VTDigger is posting regular updates on the coronavirus in Vermont on this page. You can also subscribe here for regular email updates on the coronavirus. If you have any questions, thoughts or updates on how Vermont is responding to COVID-19, contact us at coronavirus@vtdigger.org
Vermont now has 12 confirmed coronavirus cases, doubling the total number over the course of 24 hours.
On Monday afternoon, the state Department of Health announced a set of four new cases including two individuals in their 30s from Chittenden County, a man in 60s from Orange County, and a woman in her 60s from Bennington County who had been hospitalized at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center. The remaining three patients were self-isolating at home, according to a news release from the department.
The cases came after Gov. Phil Scott announced additional precautionary measures to limit large gatherings at a press conference. He also sought to assuage concerns that the state wasn’t doing enough to halt the spread of the virus.
On Monday morning, Scott amended his emergency declaration to limit public gatherings to either 50 people or 50% occupancy, whichever is less.
“Last night, CDC advised further limiting the size of public gatherings to 50. Based on that recommendation, I’m amending my executive order to limit gatherings to a maximum of 50,” he said.
“We’re continuously evaluating other mitigation steps,” Scott added. “We’ll continue to communicate those as they are being put into place.”
The new positive test results that have come in the last 24 hours are not travel related, but are “the result of person-to-person spread of illness in the community,” Levine said. The affected individuals are spread across the state and reside in Bennington, Chittenden, Orange, Washington and Windsor counties. Patients from Massachusetts and New York have also tested positive.
The Health Department also updated the number of tests administered, raising the total from 352 to 415, as of Monday morning.
As states and countries have grappled with a shortage of test kits, Vermont officials said they are determined to find the resources to test those who need it.
The state has increased its testing over the past week, peaking at 137 samples on Friday, according to Health Department statistics. Since Friday, the state health lab is accepting only nose swabs, according to Christie Vallencourt, of the health department.
Helen Reid, acting lab director for the state lab, told VTDigger last week that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had told her to expect a shortage of some test materials. Vermont has 400 test kits on hand, Levine said.Â
The Health Department is working with the University of Vermont Medical Center and the associated College of Medicine to manufacture some of the materials required for the test. At the same time, hospitals are increasing their efforts. Southwestern Medical Center has added drive-up testing. Other health clinics and even the Department of Public Safety are considering similar measures, Levine told reporters.
Those efforts will help the state to “maintain the level of testing we’ve been doing thus far,” he said.
Correction: Since Friday, March 13, the state lab is processing only one swab — a nasal one — per patient. A previous version of this story stated previous protocol which included nose and throat swabs.
VTDigger is posting regular updates on the coronavirus in Vermont on this page. You can also subscribe here for regular email updates on the coronavirus. If you have any questions, thoughts or updates on how Vermont is responding to COVID-19, contact us at coronavirus@vtdigger.org