On the eve of Super Bowl weekend, the Rutland Regional Medical Center COVID-19 Task Force is asking community members to refrain from going to or hosting Super Bowl parties. The Task Force which is made up of physician leaders, infection prevention specialists, and nurse leaders, is concerned that Super Bowl parties could further add to the increase in COVID-19 cases in Rutland County.
“We have seen a dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases in our county, and we have reached a peak of cases here in the hospital,” said Dr. Rick Hildebrant, Chief Medical Information Officer at Rutland Regional. “In order for us to maintain the operational capability of our hospital and to ensure the continued best-possible care for all our patients, we need everyone’s help to prevent further spread and stop this current surge of cases.”
The CDC and the Vermont Department of Health have continued to discourage gatherings of people outside of one’s household. Within two weeks after each holiday, cases of COVID-19 have spiked across the nation and in Vermont we have hit the highest number of cases since the beginning of the pandemic.
“We can look at any bar graph and see, pretty quickly, the direct correlation between events where people gathered, and a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases,” said Jody McIntosh, MSN, BS, RN, Manager Infection Prevention at Rutland Regional. “Unfortunately, without some restraint, we will see a surge in positive cases that could extend into March, from these gatherings.”
For more information about COVID-19, vaccines and more, visit https://www.healthvermont.gov/covid-19/current-activity/vermont-dashboard.
