Vermont reporters provide a roundup of top news takeaways about COVID-19 and more for Tuesday, Aug. 24.
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While Vermont's pandemic state of emergency has ended, the delta variant is now circulating around the state. Click here for the latest on new cases, and find the latest vaccination data online any time.
1. State health officials report 106 new COVID-19 cases
Vermont health officials reported 106 new COVID-19 infections Tuesday.
A dozen or more cases were in Rutland and Washington Counties, with more than 2-dozen in Chittenden County.
Hospitalizations rose to 34, including 15 people now in intensive care.
As of today, the state's vaccination rate — eligible Vermonters with at least one dose — rose to 85.6%.
All of Vermont continues to be under the CDC's indoor masking recommendation — even if you're vaccinated — due to high or substantial spread of the virus.
The state has reported 100 or more cases in 10 of the last 18 days.
— Matthew Smith
Health Department to resume weekend updates on new COVID-19 cases
The Vermont Department of Health is once again updating its COVID-19 dashboard on weekends to ensure the public has the most up-to-date case information.
The health department had stopped providing case updates on weekends before the surge in cases caused by the delta variant, but health department spokesperson Ben Truman says the department has reverted to the daily updates earlier this month.
Vermont, like much of the country, has been coping with a resurgence in cases of COVID-19, primarily among the unvaccinated.
State officials say they expect the numbers to start declining again in the coming weeks.
— The Associated Press
2. Northern State Correctional Facility employees test positive for COVID-19
Two employees at Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport have tested positive for COVID-19.
The Vermont Department of Corrections says one staff member tested positive on Aug. 17 and the second on Aug. 18. Both were unvaccinated.
Nine additional employees were deemed close contacts. Five are now in quarantine.
The DOC says no incarcerated individuals were among those exposed by the two positive staff members.
Gov.Phil Scott announced two weeks ago corrections officers would be required to get a vaccine, though details of that mandate are still being worked out. DOC says nearly 80% of its staff are vaccinated.
— Brittany Patterson and Liam Elder-Connors
3. State epidemiologist says masking in schools will be an effective way to mitigate spread of COVID-19
Students are heading back to school in Vermont this week, many in person. It comes as the state and country experience a surge in COVID-19 cases due to the highly transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus.
State guidance currently recommends masking in all schools where the majority of students are not vaccinated. But not all districts are adopting this policy.
State epidemiologist Patsy Kelso says those mitigation measures should be effective.
"Think about how far apart they're sitting or whether they're wearing masks," Kelso said. "We certainly recommend that everyone wear masks at the beginning of school until we get a good handle on how much transmission there might be in certain settings."
Kelso says COVID-19 cases are expected to continue to rise, then decline over the next few weeks.
It's also likely that kids under 12 will become eligible for vaccination within the coming months.
Kelso says when that happens, parents should sign their kids up for the shot.
"That's the most important message for parents is when your children are able to be vaccinated, you know, please consider doing that," Kelso said.
Vermont has not mandated vaccines for the adults in schools, though several cities around the country — including New York City Monday — have mandated vaccines for teachers and public employees.
— Anna Van Dine
4. Secretary of State calls for continued remote option for public meetings
Secretary of State Jim Condos is urging town officials to continue to make their meetings available to the public using remote technology. But there's no law requiring this it happen.
Condos says towns were required to offer this option when Gov. Phil Scott signed an emergency COVID-19 order prohibiting in-person meetings in the winter of 2020.
But when the governor rescinded that order in June, the state's Open Meeting Law went back to its original requirements.
"It certainly engaged more of the public in those meetings so there were more people watching those meetings — the spirit of the law is to allow a general access to the public but it's certainly not mandatory," Condos said.
Condos says he's pleased that a number of towns have decided to continue to provide access to their local meetings using remote technology.
Secretary Condos calls for passage of revised voting rights bill
Secretary of State Jim Condos is urging Congress to pass a revised voting rights bill.
The House this week is scheduled to consider a plan that establishes some federal standards for early voting and bilingual ballots.
The legislation also prohibits states from enacting restrictive voter identification laws.
Condos says the bill is needed because some Republican legislatures around the country are adopting laws that he says are intended to suppress voting.
"The more people who vote the better our democracy is — the stronger our democracy is — and we believe that anybody who's an eligible American and an eligible voter should be allowed to cast a ballot and we want to reduce as many obstructions and barriers as possible," he said.
It's not clear if any members of the House Republican caucus will support the legislation.
— Bob Kinzel
5. Drought conditions in northern Vermont hit wild pollinators
Periods of drought, such as the one Vermont has been experiencing in the past year, are connected to declines in wild pollinator species.
Since June of 2020, at least 22% and as much as 93% of Vermont has experienced moderate drought conditions.
According to U.S. Drought Monitor historic observations, that's when honey production begins to decline.
UVM Extension’s Laura Johnson heads a new pollinator program, and says blueberry farmers are seeing the decline.
“This spring, there was a flurry of questions from from blueberry growers, actually, who felt that this year they weren't seeing the bees that they would we're normally seeing in past years," Johnson said.
The extension program's first pollinator workshop will be held Tuesday from 4-6 p.m. at Burlington's Intervale Community Farm.
The event is free and open to the public.
— Elodie Reed
6. Chittenden County bus drivers take first step towards potential strike
Green Mountain Transit bus drivers and maintenance workers in the state’s most populated county have taken the first step toward going on strike.
GMT drivers in Chittenden County voted last month to approve the move, which comes after months-long talks have stalled.
Curtis Clough, with Teamsters Local 597, says drivers are happy with their existing contract and only want to negotiate their pay.
"We went into contract negotiations without a really big agenda of gains," Clough said. "We actually made an offer to the company the first thing after we negotiated ground rules that we just leave the rest of the contract the same and only negotiate on wages."
The union says management rejected their initial offer and counter offers have been unacceptable.
GMT General Manager Jon Moore says management is willing to continue negotiating, and that the average compensation package for Burlington area drivers is competitive.
Two more negotiation sessions are scheduled this week. If workers decide to strike it would likely occur this fall.
— Doug Phinney, Community News Service
You can find Phinney’s full story on the Community News Service website.
Abagael Giles compiled and edited this post.
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