Covid-19 levels in Vermont remain “low,” according to the latest weekly surveillance report from the state Department of Health.
The state rating is based on Covid case counts and hospital admissions, both of which have ticked downward slightly from the previous week.
It’s also based on the percent of hospital beds occupied by Covid patients, which rose from about 3.7% to 4.5%, but remains below the high of over 5% reported during the BA.2 subvariant surge in May.
Multiple wastewater treatment facilities in Vermont have reported high and rising concentrations of the coronavirus, according to data from the health department and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Among the wastewater facilities reporting Covid concentrations in the 60% to 79% range were St. Johnsbury, St. Albans city and Bennington, as well as two Chittenden County facilities, Winooski and Essex Junction, according to the CDC. Of those sites, Essex Junction and Bennington show a clear rise in concentrations over the past two weeks.
Burlington, which reports separately from the CDC, reported relatively flat Covid concentrations through Oct. 3, according to the city’s website.
Experts have said that wastewater data can be a powerful tool for tracking Covid because it monitors the entire population of a community, rather than the limited number of people who get tested or go to the hospital. But the exact concentration of a sample can vary widely from week to week, meaning that it’s best used for tracking overall trends.
Treatment facilities have not always regularly reported data due to lab issues, and discrepancies have appeared between data from the health department and CDC. Only one site reported data two weeks ago because of a “disruption in laboratory processing,” the health department said.
State data also shows an uptick in Covid hospitalizations. As of Wednesday, 43 people were hospitalized with the virus, including eight in intensive care. That’s a slight decline from a recent high of 58 patients on Monday, but higher than the averages for July and August, when the state generally reported between 20 and 40 people hospitalized at a given time. Intensive care hospitalizations have remained mostly level since May.
The CDC also put out its weekly county-level Covid ratings on Thursday. Bennington County was rated “high” for the second week in a row, although CDC officials have noted that the hospitalization rates in two nearby New York counties can impact Bennington’s rating.
Orleans, Lamoille, Caledonia and Rutland counties were rated as having “medium” Covid levels, and all other Vermont counties had “low” Covid levels, according to the CDC.
The CDC recommends that all residents of high-level counties take action to prevent Covid transmission, such as wearing masks, and that high-risk individuals there consider limiting their indoor activities.
The health department reported 623 Covid cases statewide in the past week, down from 638 cases the week before. Case counts are based primarily on PCR tests and do not include at-home antigen testing.
The department reported two additional Covid deaths this week, both in October. Eleven people died from Covid in September, compared to 19 in August. In total, 728 people have died of Covid in Vermont since the beginning of the pandemic.
