Covid-19 levels in Vermont are “low,” the Vermont Department of Health reported on Wednesday.
The department reported 451 Covid cases in the past week, a decline from the 526 reported the week before. Hospital admissions rose from 38 to 50 in that time, but remained below the benchmark for low Covid levels.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also reported most Vermont counties had low Covid levels, while Rutland, Bennington and Windham had “medium” levels. Rutland and Bennington have reported medium levels for several weeks, while Windham reported medium levels for the first time since early June.
The low numbers in Vermont come amid a national decline in reported cases for the BA.5 subvariant surge, according to The New York Times. National cases have fallen 18% and hospitalizations have fallen 5% in the past two weeks.
Covid levels remain highest in Southern states, particularly Kentucky. Vermont has some of the lowest case and hospitalization rates in the nation, according to The Times.
Vermont surpassed 700 deaths from Covid on Aug. 6, according to the health department. In total, 704 people in Vermont have died from Covid since March 2020, including six in August.
New guidance, but Vermont stays the same
The CDC changed its national Covid guidance last week, citing the shifting nature of the pandemic and high levels of immunity through vaccination and infection.
The new guidance removes a requirement for unvaccinated people exposed to Covid to quarantine, along with loosening isolation requirements for people who have tested positive for Covid. It also drops the six-foot social distancing rule for public spaces.
The changes bring the CDC guidance in step with recommendations from the Vermont health department, which removed its isolation requirements for exposed people before the CDC guidance in March.
The Vermont health department does recommend that people with Covid symptoms get tested and isolate for at least five days if they test positive. It also recommends that people who were exposed to Covid get tested about four days after their exposure, in line with CDC guidance.
The CDC recommends that people exposed to the virus and people coming out of isolation wear a mask for a couple days. The Vermont health department guidance states that people can “choose” to wear a mask as a general precaution against Covid, particularly if they are at high risk for Covid complications or can’t isolate.