Montpelier outbreak spreads to 87 Covids-19 cases spread throughout the state

The Montpelier ice skating rink has 87 sources, the second largest outbreak to hit Vermont since the outbreak of the pandemic, state officials said at a press conference on Friday.

So far, the outbreak has spread to multiple schools, universities, and several workplaces, accounting for more than a quarter of cases throughout the state since its inception on October 7. Authorities blamed second and third level contacts for the widespread nature of the matter.

“This wasn’t limited to the specific areas we experienced in the outbreak of Winuski, but it spread rapidly to other communities throughout the state, and even within small communities in specific locations,” he said. Financial Regulatory Authority.

Pieciak presented a map showing how the outbreak spread from the epicenter Montpelier through two cases, the hockey team and the broomball team at the Central Vermont Memorial Civic Center.

Within 5 days, 10 cases were reported, including Chittenden and Windsor counties. Authorities first reported the outbreak to the public on October 13.

By Friday, incidents involving the ice rink team had reached 473 contacts, affecting at least 17 different locations in the state.

The Central Vermont outbreak caused secondary outbreaks, the most prominent of which occurred at St. Michael’s College in Colchester. Surveillance tests at school first detected eight cases in mid-October. According to Piesiak, the total number of cases at the university so far has been 41.Since then, the school has Temporarily all remote..

State officials say at least six kindergarten-to-high school schools eventually reported cases related to the outbreak in Central Vermont. But only Union Elementary School in Montpelier experienced its own “true outbreak,” health commissioner Mark Levine said Friday.

Union Elementary cases are considered the first and so far only cases of school infections in Vermont kindergarten-high school environments. A spokesman for the Ministry of Health said Thursday that state epidemiologists believed that five cases related to Union Elementary were due to school exposure. Two other cases related to Union Elementary are believed to be people exposed to the virus outside of school.

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Levine had frequent cases in schools and day care facilities on Friday, with the overall number still very low, especially when compared to neighboring states, but each case showed significant confusion. He said he was.

Infants can catch and infect the virus, but studies show that it is less infectious than teens and adults, and that schools are not an important driver of transmission to the community. However, Vermont and national public health authorities constantly warn that schools need to reflect the overall health of the region and minimize community expansion in order for schools to remain open. I am.

“All schools reflect what the burden of the incident in the community is. And the community that families, staff and teachers may have visited. The rate of increase in cases is low and the community is kept safe. So you can keep your school healthy, “says Levine.

Outbreaks are similar to those in Maine, with at least 108 outbreaks occurring at weddings with unmasked families.

Part of the reason for the spread seems to be the increasing number of Vermonters who are not practicing increasing social distance as in March, Piesiak said.

“Our own mobility data has shown that since spring, individuals are spending more time away from home, not just outside the home,” he said.

According to Ministry of Health data, the number of close contacts in each case Rising in recent weeks..

Piesiak said he hopes the outbreak will make the Vermonters more cautious.

“Think about the impact of small actions on large numbers of people and different communities,” he said.

State epidemiologist Dr. Patsy Kelso said that health sector contact tracers spend more time with their contacts unmasked and pay less attention to complying with travel restrictions, COVID. ..

“If you have any symptoms that may be due to Covid-19, it’s important to pay attention to yourself and be able to monitor your health,” she said. “But if you have symptoms, don’t go to the venue or event.”

New numbers are being seen across the country, according to Piesiak. The country has more than 9 million Covid cases, with a doubling rate of only 13 days.

Levine told Vermont to remember that “Vermont is not safe from Covid-19,” even with the state’s excellent track record to date.

“I’m seeing what happens when I’m a little less alert here in Vermont,” he said. “Increasing multiple outbreaks, cases appear in more and more childcare programs and schools.”

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Levine talked to health officials in the surrounding states and heard some worrisome statistics. In many states, increased positive rates, or the percentage of people who test positive for the virus, have been reported. The positive rate in New Jersey is over 6%, compared to 0.5% in Vermont.

Vermont is also just beginning to see some of the viral complications. Currently, four are hospitalized in Covid, two of whom are in the ICU.Seven people were hospitalized on Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Health data..

“I’m seeing an incident happening here in Vermont,” he said. “But we still have time to double our preventive efforts, and we can still be proud of what we have done and what we still have to do.”

He was reluctant to classify the increasing number of cases as a “second wave.”

“Looking at our data, most of them track large-scale outbreaks in the state,” he said, including Winuski outbreaks and small spikes.

There is another surge in Vermont right now, but it’s not yet clear how that outbreak will occur, he said. Data suggest that outbreaks have slowed recently.

Still, as people move indoors and the state reopens, he classifies it as a resurrection of the virus. The question is whether it will be protracted and revived.

Governor Phil Scott said actions to prevent another peak, including some of the closure measures taken in the spring, are “on the table.” But he wants the Vermonters to follow proper guidance so that the state does not have to retreat.

Scott said people are suffering from pandemic fatigue. “People are always tired of having to be very careful,” he said.

“Okay, I really do,” he said. “But we need to be vigilant.”