Chittenden, Franklin and Orleans counties now show “high” levels of Covid transmission, the strongest category in a rubric from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of Sunday, the CDC also reports “substantial” transmission in Bennington, Essex and Washington counties. The federal health agency recommends universal indoor masking in counties with “high” or “substantial” spread.
Data from the Vermont Department of Health shows cases rising statewide. The state reported 89 new cases on Monday, as well as 47 cases on Sunday and 112 cases on Saturday, the highest one-day count since April 29.
The state reported two new deaths from Covid-19 on Monday.
Twenty people are currently hospitalized with the virus, the highest one-day count since April 26. Eight of those people are in intensive care.
The seven-day average case positivity rate is 2.9%.
Data on the source of new cases remains limited, but the health department on Friday reported details of an outbreak at a Waterbury Parks and Recreation day camp. Thirteen campers, most under age 12 and therefore ineligible for vaccination, tested positive for Covid-19. The department encouraged anyone who may have had contact with a person from the camp to monitor themselves for Covid symptoms and get tested.
State officials have projected that cases would continue to rise through late August. As of Friday, Gov. Phil Scott’s administration was not planning new statewide preventive measures.
But the rapid surge in new cases, largely driven by the more contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus, has led several institutions to tighten rules around masking and vaccination.
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger recommended Friday that all people in the city wear masks in indoor public spaces. The mayor also said he intends to finalize a vaccine mandate for city employees in the coming days.
The University of Vermont Health Network announced a forthcoming vaccine mandate on Friday, and a VTDigger survey found that at least five other hospitals across the state are requiring some or all of their employees to be vaccinated.
The University of Vermont mandated universal indoor masking last Thursday. All students must be vaccinated, but officials have stopped short of announcing a new vaccination mandate for faculty and staff.
Indoor mask mandates at St. Michael’s College and the Community College of Vermont took effect Monday.
