By Erin Petenko/VTDigger
Seven long-term care facilities and one school reported Covid-19 outbreaks in the week following Thanksgiving, an uptick from the weeks prior to the holiday, the Vermont Department of Health reported Wednesday.
Although the health department noted in their weekly report that overall Covid levels remained “low,” the outbreaks come at a time when Vermont has typically seen a surge in holiday-related transmission.
The long-term care outbreaks led to 17 Covid cases among residents and 21 cases among staff, according to John Davy, an epidemiologist from the health department. None of the cases have led to hospitalizations. “While we can’t predict what might happen, from what has been reported to us these seem to be well-managed,” Davy said via email.
Vermont also had at least one school-related outbreak at the Lake Champlain Waldorf School in Shelburne. Emily Bayer-Pacht, the head of school, said via email that the administration decided to close the lower grades this Thursday and Friday after nine faculty members tested positive for Covid.
Combined with two staff members who were absent for unrelated reasons, the school didn’t have enough staffing to run its early childhood education and elementary school programs, Bayer-Pacht wrote. She added that she hopes the closure “will also slow the spread of illness in our community.”
Davy described the overall picture of Covid in Vermont as “mixed,” with some metrics, like hospitalizations, seeming elevated compared to the summer, while data points like emergency room visits for Covid-like symptoms have stayed relatively low. Wastewater data was also mixed, with some testing locations reporting rising Covid levels and others reporting flat or declining levels.
The health department reported 41 hospital admissions for Covid in the past week, roughly in line with the average for the previous four weeks.
The department reported eight additional Covid deaths, bringing November’s total up to 19, a decrease from October’s 25 deaths. In total, 1,075 people have died of Covid in Vermont since the beginning of the pandemic.
In a separate report, the department said that flu activity was “minimal,” with emergency room visits for flu-like illness remaining far below the previous flu season.
About 17% of Vermonters are up to date on the latest Covid vaccine, according to the department. It also reported that 29% of Vermonters have received this year’s flu vaccine.
For more information, visit: HealthVermont.gov.
