Vermont shattered Thursday a previous record of 72 Covid-19 cases set just the day before, reporting 109 new cases across the state, according to Department of Health data.
The state also reported a total of 19 people in the hospital with Covid, the highest since the spring, and five people in the ICU.
In Washington County, where a “hockey outbreak” has fueled rising Covid-19 numbers, 46 new cases were reported on Thursday. It’s unclear how many of those cases are linked to the spreading that started at the Central Vermont Memorial Civic Center.
The new statewide record comes a day after Gov. Phil Scott ordered surge sites to prepare for a new wave of cases and reminded Vermonters to remain cautious about social distancing.
The spike also comes two days after the state put a moratorium on its travel map, forcing all people traveling in or out of the state to complete a 14-day quarantine or seven days with a negative test.
In a tweet, Scott said many of the new cases could be tied to seemingly small social events, such as Halloween parties or baby showers.
“I understand that Vermonters feel fatigued from the pandemic, its impact on all of us and the sacrifices it has required,” Scott said in a statement yesterday.
The health department announced a new initiative Tuesday to bring more Covid-19 testing to Vermont through a new vendor that will conduct randomized testing of teachers in K-12 schools.
The health department reported 54 cases of the virus in schools as of Tuesday. VTDigger has collected reports on another 10 school-related cases that occurred more recently or outside of school buildings.
Washington County had the highest case county of any county on Thursday. Chittenden County had another 16. All 14 counties reported at least one case.
That hockey outbreak was reported to have 125 cases as of Tuesday. Dr. Mark Levine, head of the Department of Health, said the state has also been tracking other, smaller outbreaks.
Vermont’s test positivity rate remains relatively low. Only 0.9% of tests in the past week came back positive, compared to the statewide reopening standard of 5% or more. That remains a good sign for the state’s ability to combat the virus.
But another metric the state studies to see if it should remain open, the growth rate of Covid, has gone up significantly. On Nov. 8, new cases were just 0.95% of total cases so far in Vermont. As of today, they are more than 4%.
Today’s numbers bring the total number of Covid cases in Vermont to 2,651, with 59 deaths from the virus.
