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The number of COVID-19 cases in Vermont has jumped to 211, according to the state’s health department, which also reported two additional deaths from the virus on Saturday.
Since Friday, health officials have identified 28 additional people who have contracted the virus, according to the latest data on the Vermont Health Department’s website.
A total of 12 COVID-19 patients have now died in the Green Mountain State.
Those newly reported deaths include one person who was receiving treatment at University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, and one person who was a patient at Burlington Health and Rehab, according to Ben Truman, a spokesperson for the health department.
More than a dozen people at the Burlington senior home have been infected and now eight residents have died.
The new information from the department comes a day after its commissioner said the state would be relaxing its standards for COVID-19 testing to identify more cases in Vermont and curb the spread of coronavirus.
“The experience [in] other countries who have successfully flattened the curve show that early and broad testing is a proven strategy to slow transmission of this virus,” Health Commissioner Mark Levine said Friday
“And Vermont is still early enough on the curve that the strategy may be effective.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the number of new cases reported Saturday. There were 28 new positive tests, not 27.
