Vermont reported 169 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, the highest single-day total so far in the current surge.
The Department of Health said there was one new death Thursday in the 70-79 age group. The state has reported eight deaths from Covid-19 in August, up from two in July. Total deaths during the pandemic now number 268.
As of Thursday, 21 people are hospitalized with the virus, according to the health department, down from 29 on Wednesday. Nine of those people are in intensive care.
The seven-day average test positivity rate is 2.9%.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, community transmission is considered “substantial” or “high” in 11 of Vermont’s 14 counties: Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle, Orleans, Rutland, Washington, Windham and Windsor. The agency recommends universal indoor masking, regardless of vaccination status, in these counties.
Six of them are in the most severe category, indicating more than 100 cases per 100,000 residents in the last seven days: Addison, Bennington, Chittenden, Franklin, Orleans and Washington counties.
The state’s vaccine dashboard, also updated Wednesday, shows 85.2% of eligible Vermonters have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine. The state reported 433,954 Vermonters, or 67.5% of the total population, are fully vaccinated.
Daily updates from the health department do not include demographic data about hospitalizations, but as of Tuesday no children were hospitalized with Covid-19 in Vermont, according to Health Commissioner Mark Levine. The department does not provide information about the vaccination status of daily new cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
