The restart of colleges in Vermont is going well, with only 33 positive results turning up out of more than 27,000 students tested for the coronavirus, state officials said Friday.
“We’ve had a small number of cases, but they’ve been detected early, and the colleges are doing a great job of identifying those cases, getting them isolated and ensuring that their close contacts have quarantine housing available,” said state Epidemiologist Patsy Kelso during the governor’s regular virus briefing.
Only a few hundred out-of-state students are back in Vermont, and nearly all have been tested or are getting tested, said Michael Pieciak, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, who is managing the state’s COVID-19 data.
“Now it’s just a matter of making sure they follow through on the public health guidance throughout the semester but so far so good on the higher ed restart, certainly,” he said.
Republican Gov. Phil Scott also asked Vermonters to stay smart and safe during the Labor Day Weekend and to get outside as much as they can. He urged residents to have fun but follow Health Department guidance: Wear a mask in public, stay 6 feet apart, do a lot of hand-washing and stay home if sick.
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KILLINGTON OUTBREAK
An outbreak stemming from a party in Killington has led to 17 cases of the virus, Kelso said.
Eleven of the people had attended the party at the Summit Lodge on Aug. 19 and six others were infected by someone who was at the party, she said.
The Health Department has reached 34 of the 49 guests; 15 of them are out-of-state residents, and their state Health Departments have been notified, she said.
“There might be some community spread in the coming weeks and we understand that community members might be anxious,” Kelso said. Testing is available this week in the area, she said.
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K-12 SCHOOLS RESTARTING
As Vermont K-12 schools prepare to restart next week, the state’s largest teachers’ union has given Vermont a grade of D+ for its overall preparation, saying it lacks a statewide approach and adequate resources.
Scott said the state wants to hear from schools that are not prepared and need additional help but said there are “a vast amount of union members, teachers, that are really doing a tremendous amount of work to make this happen.”
“I understand how difficult it is for teachers, administrators, the custodial staff, the support staff, everyone to try and put this together. The kids, the parents,” Scott said. “But it’s really important.”
Education Secretary French said he thinks the state’s guidance on schools restarting is exceptionally high quality. “I’m really proud of the work that our schools have done this summer. It’s been a tremendous challenge,” he said.
Union members around Vermont graded their own district’s reopening preparedness in a number of categories, including health and safety, adequate staffing, and ventilation, the Vermont NEA said.
“Some districts are more prepared than others; some districts have robust safety protocols, while others don’t have adequate supplies of personal protection equipment,” said Don Tinney, president of the 13,000-member union and a high school English teacher. “No student, parent, or school employee should have to put their safety at risk.”
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VACCINE PREPARATION
Scott said he’s not convinced that a vaccine will be ready by Nov. 1, after the director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote to the governors last week about the urgent need to have vaccine distribution sites up and running by then.
“I think that’s a very aggressive timeline from my perspective but I know that they’re making a lot of ground at this point. I hope they’re successful,” he said.
Vermont has had a working group trying to make sure that if and when a safe vaccine is available, the state is prepared, he said.
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THE NUMBERS
Vermont reported 10 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, for a statewide total of more than 1,640. Vermont continues to have the lowest per capita infection rate in the country from the start of the pandemic and in the last seven days and the lowest test positivity rate, Pieciak said.
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