Vermont set a new record Monday with 101 people hospitalized for Covid-19, according to state officials.
Meanwhile, thousands of Vermonters who were tested for the virus at state-run sites last week are experiencing significant delays in getting their results, and case counts could be increased retroactively.
Jenney Samuelson, interim secretary of the Agency of Human Services, said that 8,200 people tested on Jan. 6 and 7 were forced to wait four to five days for their PCR results. Speaking at the governor’s weekly press conference on Tuesday, she said they should expect to get their results by the end of the day.
About 40,000 lab results, including more than 4,000 positive tests, were not sent to the Department of Health between Jan. 7 and Jan. 10, Samuelson said — meaning that those days’ totals may be far higher than what was initially reported.
John Quinn, secretary of the Agency of Digital Services, said the delays were caused by a “collision of information” from multiple systems trying to reach the same database.
Samuelson said the state anticipates updating the public dashboard and adjusting the numbers on Wednesday.
The state also announced details of its antigen test mailing pilot program, which residents can sign up for via a new website launching Wednesday.
Gov. Phil Scott said the state has acquired 250,000 kits with two tests in each. They are limiting distribution to two kits per household, and the state “fully expects” them to go quickly.
The pilot program, in partnership with the National Institutes of Health and Amazon, “will allow us to deliver rapid testing directly to the homes of Vermonters,” he said.
Health Commissioner Mark Levine said “there is a concern” about test kits being kept outside in freezing temperatures, such as in a mailbox, for prolonged periods of time.
“We’re trying to get a better handle on what that means exactly,” he said. The test kit companies have “tried to give us an indication that this is not something we should be overly concerned about.”
Officials at the press conference did not release major data points that are typically provided on a daily or weekly basis because of the ongoing issues with the lab results.
Mike Pieciak, commissioner of the Department of Financial Regulation, reported a shortened version of the weekly press conference modeling report.
He said the seven-day average of new Covid cases stands at 1,600 cases per day — the highest-ever in Vermont, a 245% increase from just two weeks ago.
Although Omicron is considered less severe than other variants of the disease, its spread is pervasive. Pieciak said based on reported cases in New England, officials estimate that 10% of the region’s population has had Covid in the past 10 days.
That appears to be affecting the state’s hospitalizations, with the new record high of 101 hospitalizations on Monday, followed by 91 hospitalizations on Tuesday.
The state also hit a record for the seven-day average of Covid-19 patients in Vermont hospitals.
Pieciak noted that the number of critical care patients has thus far appeared stable. He did not provide exact figures, but said the state averaged between 14 to 19 critical care patients from Jan. 3 to Jan. 9.
The state has reported seven deaths so far in January and 62 deaths in December, making the latter the second-deadliest month in the pandemic, Pieciak’s report shows.
Pieciak said the state model shows that Vermont case counts are “expected to increase through January and then possibly slow,” consistent with national projections.
Health Commissioner Mark Levine said January is “probably the most disruptive month we will have endured.”
“Lots of people are going to get Omicron,” he said. “Many are talking now in terms of not if, but when.”
Levine said that doesn’t necessarily mean “you’re going to become deathly ill” because the severity of the virus is generally linked to your vaccination level, including booster status. Just over half of the Vermont population has received the booster shot, according to Pieciak’s report.
In addition to getting the booster, Levine advised Vermonters to use higher-quality masks, such as N95 and KN95 masks, or to layer both cloth and surgical masks.
He also recommended Vermonters follow the newly published guidelines on isolation and quarantine, which includes a recommendation to get two negative antigen tests before leaving isolation or quarantine.
