The Burlington City Council has extended the limitations on group gathering sizes to March 2021, as Covid-19 cases rise in Chittenden County and throughout Vermont.
The council unanimously passed a resolution that limits gathering sizes to 25 people outdoors and 10 people indoors. Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said at a Friday press conference that he would ask the council for the extension.
Over the past two weeks, Chittenden County has seen 134 new reported Covid-19 cases — the highest count in all of the state’s counties.
The gathering size limit was first put into effect in August when there were concerns that the incoming college population could raise Burlington’s Covid-19 case count. While that drastic influx never came, the gathering limit was kept in effect and renewed on Oct. 5 and extended to Nov. 9.
Weinberger said the city’s Covid-19 wastewater detection initiative indicates that there are higher traces of the virus in the New North End as cases have risen.
“We don’t think that people should take comfort just because they don’t live in the New North End that there is no elevated risk,” Weinberger said. “We’re a small community, people from all different parts of the city are frequently crossing paths. But we do have this documented increase in the New North End.”
Translation services to be offered
The council also unanimously passed a resolution to establish a language access plan, which would standardize how translation services are offered for non-English speakers and identify where more translation services are needed in the city.
Brian Lowe, the city’s chief innovation officer, said under federal law if any linguistic group makes up more than 5% of a municipality’s population, that city is required to set aside resources for translation services. Burlington has not yet reached that point, but he said the Weinberger administration wanted to pursue the plan anyway.
“The goal really is to provide timely and meaningful access to all our residents,” Lowe said.
Lowe said the plan would be brought back to the council for final approval, after an assessment of the translation needs for the city is completed.
Safe injection site faces legal hurdle
The council also discussed potential legal challenges to the concept of an overdose prevention site that it has been considering for the city of Burlington. These sites are medically supervised safe injection locations where those struggling with opioid use can receive the help and services they need to safely overcome their addiction.
The council has been exploring how a site could be established in the city, after passing a resolution at a mid-September meeting to further explore the city’s avenues. At Monday’s council meeting, they were briefed by city attorneys about the legal hurdles that could keep a site from moving forward.
Assistant City Attorney Justin St. James explained to councilors that there has not yet been a safe injection site established anywhere in the country. Under federal law, no site can operate while “controlled substances” are knowingly being used.
Vermont has a similar law that St. James said could also be used to block a safe injection site in Burlington.
The council ended the meeting at 11:30 p.m., before entering into executive session to discuss the legal strategy for the lawsuit brought against the city by Jeremy Meli, who is suing the city over a violent encounter with Burlington Police Officer Jason Bellavance.
