Free COVID-19 testing at Veterans Memorial Community Center in Provincetown has been extended through at least Monday afternoon in an effort to tamp down a spate of breakthrough infections in people who are fully vaccinated.
Carrie Mazoff, a visitor from Montreal, got tested Thursday after spending time with someone who later tested positive.
“I feel badly for him, but I know he's going to be OK,” she said. “And also I sort of thought, ‘You know, I've had a tickly throat.’ … It's a reality check. This thing is far from over.”
Provincetown isn’t the only place with a recent increase in cases. Chilmark, on Martha’s Vineyard, has the highest two-week rate of new cases in Massachusetts by population.
State data show a daily average of 13.8 new cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks in Provincetown, and 18.8 cases per 100,000 in Chilmark.
Chilmark Board of Health Administrator Marina Lent said a small number of cases can make the data spike in a town with a small year-round population.
But she also said more social mingling, summer visitors, and people who remain unvaccinated likely contribute to the cases.
Mark Adams of North Truro got tested outside the Veterans Memorial Community Center in Provincetown.
“Everybody's really great here,” he said. “They're really efficient and doing their jobs well, so I feel lucky to be here.”
He said a friend tested positive for COVID-19, “and I have some sniffles, so it just seemed like the best thing to come and get tested.”
Transformative Healthcare runs the testing site under contract with the state.
Kevin Mont, a vice president at the company, said free testing in Provincetown will continue at least through Monday.