those in fully vaccinated Massachusetts residents (those with documentation from the state immunization registry of completion of COVID-19 vaccination as recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, † ≥14 days before exposure). A cluster-associated case was defined as receipt of a positive SARS-CoV-2 test (nucleic acid amplification or antigen) result ≤14 days after travel to or residence in the town in Barnstable County since July 3. COVID-19 cases were matched with the state immunization registry. Additional cases were identified by local health jurisdictions through case investigation. On July 3, MA DPH had reported a 14-day average COVID-19 incidence of zero cases per 100,000 persons per day in residents of the town in Barnstable County by July 17, the 14-day average incidence increased to 177 cases per 100,000 persons per day in residents of the town ( 2).ĭuring July 10–26, using travel history data from the state COVID-19 surveillance system, MA DPH identified a cluster of cases among Massachusetts residents. Persons with COVID-19 reported attending densely packed indoor and outdoor events at venues that included bars, restaurants, guest houses, and rental homes. Beginning July 10, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MA DPH) received reports of an increase in COVID-19 cases among persons who reside in or recently visited Barnstable County, including in fully vaccinated persons. On July 27, CDC recommended that all persons, including those who are fully vaccinated, should wear masks in indoor public settings in areas where COVID-19 transmission is high or substantial.* Findings from this investigation suggest that even jurisdictions without substantial or high COVID-19 transmission might consider expanding prevention strategies, including masking in indoor public settings regardless of vaccination status, given the potential risk of infection during attendance at large public gatherings that include travelers from many areas with differing levels of transmission.ĭuring July 3–17, 2021, multiple summer events and large public gatherings were held in a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, that attracted thousands of tourists from across the United States. The Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 is highly transmissible ( 1) vaccination is the most important strategy to prevent severe illness and death. Real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) cycle threshold (Ct) values in specimens from 127 vaccinated persons with breakthrough cases were similar to those from 84 persons who were unvaccinated, not fully vaccinated, or whose vaccination status was unknown (median = 22.77 and 21.54, respectively). Among five COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized, four were fully vaccinated no deaths were reported. Overall, 274 (79%) vaccinated patients with breakthrough infection were symptomatic. Genomic sequencing of specimens from 133 patients identified the B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in 119 (89%) and the Delta AY.3 sublineage in one (1%). Approximately three quarters (346 74%) of cases occurred in fully vaccinated persons (those who had completed a 2-dose course of mRNA vaccine or had received a single dose of Janssen vaccine ≥14 days before exposure). During July 2021, 469 cases of COVID-19 associated with multiple summer events and large public gatherings in a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, were identified among Massachusetts residents vaccination coverage among eligible Massachusetts residents was 69%.
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