VT COVID-19 cases tick up; Provincetown outbreak prompts call for travelers to test
July 22, 2021 | By Waterbury Roundabout 
Following reports from Massachusetts health officials of more than 200 cases of COVID-19 in Provincetown so far this month, the Vermont Department of Health is urging people who recently travelled to the popular Cape Cod vacation spot to get tested for COVID-19.
The call came on Thursday as the state Health Department reported 34 new cases, a marked increase from weeks where daily counts have hovered in the single digits. On Friday another 28 cases were reported in Vermont.
Data for Waterbury and nearby communities is lagging now that the state updates its town-by-town case map every two weeks rather than weekly. The most recent case data through July 14 showed just four new cases in Waterbury and adjacent communities in the previous two weeks.
In a press release issued Wednesday, the Provincetown (Mass.) Board of Health and Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment said that as of Tuesday, July 20, there were 256 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 associated with Provincetown. Of those, 190 are Massachusetts residents and the remainder are residents of other states. There are fewer than 10 cases in Vermont among people associated with recent travel to Provincetown.
Vermonters and others who travelled or are associated with people who travelled to Provincetown in July are urged to get tested for COVID-19. Being tested is the only way to know if you have been infected with the COVID-19 virus, and testing, as well as prevention efforts, are recommended regardless of vaccination status, the Vermont Health Department noted in its own release.
Locally, the Waterbury Ambulance Service continues to provide daily testing and vaccinations for COVID-19 at its station at 1727 Guptil Road in Waterbury Center. According to Executive Director Mark Podgwaite, the schedule currently is: Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Sundays 9 a.m. to noon; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1-5 p.m.; Wednesdays 4-7 p.m.
Waterbury Ambulance also continues to run a site in Berlin at 1311 Barre Montpelier Road (behind Burger King) with testing and vaccines daily. It also runs pop-up vaccine sites that include the Waterbury Farmers Market, 4-7 p.m. at Rusty Parker Memorial Park on Thursdays, and Farr’s Field on upcoming weekend dates.
Testing and vaccine sites throughout Vermont as well as information on COVID-19 symptoms and data can be found online at healthvermont.gov/covid-19.