State figures show a surge in COVID cases in Bennington County | Local News

Bennington — The Vermont Department of Health has reported 217 new cases of COVID-19 in Bennington County over the past 14 days, but the Chief Medical Officer of the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center has seen a significant increase in the number of patients requiring hospitalization. Said not to be seen.

The virus “is definitely on the rise” in the area, he said. tray The addition of hospital internal examination data reflects the results reported by the state, Dobson said.

“Interestingly, we don’t see a significant increase in the number of patients. We see a significant increase in positive tests,” Dobson said.

According to Dobson, the number of inpatients is relatively constant, with a slight increase in outpatients such as emergency rooms and clinics. “What really increased was the positive test.”

To that end, Dobson recommends wearing masks in public indoor environments where it is not clear who has been vaccinated and who has not been vaccinated “because of the very high prevalence of the virus”. .. However, in a smaller group of vaccinated people, “unless you have immunodeficiency, the risk is low enough that you don’t need to mask it.”

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports a county test rate of 4.41% over the past seven days.

On Thursday, the Vermont Department of Health reported 314 new cases of COVID-19 daily. The Ministry of Health warned that computer malfunctions from external vendors could delay delivery of results, resulting in a higher total than the actual number. But if that were the case, it would set the record for the most cases of the day in Vermont, breaking the previous record of 266 cases on March 31, this year.

“At this point, we believe the problem has been resolved. Therefore, we are investigating whether IT glitches and subsequent fixes affected the number of cases today and the number of cases the day before,” said the Ministry of Health. I am.

“Old tests may be done in the next few days, but have not been confirmed. We are actively working to assess the impact and monitor the situation and will find out more. As soon as we do, we will continue to provide information to the general public, including providing the latest figures, “said the agency.

The State Department of Health has also reported a total of 294 deaths, two more since the start of the pandemic. The Vermont Interface Action will host a memorial service on the lawn of the State Capitol in Montpiria on Sunday at 3 pm to honor all Vermonters who lost to COVID.

Bennington County has reported the fourth most common case in the last 14 days, the Department of Health reported. The state’s most populous Chittenden County has led this category with 551 cases in the last 14 days, followed by Washington County with 207 cases and Rutland County with 246 cases.

Windham County has reported 155 new cases in the last 14 days and 9 new cases on Thursday.

According to Dobson, the good news is that “the vaccination rate is so high that hospitalizations haven’t increased significantly. I think it’s important to stay calm in the community.”

The second important point is that if the US Food and Drug Administration approves the step, children aged 5 to 11 will be vaccinated.

“About 50 percent of positive tests come from unvaccinated children, which is incredible compared to 6 months ago.”

Dobson said the increase in cases is not surprising given the delta epidemic of COVID-19 and the return of unvaccinated children to school, but evidence is at school. It suggests that no widespread infection has occurred.

“We see infections among families, especially unvaccinated children, but I would like to emphasize that so far no major infections have been seen in schools,” Dobson said.

According to the State Health Department, 82.3 percent of eligible Bennington County residents receive at least one COVID-19 vaccine. Vermont continues to be one of the national leaders in vaccination, but state officials are promoting vaccination as the state’s best defense against the coronavirus.

State-wide figures from the Ministry of Health website show an average of 3.2 percent for a 7-day positive COVID test.

With the increase in numbers, Lieutenant Molly Gray called on Governor and Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine to reconsider the state-wide indoor masking obligations. The vaccine will be approved for children under the age of 12 and for adults until booster shots are available. So far, Governor Philscott has resisted the reintroduction of emergency orders that would allow for a new mask mandate.

“Current masking guidance does not produce the intended results, so we need to take greater steps to protect Vermonter,” Gray said. “To that end, I have taken steps to further clarify indoor masking and social distance recommendations to Governor Scott and his administration, which are important to prevent the issuance or spread of masking requirements and to save lives. I urged you to consider the measures. “

“Under the leadership of Governor Scott and Commissioner Levine, Vermont has proudly led the country in a pandemic response. I think Vermont can continue to do so, but at this point we are taking additional steps. We must work together to protect the community, “Gray said.

According to a non-profit website CovidActNow.org, Bennington County has a “very high” risk level. According to the website, the county has a daily new case rate of 48.7 per 100,000, an infection rate of 1.06 per 100,000, and a positive test rate of 5.2 percent per 100,000.

Testing and vaccination are available at SVMC’s COVID Resource Center at 981 Mansion Dr. (former campus of Southern Vermont College) in Bennington.