Vermont reported its first new death from the coronavirus in 43 days on Thursday, bringing the state’s total number of deaths since the pandemic began to 57.
“We have been uniquely fortunate to have been spared such a loss for many weeks,” said Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine in a written statement.
The state also reported one new case of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.
The state is maintaining a relatively low rate of new positive cases because of “the cooperation and sacrifices of Vermonters,” he said.
“However, while we are hopeful that together, our efforts will keep us from experiencing more illness and deaths in the future, we must be prepared for the fact that the virus is not going away anytime soon,” Levine said. “I ask everyone in Vermont to join me in honoring this latest loss by recommitting to doing everything we can to keep each other safe and prevent further spread of this virus.”
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RETURNING INMATES INFECTED
Six inmates who returned to Vermont from a Mississippi prison this week have tested positive for COVID-19, the Vermont Department of Corrections said Thursday.
The inmates arrived at the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland on July 28 by van transport and were immediately placed in medical quarantine and tested, the department said. They are now in medical isolation and contact tracing is taking place, officials said.
Another Vermont inmate still held at the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Tutwiler, Mississippi, also has tested positive. That inmate was housed in the same unit as the three who returned to Vermont, officials said. The Corrections Department said it has instructed the facility to test the rest of the Vermont inmates being housed there.
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SCHOOLS REOPENING
Education Commissioner Dan French told lawmakers Thursday that he thinks it’s realistic and prudent to open schools under certain public health precautions but he said it’s also prudent to give some districts time to work their way toward more in-person instruction.
The House Education Committee heard from French and other education officials, including teachers, superintendents and the Vermont NEA in a virtual meeting. French said he thought it was “very realistic and very prudent to open schools” at the state defined level of health precaution described as “when the virus is suppressed but a high degree of school-level protections are implemented.”
“It’s not so much about suddenly looking at the science and saying, ‘Oh, you’re right, we can do this.’ It’s about addressing the emotional issues, and the anxiety issues that parents and teachers have around this very … uncertain context,” he said.
Gov. Phil Scott said Tuesday that he planned to issue an order allowing schools to open Sept. 8, a week later than usual, to give local school districts more time to prepare.
Many Vermont school districts are already planning to reopen this fall, with hybrid, in-person and remote instruction. A few are planning to resume full-time instruction, Scott had said.
He issued a statement on Thursday saying that the administration has been working with the Health Department and Agency of Education, groups representing school administrators and teachers, and pediatric and infectious disease experts.
“And what we continue to hear from public health and pediatric medical professionals is a strong call for in-person instruction in areas with low positivity rates, especially for kids 10 and under,” he said.
He also acknowledged that anxiety exists and said he understood the desire for school staff, parents and children to ease into it.
“Just like we’ve turned the spigot in our economic restart, it makes sense for some schools to start with a cautious hybrid approach,” he said. “It gives folks time to test the waters and work through stress and anxiety.”
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