At a press conference on Friday, March 27, Governor Phil Scott and Health Commissioner Mark Levine, M.D., announced that aggressive procurement of supplies has allowed the state to broaden the scope of its testing efforts. Until now, limited supplies required restricting prioritized testing to high risk patients. Dr. Levine said health care providers are now…

By Art Woolf The Vermont state labor department received 14,784 claims for unemployment for the week ending March 21. The huge spike in claims came in the wake of coronavirus-related layoffs. Michael Harrington, interim commissioner, told lawmakers Thursday, March 26, that the total number of claims — processed and unprocessed — is an all-time record. In…

By Polly Mikula After promoting a “Stay to Stay” pro-gram for the last two years and creating other incentives to get people to come to Vermont and relocate, Governor Phil Scott issued an executive order — and then an amendment strengthening that order —calling for visitors to, essentially, not visit. The Department of Tourism underscored…

By Erin Petenko and Xander Landen/VTDigger Vermont Gov. Phil Scott issued a “stay home” order on March 24 (effective March 25), then strengthened that order on March 30 with 14-day self-quarantining measures for those traveling in from outside the state. It’s the latest in a series of closures, bans and restrictions intended to keep people at home, away…

By Ed Larson In an update to employees, released March 26, General Electric stated it is supporting two employees at Plant #1 who have tested positive for COVID-19. G.E. indicated in the update that the company could not identify the employees involved or discuss specifics of their conditions due to privacy laws. The plant had been…

By Katy Savage As soon as area businesses were shut down due to coronavirus concerns, Pamela Martin started asking the community for help. Martin, who moved to Killington from New York three years ago, started a GoFundMe, called Killington Strong, to help businesses that closed and laid off service workers. Martin created the GoFundMe on…

Zoom video conferencing becomes the new normal By Curt Peterson Municipal and School Boards are adapting to social distancing regulations that are evolving at a steady rate. In a March 30 press release Secretary of State Jim Condos announced “temporary changes to Vermont’s Open Meeting Law…in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic.” H.681 eliminates requirement…

Not at resorts, not if you have to travel to ski or ride By Lisa Lynn, VT Ski & Ride On March 24, Governor Phil Scott issued an executive order directing Vermonters to stay at home or in their place of residence, leaving only for essential reasons such as: personal safety; groceries or medicine; curbside…

April 1-7 is Medication Safety Week and as reports appear in the news of certain drugs being potentially used for treatment or prevention of COVID-19, the Vermont Department of Health urges caution. At this time, the U.S. Drug Administration has not approved any drugs specifically for the treatment of patients with COVID-19, the state said…

There are now 184 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Vermont and 10 deaths. The cases have risen 26 since yesterday; 61 more than Wednesday — an exponential increase over the past few weeks.    

On Thursday afternoon, March 26, Governor Phil Scott directed schools to remain dismissed through the end of the 2019-2020 school year. Districts will close schools for in-person instruction and be required to implement continuity of learning plans for remote learning. This extends the Governor’s previous directive dismissing PreK-12 schools from March 18 to April 6.…

By Virginia Dean and Steven Seitz In an effort to offset the lack of hand sanitizers in the state due to the coronavirus, many Vermont distilleries have begun to make their own. “We’re on it,” said Mimi Buttenheim of Mad River Distillers, located in Waitsfield and Burlington. “We’ve been making small batches for people to…

On Tuesday, March 24, Governor Phil Scott issued a “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order and directed the closure of in-person operations for all non-essential businesses. These restrictive measures are in place to minimize all unnecessary activities outside the home to slow the spread of this virus and protect the public. These actions were implemented in…

Vermont is now reporting 123 confirmed cases, 8 deaths. Here are the CDC's most recent #s for the coronavirus in Vermont  

By Brooke Geery With life upended for everyone in the world, it’s important to stay positive and look for whatever rays of sunshine may come. Things may not be perfect, but they’re definitely going to get better eventually. In the meantime, be thankful for what you have. Here are 10 bright sides, or silver linings,…