Island health officials reported one new probable antibody positive case on Tuesday, bringing the Island’s total coronavirus caseload to 46.
Island health officials reported one new probable antibody positive case on Tuesday, bringing the Island’s total coronavirus caseload to 46 since the outbreak began.
There are currently no known, active coronavirus cases on Island, according to Tisbury health agent Maura Valley, with no one testing positive for Covid-19 in the past 16 days. The number of positive coronavirus tests has held steady at 30 for over two weeks.
A case is considered inactive and released from monitoring by health agents after a patient has gone at least seven days since receiving a positive test and at least 72 hours without symptoms.
Two facilities on-Island are currently offering tests for the virus. The Martha’s Vineyard Hospital is testing symptomatic patients and their close contacts. TestMV, a coronavirus testing site at the regional high school run by Island Health Care and Quest Diagnostics, is offering tests to asymptomatic patients.
TestMV has yet to report a positive case and the hospital has not reported a positive case in the past month. The two most recent positive tests reported by the boards of health were taken at testing sites off-Island.
Antibody testing, which generally indicates someone has been exposed to and recovered from Covid-19, is only available off-Island. In their daily case update, Island health officials reported that the antibody test Wednesday was a male in his fifties. Thirteen Islanders have tested positive for antibodies over the past month.
Despite the lull in cases, testing has continued to ramp up on-Island, with the hospital and TestMV conducting over 1,300 tests in the past two weeks.
In its daily web update, the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital reported that it had tested 1,241 patients since the outbreak started, with 28 of those tests coming back positive, 1,173 negative and 40 still pending.
TestMV has now tested 1,024 patients for the virus since opening to the public in early June. Of those tests, 864 have come back negative and 160 are still pending. The testing is available to anyone on Island, free of charge, and can be scheduled by calling 877-336-9855.
Statewide, case numbers continued to wane, with the DPH reporting 195 new cases and 18 new deaths. The state has now had over 105,000 people test positive for the virus. A total of 7,665 people in Massachusetts have died from the disease.

Comments
It would be wonderful if
Robyn Athearn West TisburyIt would be wonderful if antibody testing could be available on Martha’s Vineyard!
It would also be nice to know
fact checker edgIt would also be nice to know if antibodies gives one immunity. While off island taking care of my elderly parents in a 'hot spot' I waited for a reliable test, and when the abbot test was available, I got the test. I tested negative. I was curious to know if my month long cough in March was the corona. But more importantly, I was in a hot-spot part of the country and was willing to donate my plasma if in fact I was positive for the antibodies. After taking the test, I realized it was basically a waste of time. Fortunately my insurance covered it.
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