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Efforts by Burlington residents to limit the spread of the coronavirus by social distancing appear to be working, Mayor Miro Weinberger and University of Vermont Medical Center President Stephen Leffler said Wednesday.
UVMMC is caring for 18 COVID-positive patients as of Wednesday, Leffler said, a number that is holding steady. The hospital has cared for between 15 and 20 patients over the past few days.
Across the state, 321 cases of the virus have been confirmed, and 16 people have died of the disease. An outbreak at the Burlington Health & Rehab facility has caused many of the state’s deaths.
During an appearance at Weinberger’s daily update, Leffler said that social distancing in Burlington and throughout the state appears to be working.
“We feel like right now, we have a pretty good handle on things, and a marked increase in in-patients hasn’t happened yet,” he said. “We may actually be blunting the curve a little bit.”
Leffler said he believed social distancing should continue.
“That doesn’t mean we won’t have a surge, that doesn’t mean we still might not have patients getting care in places they wouldn’t normally, but right now, we have good capacity to care for patients,” he said.
Weinberger said while he is optimistic that social distancing is working, he cautioned the fight against the virus is far from over.
“We are going to be battling this virus in a variety of ways for months to come, but I think it is encouraging, and should be reaffirming to people, we’ve been asking Vermonters to make such sacrifice,” he said.
The hospital is at half its normal capacity, Leffler said. Additional space is open for an increase in demand for the treatment of coronavirus patients.
The Vermont National Guard and hospital have set up a facility outside of UVM’s Converse Hall for patients with respiratory complaints who do not need to be in the emergency room, Leffler said. Patrick Gym is also being set up as an overflow site, with the ability to care for 150 to 200 patients.
Further, the National Guard is setting up an additional 400 beds at the Champlain Valley Fairgrounds, Leffler said.
The hospital is in “relatively good shape” in terms of having adequate personal protective equipment, Leffler said, and the hospital has more than 100 ventilators. The hospital usually has around 70 ventilators, he said.
Weinberger said the city was also working on a community mask initiative to make masks for essential city employees to attempt to help limit the spread of the virus.
The city is planning on using 1,400 yards — more than 14 football fields worth — of “bull denim” fabric from local fabric store Rags & Riches to make the masks. The city has partnered with the Lyric Theatre Company and Milton Artists’ Guild, which have volunteered to have those who usually make costumes help make the masks.
Brian Lowe, Burlington’s chief innovation officer, said the city believed the masks would be effective at a surgical mask level and help slow the transmission of virus.
The mask would not be at the N-95 level that is used by medical workers fighting the virus, he said, but the city is working with medical professionals to determine the effectiveness of the masks.
“It makes sense to try to expand the pool of masks for people doing essential work in and around our community,” Lowe said.
