Mayor Miro Weinberger urged Burlington residents Tuesday to exercise caution heading into Thanksgiving, and asked that they keep local vendors in mind as they shop for the holidays.
Though Chittenden County saw a dip in its seven-day rolling average of new cases in recent days, Burlington recorded 67 new positives the week prior to Nov. 18.
A new graphic on the city’s dashboard tracking weekly cases in the city shows a steady rise in Burlington’s weekly cases through November, a month when Vermont recorded more than 40% of its total Covid-19 cases, according to state officials.
“Clearly this is a time where it is critical that everyone be following the public health orders,” Weinberger said at a press conference. “It is particularly critical that people be aware of this guidance as we head into the holiday, when we know this is a time when we all want to get together with loved ones.”
Chittenden County has a seven-day rolling average of more than 23 new cases a day, up from 13 on Nov. 6. In response, the state expanded pop-up testing sites around Chittenden County last week.
Vermonters face “real risk of creating a tragedy and having a negative impact on the health of loved ones” by gathering for Thanksgiving, Weinberger said. That message echoed warnings by state officials at Gov. Phil Scott’s press conference earlier Tuesday, as they cautioned that Vermont’s cases could double if people keep Thanksgiving plans.
Multi-household gatherings remain prohibited under Scott’s latest guidance.
Of the 67 cases confirmed in Burlington last week, “many” of them appear to be new cases at the University of Vermont and Champlain College, according to Brian Lowe, Burlington’s chief innovation officer. Lowe said it isn’t possible to break down precisely how many of the weekly cases came from the colleges, as the dates of their weekly reports don’t align with the city’s.
UVM recorded 26 new cases between Nov. 16 and Nov. 22, according to the university’s dashboard, and Champlain reported four over the past seven days. Olivia LaVecchia, Weinberger’s communications and projects coordinator, in an email said the city doesn’t have information about where college students’ infections originated.
At his press conference Tuesday, Scott cautioned Vermonters against shopping for the holidays if they can avoid it. “If you don’t have to shop, don’t. If you don’t have to go out and get into those situations, don’t,” Scott said.
Weinberger and other Burlington officials offered a slightly different message as this weekend’s Small Business Saturday approaches: Shop locally if you can, and try to do so digitally.
The city has set up a website, LoveBurlington.org, where city residents can browse wares and food from more than 100 local merchants. The site lets residents sort vendors by neighborhood, shop type and whether a business is BIPOC or women-owned in selecting holiday shopping options.
Residents can also choose stores by different types of service options available — like delivery and curbside pickup — as a way to limit contact around town this holiday weekend.
“We want people to know there are still ways to shop local, even if you don’t want to leave your home,” said Kara Alnasrawi, director of the Church Street Marketplace and Burlington Business Support.
“This is really a time when local businesses need our help if they’re going to make it through this, and if we’re going to enjoy the vibrant downtown we’ve had for so many years,” Weinberger said.
As pandemic fatigue wears on and Vermonters enter the holiday period when they would typically gather with families, Weinberger asks Burlingtonians to have faith that precautions they are taking will work.
“I know we’re all getting tired of this. We’re beyond eight months now of these sacrifices,” Weinberger said. “Even though it’s frustrating to see where we are and we’re at higher levels than we’ve been in in the past. … We shouldn’t doubt that our actions collectively matter.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled the surname of Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger’s communications director. She is Olivia LaVecchia.