Town sees more than 50 covid-19 cases in past week

Oct 15, 2021

After four weeks where the number of new cases of covid-19 steadily decreased, the town saw another spike in the number of cases over the past week, according to the state’s Oct. 14 covid-19 case data. Wareham saw 54 new cases of covid-19 — that’s eight more new cases than the town saw last week.

As of Oct. 13, Wareham Public Schools reported at least one student at each school had tested positive for covid-19.

One Decas Elementary student had tested positive, and three were quarantined. One Minot Forest Elementary student tested positive for covid-19 and three students were quarantined. At Wareham Middle School, one student tested positive and one was quarantined. Wareham High School had the highest number of students — four — who had tested positive, and the highest number of students who were quarantined, 13. 

Wareham’s average daily incidence rate decreased slightly from 28.6 to 28.4 cases per 100,000 people in the past 14 days. Given Wareham’s population, 28.4 cases per 100,000 people means there were about 6.53 new cases each day over the past two weeks.

Since the start of the pandemic, Wareham has seen 2,293 confirmed cases of covid-19.

Opportunities to get vaccinated

Local public health experts continue to encourage people to get the vaccine as soon as possible — and the state is now offering in-home vaccinations for those unable to get to a vaccination site.

People aged 12 or older who live, work or study in Massachusetts are eligible to be vaccinated against covid-19. Those over the age of 18 can sign up to receive any vaccine, but those ages 12 to 17 can only get the Pfizer vaccine. 

In Wareham, the CVS on Main Street (419 Main St.), the CVS on Cranberry Highway (2421 Cranberry Hwy Ste 110), the Walgreens on Marion Road (121 Marion Rd.) and the CVS in East Wareham (2992 Cranberry Hwy) offer covid vaccines for walk-in visitors or by appointment. 

Those eligible for the vaccine can find appointments at providers around the state using the state’s website vaxfinder.mass.gov

In-home vaccinations can be scheduled by calling 833-983-0485, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. English and Spanish speaking staff are on hand, and have access to translators for over 100 languages. In-home vaccinations are performed by medical professionals following public health guidelines and tailored to the needs of the patient. 

In-home vaccinations are performed using the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, except for those ages 12 to 17, who would be offered the Pfizer vaccine. Scheduling is based on location, rather than on a first-come, first-served basis.

The state has also set up a call center for those who are unable to access the vaccine appointment website or who have trouble navigating the complex online system.

From 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, people can call 211 and navigate to the vaccine help line by pressing one when prompted. The call center has workers on staff who speak English and Spanish, and there are translators available to support residents in about 100 additional languages.