Vermont’s Covid-19 case totals for the past three weeks rose to a level not seen since April, state officials said Tuesday, as they cautioned against growing “pandemic fatigue” as winter weather sets in and people travel for the holidays.
“This is more serious than it might sound at first blush,” said Dr. Mark Levine, commissioner of the Department of Health, at one of Vermont’s twice-weekly press conferences.
“For nearly eight straight months, we’ve had to really dial back our lives to protect ourselves, to protect each other, adjusting our routines for many of the basic social and family activities that we all enjoy,” he said.
That may lead people to tire of the restrictions, but Vermonters should remember the virus is “very good at finding ways to spread,” he said.
The efforts to stay apart and avoid the virus, he acknowledged , are “exhausting, both physically and mentally.”
“Our case numbers are consistently higher than they were just a couple of weeks ago — not that this should be a surprise, as we’ve been forewarning of this for many weeks,” Levine said.
Not only has an 34-person outbreak linked to a Montpelier ice rink pumped up the number of cases, but nearby states are experiencing even higher increases in their case numbers. Several counties bordering Vermont are now facing travel restrictions, based on the state’s quarantine guidelines.
The health commissioner called on Vermonters to recenter themselves and continue efforts that have been successful stopping the spread.
“We just need to double down on prevention, and not roll the dice on risk,” he said.
Levine said Vermonters should be wise about holiday travel and check the state’s travel map — “based on what we just looked at, you will most likely have to quarantine upon your return,” he said.
He was referring to a travel map based on national data. Commissioner Mike Pieciak of the Department of Financial Regulation said the national data indicates a third wave of the pandemic is on its way.
While the first wave hit the New York area hardest, and the second affected the Southeast, this wave seems more scattered, he said. Many places in the Midwest are being hit for the first time, but cases are also going up in areas of the Northeast and Southeast.
Despite all that, Vermont “is still doing rather well,” Levine said. The state seems to be an island of low case growth in a region of rising numbers.
Gov. Phil Scott pointed out that while the numbers of daily cases has risen from 0-10 per day to 5-15 or more, those numbers pale in comparison to say, New Hampshire, which jas 50 to 100 cases per day.
Even allowing for Vermont’s small population, it has a relatively low rate of cases, data show. New York Times data report Vermont has the lowest seven-day case rate in the nation, other than the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Vermont’s small numbers can lead to confusing, sometimes contradictory ideas of how the state is performing. The Times rates Vermont’s numbers as “lower and staying low” compared with other states, but some news outlets have rated Vermont’s numbers as more concerning as they change day to day.
Scott said the rise in Vermont cases was not unexpected, with schools reopening, fall foliage tourism and people staying indoors.
“I think I’d be even more concerned if there was, you know, a doubling or quadrupling of what we have,” he said. “But this is kind of the way the modeling is gone as well. So we’re kind of following the trend that we expected. And it’s not an out-of-control trend by any means.”
Scott noted Vermont had 71 cases last week while in neighboring New Hampshire, by comparison, they had 71 cases on one day. In Wyoming, a small population state, there were 300 positive cases reported in one day.
The hard work by Vermonters wearing masks, washing hands and social distancing has paid off, Scott said, adding he too worried about “pandemic fatigue.” He suggested the end of the pandemic was months off.
“We’re tired of it and I get that. I get tired of it myself. But this isn’t the time to give up. Because, you know, we’re halfway through this. And we just have to maintain that vigilance if we want to continue to be strong and come out of this stronger than we were before,” Scott said.
Levine said combating the virus is a “balancing act” that weighs Covid risks against the needs of the community and economy.
“For right now, the scales tip steeply to the side of continuing our prevention efforts,” he said.
Scott also pointed to President Donald Trump for adding to the “pandemic fatigue” the Republican governor said was “creeping in.” Scott has said he won’t be voting for Trump.
“And I get it. I mean, I see it on the national level when you bring politics into play and people are getting discouraged, and they have a candidate saying there’s no problem here,” Scott said. Public leaders, he said, want to be positive but also need to be realistic. “You want to reinforce it that eventually we’ll work our way through it, but it’s not now, not until there’s a vaccine that’s widely distributed.”
More details on economic recovery grants
Applications are being accepted for the latest round of funding for businesses, said Joan Goldstein, commissioner of the Department of Economic Development.
VTDigger had previously reported on the new grants, which award up to $300,000 to businesses for a total of $76 million in spending statewide.
“We took the lessons we learned from the first time around, and worked to develop a program that would address the financial needs of those sectors that are still suffering greatly,” she said.
Some of the changes include making sole proprietors eligible for grants, and distribution happening in an application window, rather than a first-come, first-served basis, she said.
Vermont businesses can apply through the myTax portal until midnight on Oct. 30.
