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Gov. Phil Scott extended Vermont’s Covid-19 state of emergency on Monday, though he noted it is “just a vehicle” for the restrictions and reopening steps his administration continues to announce on a rolling basis.
“To continue to manage this reality, the fact is the state of emergency must remain in place,” Scott said. “Remember the state of emergency is just a vehicle or mechanism to do all the things we need to do to manage our response.”
Scott noted that the state of emergency was not to be confused with his “stay home, stay safe” order, which was announced on March 24. He said his administration would continue to reopen sections of the economy and needed a legal tool to do that.
“We need something to open things up in a measured, responsible way, and to make sure that we don’t have any outbreaks and spikes and so forth as we do this,” Scott said. “So if all of a sudden we saw a number of outbreaks throughout the state gave us concern, we would slow things down.”
Asked how long his administration would continue holding press conferences three times a week, Scott said it would be up to members of the media.
“At this point we still have a lot of information to disperse and seems to be working,” he said, “but if there’s a time when the press is not interested anymore, please let us know, and we’ll reduce those numbers dramatically.”
In recent weeks, Scott has allowed limited reopenings of child care centers, indoor and outdoor dining, as well as some organized sports and summer camps. He said Monday that he would continue to follow the guidance of health experts.
“Because if we get everything open in the right way and continue to test and trace the outbreaks, then we won’t have to retreat, which will be better for the economy and our quality of life in the long term,” the governor said.
Scott’s state-of-emergency extension comes as Vermont continues to show largely positive signs in terms of controlling the coronavirus outbreak, with the total confirmed cases in the state at 1,127, and the death count at 55 (one new case was reported Monday, and no new deaths).
A recent outbreak in Winooski — 83 Covid-19 cases are believed to be linked to the outbreak, with zero hospitalizations so far — seems to have been effectively contained. Officials on Friday touted the continued stability of statewide Covid-19 numbers, despite the Winooski outbreak.
The governor said Winooski was an opportunity to test the state’s ability to trace outbreaks, and he said similar instances of spreading may continue to pop up until there is a vaccine for the novel coronavirus.
Health Commissioner Mark Levine said Winooski’s “numbers are looking so good,” though he added that he was hesitant to prematurely claim success for the state’s “box it in” testing and tracing strategy.
“It is definitely not in the past tense,” he said of the Winooski cluster. “It is something we are still watching. It’s way too early — knowing the incubation period of the virus and the number of people who were involved — to just put a checkmark and move on.”
The Scott administration has also continually pointed out that while Vermont has largely contained the virus, for now, the situation is very different in other states and cities in the region.
Vermont has taken a county-by-county approach to its quarantine requirements on out-of-state visitors. Asked about a specific situation recently, in which an out-of-state visitor appeared to have violated those rules, Scott said additional action may be needed if those violations become more widespread — such as asking hotels to confirm where visitors are coming from.
“And if they came from a county that is not on the list, that they may have to refuse entry, but it’s not something we’ve put into place at this point,” he said. “But if we continue to see violation of this executive order, then we may have to take other actions.”
Correction: Camping is not open Vermont State Parks until June 26.
