Covid-19 community levels were “low” in the past week, the state Department of Health reported Wednesday.
Covid metrics remained mostly level with the previous week — with a few exceptions. Twenty-three people were admitted to Vermont hospitals in the past week, compared with 22 the week before, which was one of the lowest admission totals Vermont had reported in months.
The department reported 265 Covid cases, up from 201 last week. Covid case data is primarily based on PCR testing and does not include at-home antigen tests.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday that Windham County had “medium” Covid levels, the first time that county has reported medium levels in three months. Vermont’s other 13 counties reported “low” levels.
The CDC and health department community levels are based on Covid case rates, hospital admissions for the disease and the percent of hospital beds taken up by Covid patients.
The health department reported three additional Covid deaths in March, for a total of 14 deaths that month, putting it on track to have one of the lowest death totals the state has had in months.
Covid deaths are sometimes added days or weeks after they occur as death certificates are processed. However, if only a handful of deaths were added to that total, it would be the lowest death rate since July 2022, when 19 people died of the disease.
If March remains at 14 deaths, it would be the lowest death toll the state has reported since July 2021, when only two people died of Covid.
In total, 941 people have died of Covid since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.
