Vermont Gov. Phil Scott expects to lift some of the restrictions on indoor restaurant dining on Friday. Despite a recent outbreak of Covid-19 in Winooski, statewide infection rates in Vermont are low enough to continue opening the state for business, he said.
The governor will also announce Friday some measures to allow out of state travel to Vermont, including lifting a quarantine requirement now in place for anyone planning to visit the state for more than a day.
Increased testing this week prompted by the discovery of a cluster of the virus in Winooski has revealed another 10 to 20 cases in that city.
“We simply just don’t know at this point in time,” the governor said of the extent of the outbreak at his regular Covid-19 press conference. “We want to monitor this and take the data we do receive and make sure it’s accurate, and make a determination from there. It’s my hope if this is an isolated outbreak, as we believe it is, I see no reason we couldn’t announce on Friday the opening of inside dining on a limited basis.”
The state is also looking at increasing the capacity at lodging facilities and campgrounds, which are now operating under strict limitations that many have said make it almost impossible for them to open.
Scott said Wednesday bars would not be allowed to open as part of the limited allowance for indoor restaurant dining.
Along with the response to the Covid-19 crisis, the Vermont government is responding to a series of demonstrations on police brutality against African-Americans, part of a national movement that has erupted in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25. On Monday, Scott said the state will launch a racial equity task force designed to combat racism.
“We don’t have to accept the violence we are seeing. We have to listen; we can accept peaceful protests for what they are, as a deep amount of frustration,” Scott said. “There’s a time to listen and reflect on that and a time to do better, and we all should step up.”
As crowds demonstrated against police violence outside the White House Monday, crowds were dispersed with tear gas so that President Donald Trump could visit the nearby St. John’s Episcopal Church, where he was photographed holding up a Bible, an image that has provoked a firestorm of national criticism and debate.
Asked about the episode, Scott said Wednesday that “we need leadership right now, we need someone to unite us.
“I am trying to do that here in this state, and I would suggest the president should read what President Obama wrote, what President Bush wrote, and follow that lead, because Americans are desperately needing us to unite them,” he said. “We don’t need more polarization, we don’t need more division. We don’t need to incite; we need to unite, and this is something truly discouraging.”
The governor kept most of his focus on business in Vermont, and on the administration’s proposed $400 million economic relief plan that is now before the Legislature. The money comes from Vermont’s $1.25 billion share of a massive federal relief package approved in March.
“Businesses here in Vermont are struggling simply to survive,” Scott said. “It’s important for the Legislature to move as quickly as possible” on economic relief, he said. He added that it was “good news” that about half of Vermont’s child cares are open or expected to open very soon, noting that many businesses are closed altogether as a result of the Covid-19 emergency measures.
Mike Smith, secretary of the Agency of Human Services, said he too was pleasantly surprised to hear 50% of child cares were opening. As more businesses are given the co-ahead to open, child care is a vital component of the state’s reopening strategy.
“We’ve provided a lot of money, both during the shutdown, to make sure the infrastructure stayed in place, and $6 million for the restart as we are moving forward,” Smith said. “We’re continuing to listen, to see what needs to be done to bring that number up.”
Scott said the indoor dining guidelines will result in a “very controlled opening” for restaurants.
“I want to be upfront: We still have a very long way to go to help our restaurants get back on their feet, but we’ve got to start somewhere,” he said. “Not only do we have to further open the door to the hospitality sector, we also need customers to fill the seats. We’re working on a plan to allow some out-of-state visitors to come to Vermont without a quarantine.”
