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Gov. Phil Scott on Friday announced the initial steps that his administration is taking to reopen Vermont’s economy, starting next week.
Speaking at the start of his regular press conference, Scott said that two people would be allowed to return to work at the offices of low-contact professional services, like realtors, appraisers, municipal clerks and attorneys.
Scott also said that property management and construction firms could begin operating as two-person crews. In all cases, workers must continue remaining 6 feet from anyone, wash hands regularly and wear face masks in public.
Those initial economic opening measures, being orchestrated by the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, will begin on Monday, April 20.
Most Vermonters, Scott said, should “expect telecommuting and remote work to stay in place for the foreseeable future, because we still need to reduce contact to contain the spread of this virus.”
Scott also said that garden and construction supply stores will be allowed to reopen next week, but only with phone and online ordering, curbside pickup, and minimum staffing.
Farmers markets will be allowed to reopen on May 1, following guidance currently being drafted by the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, Scott said.
“I realize that this is a small step forward, but I believe it’s the right balance to support all our public health goals,” Scott said. “As we have seen along the way, I know there are many who will think we are moving too quickly, and others who believe we should flip the switch and open the economy right now, but this is a carefully developed approach, with the health of Vermonters as a No. 1 priority.”
Before ceding the podium to other members of his administration, Scott said that the unemployment claims backlog continued to be a major concern for him. He said that if the backlog is not cleared by Sunday, he has authorized Treasurer Beth Pearce to send $1,200 checks to eligible Vermonters in need.
Interim Labor Commissioner Mike Harrington apologized to Vermonters for the backlog in claims processing, saying 80,000 people have now filed for unemployment in the state. He took responsibility for the problems but also said federal government restrictions have restricted the DOL’s ability to process claims.
“From the start of the emergency, the governor has directed our department to prioritize people over process and that’s why these measures we’ve taken and will take over the next few days will push, and might at times veer outside federal guidelines,” Harrington said.
Scott said employees of businesses that begin opening up would need to wear masks, but said that in terms of the general public he believed the current approach — advising Vermonters to wear cloth masks in public — was proving effective.
“At this point in time, I think education guidance is the best route,” he said. “And I know that some have taken a different approach. But ours is working, and we’ll continue to look at the data, data science and see where we stand.”
Effective Friday, under the order of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, all New Yorkers are required to wear the masks.
Asked about when public gatherings and events might be allowed again, Scott said that decision would also be made in stages, as was its implementation — the governor initially banned gatherings of more than 250, then over a few days limited that to 10 people.
“So I would say that we would probably go in the other direction, that once we see the numbers continue to, if they continue to stay solid, and maybe even decrease, that we will open that number up a little bit at a time,” Scott said. “But it won’t be just the flick of the switch and opening up to, to an infinite amount of people.”
Levine pointed to movie theaters as an example of how businesses could get creative in creating social distance between customers, perhaps only selling 30%-40% of seats to a given showing. (Scott suggested that drive-in theaters may return to temporary popularity.)
“So I’m not saying that’s coming next week,” Levine added. “I’m not trying to get ahead of the governor by any means, but, you know, again, innovation, creativity around the fact that we can’t be congregating in mass groups anymore.”
The Scott administration has said that Vermont likely hit its peak in coronavirus cases this week, Scott and other senior officials have repeatedly said that lifting the governor’s “stay home, stay safe” order too soon could quickly undo efforts to slow the spread of the virus.
The Department of Health reported 11 new cases of Covid-19 and no new deaths between Thursday and Friday morning. The five deaths reported on Thursday equalled the highest single-day figure, however the deaths occurred over a few days.
As of Friday morning, 35 people had died in Vermont from coronavirus, with a total number of confirmed cases of 779.
Scott said at the start of Friday’s press conference that Vermont is starting to see “the fruits of our labor” as the growth rate in new cases averaged below 4% over the last 12 days.
“This is all the result of hard work and sacrifice by everyone across the state. And I can’t thank you enough,” Scott said.
Scott has also been pressed to ease restrictions on farmers markets, which, like many other businesses, were ordered to suspend “in-person” operations last month.
Farms, CSAs, farm stands and food hubs were permitted to stay open under the order, but the operators of farmers markets and advocates for agriculture have been pressing the governor to ease restrictions enough to allow more direct-to-consumer farm sales.
Vermont has nine winter markets, with 20 more expected to open in May and 40 more in June, according to Anson Tebbetts, secretary for the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets.
Soon after he declared a state of emergency March 13, Scott started describing the balancing act between restarting Vermont’s economy and protecting the state from Covid-19 in terms of “easing the spigot.”
He has pledged to follow the science and data on infection rates and other public health indicators as he considers when and how restrictions on public activity can be lifted.
Although last week the governor extended his “stay home/stay safe” order to May 15, he has hinted over the last week that some easing is likely if Vermonters continue to observe rules that limit contact with others.
