The top municipal elected official in Fair Haven said he’s unhappy with the state Department of Health for not publicly revealing the name of the business in town linked to a cluster of a dozen people who have tested positive for Covid-19.
“In one way I’m happy that the state is protecting privacy, but sometimes you lose privacy for the greater good of the people,” Robert Richards, the town’s selectboard chair, said Thursday.
“In this case, that’s a reasonable trade-off,” he said. “But who am I going to talk to, they aren’t going to listen to me.”
Fair Haven has been identified as host to the most significant “cluster” since an outbreak in Winooski that infected more than 100 people since it began in May, both Winooski residents and some in surrounding locales. A smaller cluster of less than 10 people was reported in Windham County among family members; the state again did not provide additional information.
Fair Haven, located in western Rutland County along the New York state border, is home to about 2,700 residents.
Dr. Mark Levine, Vermont’s health commissioner, said during a press conference Wednesday that 12 cases so far had been detected at the work site in Fair Haven. Levine said he wouldn’t reveal the business over privacy concerns of those who work there.
“Conveying that information,” he said, “could be identifying and injurious to the population.”
Richards said Thursday that the only additional information he heard coming from the health department is that it is a slate quarry.
If they did ask his opinion, Richards said, he would urge state officials to make the name of the business public and end all the guessing and rumors swirling around town.
He said there are examples across the country of the public notification of work sites where people have tested positive for the coronavirus, citing outbreaks at meat-packing companies.
“People in town are worried,” Richards said. “I don’t think people are in panic mode or anything like that, but people are worried.”
Vermont’s Department of Health would not confirm whether the “worksite” in Fair Haven was a quarry. Told that the state had not publicly released that information, Richards replied, “Well, if I let the cat out of the bag, I did.”
There are several quarries in town, Richards noted, many of them along borders with other communities. “There are enough of them to spread out the guessing anyway,” he said. “This is the slate capital of the world.”
Rep. Robert Helm, R-Fair Haven, said Thursday that he knows the name of the company and has talked to people there. He referred to it as a “pretty good sized” business.
“I know the company. Yes, it’s based in Fair Haven, however, it has locations outside of Fair Haven in other areas,” he said, adding that he had been told those infected “for the most part” worked at a plant in another town.
Helm wouldn’t reveal the name of the company. Asked how he found out the name of the company, Helm replied, “I know what goes on in Fair Haven pretty well.”
Richards, the town selectboard chair, said as far he knew nobody in municipal government had been told by the state the exact name of the business.
“Like I said, they are keeping their cards close to their vest,” Richards added of the health department. “I haven’t been officially notified, my town manager hasn’t been officially notified. Until the state releases that information we will guess.”
John Lulek, the town’s health officer, said he has been notified by the health department, and does know the name of the business.
“I do, but I cannot tell you,” Lulek said, adding that he has to protect health privacy laws. “The Vermont state health department is taking care of the situation.”
He said he has been getting calls from residents in town seeking the information. “I tell them the same thing I told you, ‘When the time comes, you’ll know.’”
Richards said he believed that information should be shared much more widely.
“Maybe there is something that we can do in conjunction with the company,” he said. “At this point we can’t because we don’t know who it is and anything we did would be a guess.”
He said the next selectboard meeting is set for Tuesday and he expected the issue will come up.
Levine, the state health commissioner, did say employees at the work site were being tested.
Also, according to Richards, the health department is holding pop-up testing in the park in the center of town from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
He said he will be among those seeking to get tested at the event. “I’ve got a 20-month-old grandchild that I want to see without having to worry,” Richards added.
Get the latest statistics and live updates on our coronavirus page.
Sign up for our coronavirus email list.
Tell us your story or give feedback at coronavirus@vtdigger.org.
Support our nonprofit journalism with a donation.
