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2021 Fall Guide
September 21, 2021
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State: Covid cases soar to winter highs, hospitalizations rise, three more perish
September 15, 2021
Staff report Hospitalizations continue to reach recent highs, according to data from the Vermont Dept. of Health. As of Tuesday, Sept. 14, 43 people were hospitalized for Covid, with nine in intensive care. That’s the highest daily count of hospitalizations during the current surge for the second day in a row, according to the state.…
RRMC confronts nurse shortage and patient influx
September 15, 2021
By Ethan Weinstein Like seemingly every other business in the area, Rutland Regional Medical Center (RRMC) is struggling to find staff. But these staffing woes have been compounded by an additional problem: an influx of patients who put off elective care during the Covid state of emergency. “We are seeing here at Rutland Regional some…
FBI opens criminal probe into 3 troopers over fake Covid-19 vaccination cards
September 15, 2021
By Alan J. Keays/VTDigger Three Vermont State Police troopers out of the Shaftsbury barracks have resigned and a criminal probe is underway to determine whether they may have violated federal law by making fake Covid-19 vaccination cards. The matter has been referred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont, as well as…
Delta has landed — are local schools ready?
September 15, 2021
By Curt Peterson With 78 Covid cases confirmed in Vermont schools this week alone, local schools are scrambling to deal with the highly contagious Delta variant. The Dept. of Health daily dashboard indicates the general population in some local towns has been exposed in large numbers to the variant. In the latest town-by-town data, covering…
Big Vermont employers waiting to hear more about Biden’s vaccine mandate
September 15, 2021
Area ski resorts among them By Fred Thys/VTDigger Some large Vermont employers say they’re waiting to learn more about President Joe Biden’s order that all employers with more than 100 workers be vaccinated against Covid-19 or be tested weekly, while others says they already require employees to be vaccinated. Biden’s order will affect about 100…
Vermont is reporting spikes in Covid-19 among children but few cases of severe illness
September 15, 2021
By Erin Petenko/VTDigger As Vermont schools settle into the school year, state data shows that the number of cases among young children has risen dramatically in recent weeks. Infections among children under 12 rose to a peak in late August, then began to decline, but they’ve shot up again in the past two weeks, according…
Tracking Covid
September 8, 2021
Staff report The Vermont Dept. of Health (DOH) reported 14 new Covid cases in Rutland County and 11 new cases in Windsor County, on Tuesday, Sept. 7 — in the past 14 days there have been 190 and 170 respectively. These numbers underscore an ongoing surge in virus activity since the Delta variant surfaced early…
Universal masking in schools should not be a debate
September 1, 2021
Editor’s note: This commentary is by five medical doctors, Meghan Gunn, Ebrahim Ghazali, Judy Orton, Ann Marie Swann and Jaclyn Lozier; Kelsey Pierce and Emily Rice, physician's assistants; Bridget Bromirski, pediatric nurse practitioner; and Lynn Mann, doctor of osteopathic medicine. We are writing this in response to the many “anti-masking in school” groups that have…
Delta challenges Scott’s approach
September 1, 2021
By Eric Davis The Vermont Department of Health reported on Tuesday, Aug. 31, that there were 968 new cases of Covid-19 reported in the state over the past week, and that there were 36 people hospitalized with Covid. The count of new cases and hospitalizations in Vermont is now the highest it has been since…
Health department employees urge leaders to issue stronger Covid-19 guidance
September 1, 2021
By Lola Duffort/VTDigger A group of 91 rank-and-file Vermont health department employees have penned a letter to the department’s leaders, begging them to take a firmer stand as the state sees a surge of Covid-19 cases. The letter, delivered to Health Commissioner Mark Levine, State Epidemiologist Patsy Kelso and Deputy Commissioner Kelly Dougherty Thursday morning,…
Schools are already reporting Covid-19 cases, the state isn’t
September 1, 2021
By Erin Petenko and Lola Duffort/VTDigger It isn’t Labor Day yet, but some back-to-school districts are already reporting back-to-school Covid-19 cases. Four schools — Crossett Brook Middle School in Duxbury, Summit Street School in Essex Junction, Shoreham Elementary School and St. Albans Town Education Center — have announced Covid-19 cases among students or staff. A…
How school shopping has changed in the pandemic era
September 1, 2021
Back-to-school shopping sales have long been indicators that the summer vacation season is coming to a close. Students and their parents may visit area stores or browse online looking for items to make the coming school year a success. Those lists have looked similar for decades, but shopping for school supplies in the pandemic era…
Local district mandates masks, offer weekly surveillance testing
September 1, 2021
Staff report At the Windsor Central Supervisory Union (WCSU) board meeting on Aug. 16, the board mandated that WCSU adhere to the Agency of Education Covid-19 Advisory Memorandum, which requires mask wearing until 80% of eligible students are vaccinated. This means that all students and staff will be wearing masks at the start of school, according to…
Where have all the teachers gone?
September 1, 2021
By Curt Peterson School district administrators are normally under pressure as opening day roars toward them like a freight train. Picture General George Washington astride his white horse, circulating among shivering troops before the Battle of Trenton, discussing strategy, boosting morale, everything at stake. That kind of pressure. Add the reemergence of Covid in Vermont,…