Covid Testing Tips
People travelling to Martha’s Vineyard should test 3 days before your trip. That way you can arrive on island and not have the hassle of a trip to the high school.
If this is impossible you can get tested here on island. Getting a test on Martha’s Vineyard is easy and convenient. Here are some tips for filling out the form.
On the form page, after clicking on the link below…
Select – Martha’s Vineyard Island Population testing
Select – No Symptoms (if true, of course)
You will need to answer several questions about your past to confirm your identity.
You will need your health insurance policy number
You will be able to make several appointments at the same time. This is helpful if you are traveling with a group.
Latest Updates
Thursday 2/4/2021
Massachusetts is moving in the right direction. Indoor limits are being increased from 25% to 40%. I expect that things will continue to change as the virus ebbs and flows.
Tuesday 7/24/2020
Back on 5/22 I wrote that visitors were no longer required to quarantine on arrival in Massachusetts – rather they were urged to do so.
Apparently the self-policing situation was not good enough for the governor so, by Executive Order, he is now putting a fine on it effective August 1st. I suspect that this is mostly due to colleges in Massachusetts.
“The new order, effective Aug. 1, is the first time Baker has created an enforcement mechanism for long-standing traveler quarantine requirements.”
The actual requirements are listed here. Maine has had these in place already.
https://www.mass.gov/info-
“All international travelers arriving in Massachusetts must complete the Massachusetts Travel Form and must quarantine for 14 days unless they can provide proof of a negative test result that meets the criteria stated above or they are covered by one of the other, limited exceptions.”
- The threshold for a state to be safe is
less than 60 daily cases per million people
or just 6 cases per 100,000 people
or .006%
or 6 one thousands of one percent
Tuesday 5/22/2020
Visitors no longer required to quarantine on arrival in Massachusetts – rather they are urged to do so. Some islanders want you to stay at home. Others are desperate for you to return and start spending money. The reason is simple: there is not enough money to replace the free market economy that the island’s businesses rely on.
The Really Big News today was a reorganization of the CDC website page titled “how-covid-spreads”.
The page used to list surface spreading as a cause of Covid equal to person to person spreading.
It now deemphasizes the role of surface spreading.
“COVID-19 is a new disease and we are still learning about how it spreads. It may be possible for COVID-19 to spread in other ways, but these are not thought to be the main ways the virus spreads.
From touching surfaces or objects. It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes. This is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads, but we are still learning more about this virus.”
See this page for more information
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-covid-spreads.html
Tuesday 5/15/2020
Curves are trending down and Governor will reopen some businesses slowly. This is a good thing as businesses will need to adapt to the new protocols BEFORE Memorial Day.
I reviewed the data. Most notable is a large drop in hospitalization. This spells good news for summer 2020 as the data is supporting an opening up of the economy.
Look for these charts in the links below.
Chart Name
“Deaths by Sex, Previous Hospitalization, & Underlying Conditions”
98.4% of deaths have underlying conditions.
The questions unanswered is how many of these deaths were from the underlying conditions and the patient just also happened to have COVID-19
Related to the above: 3,333 deaths were in long term facilities or 64% of the deaths. In New York this is higher because their Governor ordered seniors with COVID-19 into their long term facilities.
Another interesting chart
“Deaths and Death Rate by Age Group “.
This chart shows that this is very much an older generation event.
269 deaths under 60 years or 28 per 100,000 or .028%
5,215 deaths over age 60 or 1,501 per 100,000 or 1.5%
For the latest dashboard Click On
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-response-reporting
Scroll down to the latest dashboard
COVID-19 Dashboard – Month, Day, 2020
You will see a link like this for the 14th of May
https://www.mass.gov/doc/covid-19-dashboard-may-14-2020/download
Monday 4/27/2020
Saturday 4/25/2020
This is the STAT article by Professor Ioannidis of Stanford University
The original point of the lockdown was to avoid overwhelming our hospitals. Now, with excess capacity in place, people want the lockdown to continue until we have a vaccine. The goalposts are being moved by politicians who are ignoring the latest information.
To assist you in reading the information I have assembled it all here in one easy Blog Post
https://nocatpolitics.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-bearer-of-good-coronavirus-news.html/
Coronavirus / Covid-19 – practical advice
No one knows which way this epidemic will go so there is no sense in trying to make definitive statements on the situation. There are, however, a few things that can be said with certainty.
- There has been already a tremendous monetary reaction.
- The increased emphasis on public safety, regardless of the effects of this virus, is a very good thing.
- If this is not the end of humanity there will be a recovery and then this reaction will be seen as a massive over-reaction but better safe than sorry.
- Of course, if this is the end of humanity or at least a permanent epidemic, then those that do not take this seriously will all be screwed.
- The question on everyone’s lips is – how much of a reaction is appropriate.
The only reliable sources for how to beat this virus are available at the websites for the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control.
Please refer to their websites (links below) for information
The key steps everyone should take are
Clean your hands often
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
Soap and water work the best. If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick
Put distance between yourself and other people if COVID-19 is spreading in your community. This is especially important for people who are at higher risk of getting very sick.
Financial and Scientific Information
- JP Morgan is publishing some very good information on their website. I share it here for you
Travel Insurance
- We highly recommend Travel Insurance for all of our guests – see this post for information on what is available and what it will cover.
Update Saturday 4/11/2020
- COVID will be around for the rest of our lives as viruses do not simply disappear, rather we gain herd immunity to the “Novel Virus”.
- We will have another year and a half to get through without a vaccine.
- We are shut up as tight as can be and practically in quarantine.
- So then the question to all authorities (Fed, State, County, City, Condo): How will we ever get permission to reopen America and regain our freedoms.
Update Saturday 3/21/2020
There is also anecdotal evidence from France, China, and NYC on the Malaria drug Chloroquine
Hopeful – America is pulling together and we will all get through this
Disaster – The world is going to end and everything that is being done is useless or harmful
Coronavirus Misleading Advice
This info came to me from a friend. Well-meaning but not entirely accurate. The email starts out.
This from my friend that works for CDC that passed this along to his family and friends. I’m passing it along as well. Please refer to
TAIWAN – Self-check for fibrosis
The new NCP coronavirus may not show sign of infection for many days. How can one know if he/she is infected?
By the time they have a fever and/or cough and goes to the hospital, the lungs are usually 50 % Fibrosis and it’s too late! Taiwan experts provide a simple self-check that we can do every morning: Take a deep breath and hold your breath for more than 10 seconds. If you complete it successfully without coughing, without discomfort, stuffiness or tightness, etc.,it proves there is no fibrosis in the lungs, basically indicating no infection. In critical times, please self-check every morning in an environment with clean air.
FACT CHECK FALSE: Snopes
JAPAN – Advice by Japanese Doctors treating COVID-19 cases:
Another email that has some good advice (8, 9 & 10) but a lot of dangerous false statements. I don’t have time to debunk them all but suffice to say that anything that claims to offer immunity from this virus is NOT true.
Everyone should ensure your mouth & throat is moist, never DRY. Take a few sips of water every 15 mins at least. WHY? Even if the virus gets into your mouth…drinking water or other liquids will WASH them down through your esophagus into the stomach. Once in your stomach, the ACID will kill the virus. If you don’t drink enough water more regularly….the virus can enter your windpipes and into the LUNGS. That’s very dangerous.
Pls send and share with family, friends and everyone.”
THE SYMPTOMS OF CORONAVIRUS
1. If you have a runny nose and sputum, you have a common cold.
2. Coronavirus pneumonia is a dry cough with no runny nose.
3. This new virus is not heat-resistant and will be killed by a temperature of just 26/27 Celsius. It hates the Sun. FACT CHECK FALSE
4. If someone sneezes with it, it takes about 10 feet before it drops to the ground and is no longer airborne.
5. If it drops on a metal surface it will live for at least 12 hours – so if you come into contact with any metal surface – wash your hands as soon as you can with a bacterial soap.
6. On fabric, it can survive for 6-12 hours. normal laundry detergent will kill it.
7. Drinking warm water is effective for all viruses. Try not to drink liquids with ice.
8. Wash your hands frequently as the virus can only live on your hands for 5-10 minutes, but – a lot can happen during that time – you can rub your eyes, pick your nose unwittingly and so on.
9. You should also gargle as prevention. A simple solution of salt in warm water will suffice.
10. Can’t emphasize enough – drink plenty of water!
PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO FAMILY, FRIENDS AND CO-WORKERS.
