Vermont’s largest hospital was delayed in reporting about 50 coronavirus test results to the state because of a tech outage from a cyberattack in late October and its work to restore the system, the hospital’s president said Thursday.
The results were from testing done Nov. 22-29 and were sent to the Health Department on Monday, Dr. Stephen Leffler, president of the University of Vermont Medical Center, said during a news briefing.
The Health Department contacted the hospital after not receiving positive results for several days, Human Services Secretary Mike Smith said.
The tests were ordered by a medical provider, and everyone should have been notified by their provider, Smith said. The Health Department is now contacting the people who tested positive for contract tracing, officials said.
“We’re extremely sorry for this error and any impact that it had on any of our patients or our community,” Leffler said.
The hospital will be using a fax system to report the results until the information technology problems are fixed, he said.
Sixteen of those cases were included in Vermont’s daily virus case numbers on Thursday, and more are anticipated on Friday.
In other news related to the coronavirus in Vermont:
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WASTEWATER MONITORING
A water monitoring program shows a big uptick in the marker of COVID-19 in wastewater across Burlington since the Thanksgiving holiday, meaning the coronavirus is more prevalent in the city, Mayor Miro Weinberger said Thursday.
The readings are based on a single sampling at each of Burlington’s three wastewater treatment plants after the holiday and more sampling will be done in the coming days to confirm the readings, his office said.
“I hope that all Burlingtonians will look at this graph and see what I see: a call to action,” Weinberger said in a statement. “We must remember that it’s in our collective power to bring this surge back down. We need everyone to cease social gatherings outside of your household and to get tested if you have participated in a social gathering over the last week.”
Increased levels of COVID-19 markers can show up in wastewater up to seven days earlier than testing results, the city said.
As case numbers have risen in recent weeks, testing has been expanded in Burlington.
“Though these numbers suggest that the weeks ahead may be tough ones, the vaccine coming means that there’s a light at the end of this tunnel,” Weinberger said. “This pandemic won’t last forever – but we need to come together for a final push to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our neighbors.”
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TAX INCREASE
Vermont’s tax department is forecasting an average 9% increase in education property taxes, mostly because of the pandemic.
The forecast assists lawmakers and administration officials in planning for a budget, and gives them a preview of education tax yields.
The forecast indicates a lack of spending at local stores, restaurants and hotels translates to an estimated $40 million shortfall in the education fund.
Tax Commissioner Craig Bolio called it “one of the largest-single year increases in the average homestead rate in the last decade.”
But he said the numbers aren’t final and the economic picture could improve depending on how the state does in curbing the virus and getting more people back to work.
“The governor and administration do not believe this is a tenable tax increase for Vermonters who are working hard to recover from the pandemic, nor for the Vermont economy which continues to struggle due to the pandemic-related disruption,” Bolio wrote.
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THE NUMBERS
Vermont reported 178 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, its highest daily number since the pandemic began.
One new death was also reported, for a statewide total of 75 to date.
State officials are still waiting to see if there is a surge after Thanksgiving, but Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine said Thursday that he believes that most Vermonters followed the guidance of not travelling or gathering with other households.
“This time of year, this year specifically, we expect to see higher numbers of cases,” Levine said. “It’s now clearly entering winter weather, people are indoors much more than they have been, and we know that those contribute to the ability for people to congregate together and for the virus to have conditions it thrives in.”
The cases came from around Vermont, he said. A total of 64 were in Chittenden County, 29 were in Washington County, and 17 were in Orleans County, with smaller numbers in the remaining counties, according to the Health Department.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Vermont did not increase over the past two weeks, going from 97.14 on Nov. 18 to 63.43 on Dec. 2. The seven-day rolling average of daily deaths in Vermont has risen over the past two weeks from 0.14 on Nov. 18 to 1.43 on Dec. 2.
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