14 positive cases identified thus far The Vermont Department of Health is investigating a community outbreak of Covid-19 cases in Rutland County. The outbreak is associated with people who attended a private party at the Summit Lodge in Killington on Wednesday, Aug. 19. To date, the Health Department has identified 14 cases among people who…

$8.5 million in relief funds represent the third phase of the Vermont Covid-19 Agriculture Assistance Program On Wednesday, Aug. 19, Governor Phil Scott and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets announced $8.5 million in relief funding has been made available for farmers, sugar makers, meat and poultry processors, slaughterhouses, farmers markets, agricultural food products businesses, forest…

Revive Church in Poultney is hosting a Safety First PPE Drive to support local educators through September 7th. The new school year is bringing extraordinary need for PPE (personal protection equipment) to comply with COVID 19 safety regulations. “Complicated regulations and a lack of funding will put the burden of supplying PPE on teachers and…

  Hannaford Supermarkets announced Aug. 13 a $20,000 donation to support Vermont families as they seek to meet the most basic needs for themselves and their children during a period of economic hardship resulting from the coronavirus global health pandemic. The donation includes $10,000 each to Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity and BROC Community…

By Anne Wallace Allen/VTDigger A collision of social forces, some related to Covid-19, has prompted a wave of migration into Vermont this year. While nobody knows for sure how many people have moved to the state over the past several months, University of Vermont research on new remote workers shows that this group is overwhelmingly young…

By Katie Jickling When Elise Shanbacker recently came down with head cold symptoms, she decided to get a Covid test — just in case. Easier said than done. All of the Vermont Department of Health 26 scheduled pop-up testing sites for the next two weeks were booked, with the exception of an Aug. 10 event in Canaan.…

RUTLAND — “My colleagues who work  in the emergency department have been doing Covid and Lyme disease testing side by side," said Dr. Lisa Graves-Austin. “We are seeing more positives for Lyme disease than Covid.” Lyme disease is quite prevalent in Vermont this year, said Graves-Austin, an internal medicine specialist at Community Health Rutland. She recommends…

By Lola Duffort/VTDigger Before Covid-19 arrived in Vermont, middle school students in Bethel would start their days sitting in a circle in their advisory groups, with agenda projected on a screen. Owen Bradley, the principal at the White River Valley School, believes students could start the day together again next school year. But this time, he…

By Virginia Dean Covid-19 has laid bare significant and unexpected economic, social, and political disruption. It has caused widespread increases in morbidity and mortality, for example, in addition to individual behavioral changes including fear-induced aversion to workplaces and other public gathering spots. Mask wearing, social distancing and stay-at-home orders have become the norm as world…

Governor Phil Scott, Friday, July 24, announced a state mandated mask requirement in public places—inside and outside. “Based on national and regional data on how the virus is spreading – and rather than waiting like other states have – I feel we need to act now to protect our gains, which have allowed us to…

Gov. Phil Scott on Friday issued an order requiring people in Vermont to cover their faces when out in public, saying that while Vermont’s Covid-19 infection rate is still among the lowest in the country, a rise in cases elsewhere in the U.S. has put Vermont on the defense. Scott has long resisted a mandate,…

By Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDigger Vermont officials are continuing to prepare for children to return to the classroom next month, with Gov. Phil Scott saying at a press conference Friday, July 17, that it is “vitally important” to reopen schools. Administration officials and public health experts said Friday that Vermont’s situation with Covid-19 continues to support state plans…

By Polly Mikula Governor Phil Scott opened the Tuesday, July 21, press conference stating that Vermont now has the lowest number of total Covid-19 cases in country, moving past Hawaii this week to gain the top spot. “The state’s positivity rate is also among the best, if not the best in the country,” he said.…

LUDLOW—Every member of the community has faced dramatic changes, felt difficult emotions, and responded to the global spread of Covid-19 in a variety of ways. The Black River Academy Museum and Okemo Valley TV have partnered on a community memory project, because your stories are important and they are here to help preserve them. Create…

Health Department so far finds no indication of COVID-19 spreading in the community   A week after reports first surfaced of a potential outbreak in the Manchester area, 35 of 63 people with a positive antigen test for Covid-19 reported to the Health Department by Manchester Medical Center since July 10 have had a PCR…