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Vermont’s latest day of Covid-19 data reports two more cases since yesterday and two more deaths, according to the Department of Health website.
Tuesday’s new case figures are the smallest increase in nearly a month, according to DOH data. It is the latest in a continuing decline in new case figures as health officials say Vermont is past its peak in Covid-19 cases.Â
The state reported 130 new tests conducted Tuesday, a significant drop compared to the daily average tests reported. State officials have said test numbers vary from day to day because of slower testing rates on the weekend.
“Often on weekends, especially on Sundays, we see that drop,” Department of Health Commissioner Mark Levine said at a press conference on Monday.
The weekly variation seems to match with Tuesday of last week, when the state conducted 220 tests, compared with 524 tests the day before and 496 tests the day after.
To get a test in Vermont, a person must be symptomatic, get a referral from a primary care provider or urgent care, and visit a testing center. The test can also take days to get a result.
The decline in new cases is coming at the same time as another positive trend — a drop in the number of people hospitalized for Covid-19. As of Tuesday, 21 people were hospitalized for the disease, a decline from its peak of 35 on April 8.
The number of hospitalized people “under investigation” — people who were hospitalized with symptoms of Covid-19 but have not been tested or have not gotten test results yet — has also been falling over the same period.