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Vermont’s Department of Health said there are 35 newly confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state, and one new death, in its daily update of COVID-19 public health data.
That brings the statewide totals in Vermont to 158 confirmed cases of the virus, and nine deaths from infections.
The state has also surpassed 2,000 total tests conducted, with the scale of testing ramping up in recent days with increased supplies and drive-through testing facilities.
The DOH did not say where the latest death occurred. An outbreak in the Burlington Health and Rehab facility has infected over a dozen people and at least four elderly residents of the facility have died of the virus — half of the state’s total deaths.
The latest data shows that Vermont’s cases are doubling roughly every three days, according to Easton White, a University of Vermont researcher who models biological data.
That places it below New York’s two-day rate, but above New Hampshire or Massachusetts, although the latter still has more cases in total.
The nine deaths in Vermont place it well behind New York, where the death count is nearing 300, but ahead of other New England states such as Maine, which hadn’t reported any deaths from the virus as of Wednesday.
Health officials in Massachusetts reported 10 new deaths on Thursday, bringing the commonwealth’s total to 25, according to Boston.com. Connecticut has now reported 21 deaths from the virus, according to the Hartford Courant.
Vermont’s confirmed caseload is also far smaller than most states in the region, by virtue of its population and varying levels of testing between states.
Vermont’s Health Department had reported 158 confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of Thursday, about the same as Maine, which has reported 155 cases, but no deaths, according to the Portland Press Herald. That’s compared with 2,417 confirmed cases in Massachusetts and 1,012 in Connecticut.
Vermont is above only Rhode Island among New England states in terms of total testing, according to public health data compiled by Vox.
While Vermont has conducted fewer total tests than its neighbor New Hampshire, it has a higher testing rate compared to its population. Its rate is slightly lower than Massachusetts, which currently has a far-reaching epidemic, and far lower than New York, which has been suffering from the largest outbreak in the U.S. to date.
