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Gov. Phil Scott started the May 13 press conference event with a detailed story about a Hartford family that was harassed May 8 over their race and their New York license plates.
In recounting the experience of the family, whom Scott called to apologize, the governor sought to reconcile his own advice about out-of-staters with the incidents of xenophobia that have cropped up here and there since the Covid-19 crisis began in March. The person who was harassed reported that the assailant mentioned that the governor had asked outsiders to stay away.
Scott told reporters May 13 that his only intention was to suppress the rate of infection coming from harder-hit neighboring states. He repeated the exact wording from a press conference March 30 where he asked out-of-staters to avoid Vermont if possible to suppress the state’s Covid-19 infection rate. At the time, more than 1,000 people per day were dying of Covid-19 in New York.
“Here’s what I want everyone to understand,” the governor quoted himself as saying earlier. “If you don’t need to come to Vermont, please don’t.”
Vermont’s problems with xenophobia didn’t start with Covid-19. Some people of color, or from other states, have long reported unwelcoming remarks or incidents, and even threats. But the coronavirus pandemic has set off a wave of anxiety that has exacerbated racism and xenophobia around the world.
Since the outbreak began in Vermont, incidents of rude remarks to out-of-staters have been reported as residents worried newcomers would carry the virus into the state and use up needed resources. The Scott administration set up monitors at state borders to track how many out-of-staters were visiting Vermont, and for how long.
The tracking has abated, and health officials haven’t released data about how many of Vermont’s more than 900 confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been traced to out-of-state visitors.
In the incident May 8, Vermont State Police said a father and son stopped after being flagged down by two drivers whom they thought needed assistance.
“The victim, who is black, was advised that he was not wanted in Vermont and told to leave. There were significant racial undertones to the interaction,” police said in a statement. “The victim, whose 11-year-old son was with him in the vehicle at the time, was in fear for the physical safety of him and his son. He was able to verbally deescalate the situation and drive home. No physical altercation occurred.”
For Scott, the incident signalled he needs to reconcile keeping Vermonters safe from new infection sources with the imperative that Vermonters treat everyone they encounter with respect and dignity. He spoke out strongly against the racial incident and said he had called the family to apologize and they had a long conversation.
“This is about public health and safety, which is our top priority,” Scott said of his request to visitors that they stay away. Anyone who does enter the state from outside is asked to quarantine for 14 days.
“If you’re entering this state, you’re directed to isolate in order to protect those already here, as well as the capacity of our healthcare system,” Scott said.
“That’s what I said back six weeks ago and I’ve consistently made this argument that we cannot let this be about ‘us versus them,’ whether they’re from another state or not or whether they have other license plates on their vehicles.”
Vermont State Police on May 13 took the unusual step of including in their press release a message similar to the one Scott delivered at the press conference.
“Vermont is and must continue to be a state where visitors feel welcome, regardless of who they are, what they look like or where they come from, even during this pandemic,” the police said. “Seasonal residents, the owners of second homes and guests from beyond our borders remain able to travel to Vermont and live here under current health and safety requirements.”
As the economy continues to reopen, the Scott administration will be required to continue refining its guidance on out-of-state visitors. Scott has said residential summer camps will be allowed to reopen this summer, and they draw not only children but sometimes families to the state from around the country and the world. Inns and other lodging properties are also seeing restrictions ease, and tourism-related businesses and specialty food and drink producers rely on visitors to Vermont for their continued survival. Many are pressing the Scott administration to open the door to visitors.
Another question that needs to be cleared up is the logistics of the 14-day quarantine. Keith Lincoln, who is moving back to his hometown of Royalton from Portland, Oregon next month, plans to spend his quarantine camping with his wife on remote land he owns in Royalton.
Lincoln, a retired semiconductor equipment engineer, is following Vermont news and has heard Scott’s advice to stay away, but he’s headed cross-country anyway. He said he and his wife will sleep in their SUV or in a tent en route, and will wear gloves and masks whenever they step out of their vehicle. Once they get to their land, friends will drop off food.
“We have the right to freedom of travel,” said Lincoln, who is as worried about catching the virus from strangers as they might be of catching it from him. He is encouraged to see Vermont and Washington are listed as the best in the country at social distancing. And he plans to keep the car interior virus-free with an ample supply of Clorox wipes and gloves.
“We’ve been in self-quarantine here since the middle of March; the only store I’ve really been to is Home Depot,” said Lincoln. He thinks he can drive across the country without catching Covid-19. His larger fear is that people will harass him when they see his Oregon plates.
“I’ve been hassled in South Royalton due to my New York plates before,” said Lincoln, 63, who worked in Albany, New York for eight years. “People didn’t realize I was in my hometown.”
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