The state has announced expanded testing opportunities in Central Vermont in response to an expanding Covid-19 outbreak linked to a Montpelier-area ice rink.
The number of coronavirus cases connected to hockey leagues and broomball teams at the Central Vermont Memorial Civic Center in Montpelier has jumped to 30, the Vermont Department of Health announced Monday.
Also Monday, the Montpelier-Roxbury School District reported four new cases of the virus at Union Elementary School in Montpelier. The new cases are all in the same classroom as the two cases reported by the school last week, Montpelier-Roxbury Superintendent Libby Bonesteel said in a letter to district families.
“This situation is not easy for any one of us. It is nerve-wracking and stressful. It also shows just how contagious COVID-19 is and serves as a reminder to all of us to wear a mask, wash our hands thoroughly, and stay 6 feet apart,” Bonesteel wrote.
State officials had said last week said they did not believe the elementary school cases were connected to the ice rink, but this has changed, health department spokesperson Ben Truman said Monday.
The “investigation to date indicates cases among the recreational teams and Union Elementary School are related,” Truman wrote in an email. Health Commissioner Mark Levine will have an update during the governor’s press briefing on Tuesday, he added.
The Union Elementary cases, which now total six, are considered by state health officials to be the first instance of Covid-19 transmission within a K-12 setting in Vermont.
The health department on Monday reported 29 new cases statewide of the coronavirus since Friday, bringing to 1,946 the total cases confirmed in Vermont since the beginning of the pandemic. Nine cases were reported Saturday, 11 on Sunday, and nine on Monday.
Seven of those cases were in each of Chittenden and Washington counties, five in Windham County, two each in Windsor, Lamoille, Orange and Orleans counties, and one each in Bennington and Franklin counties.
The health department will hold a pop-up testing clinic Thursday at the Barre Auditorium from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registration is requested, but walk-ins will be accommodated. Testing is recommended for asymptomatic people with direct links to the teams and their close contacts, according to health officials, and not for the wider Montpelier community. People can register online at healthvermont.gov/covid19-testing.
Central Vermont Medical Center will conduct special testing clinics this Tuesday through Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. The clinics will be at the hospital’s Acute Respiratory Clinic at 1311 Montpelier-Barre Road in Berlin and are for asymptomatic people who have concerns about potential exposure. Appointments are required, and can be made by calling the hospital at 802-371-5310.
Kinney Drugs and ClearChoiceMD in Berlin are also offering testing, according to state officials.
Cate Chant contributed to this report.
