Trouble in Paradise? Provincetown Officials 'Monitoring' COVID 'Breakthrough' Cases
Is there trouble in paradise? If paradise is defined as Provincetown, then perhaps. Town officials say they are "monitoring" reports of "breakthrough" COVID-19 cases in the LGBTQ vacation destination, WBZ-TV reports.
"We are aware of a handful of positive COVID cases being reported over the last few days among folks who have spent time in Provincetown," Town Manager Alex Morse said in a Facebook post. "We are in touch with the Health Department and Outer Cape Health Services and are closely monitoring the data."
Morse emphasized to to the Boston's CBS news station that "the vaccine works" and symptoms are less severe in those that have received shots. He said nearly all of the year-round and part-time residents of Provincetown are fully vaccinated.
But he added that a number of cases have occurred amongst the vaccinated.
"A number of cases being reported are breakthrough cases, that is, testing positive for COVID despite being fully vaccinated," Morse wrote. "When vaccinated, the symptoms are less severe and much more manageable."
Regarding the Delta variant, the town manager said the it "now accounts for more than half of the new coronavirus cases in the United States —52%. Almost all of the new cases nationally — 99.7% —are among people who have not been vaccinated."
He added that it should be up to visitors to decide if they want to travel to the town and that they "should make decisions that feel right for them."
"We have to do our best to manage it," Morse wrote. "Vaccinations, better treatment, and more research since last year have put us in a better position to do just that. As always, we encourage people to make decisions that feel right for them. We have a lot of visitors in Town, and given the volume, it's inevitable that cases will continue to pop up over the summer."
The website MassLive wrote that those visiting Provincetown since last week should get a COVID test.
And a doctor, Graham Walker MD, tweeted that Channel 4 reporter Louisa Moller (@LouisaMoller) is looking for individuals who traveled to Provincetown last week and have tested positive for COVID.
Some headed to Twitter to tell of their post Ptown diagnoses:
While another doctor, Dr. Leo Nissola (@LeoNissolaMD) joined in to urge those who had visited Ptown to get tested, adding: "Cases occur in a small % of vaccinated people but still exist."