Tuesday, August 18, 2020
The new programs, which would need legislative approval, could serve as many as 7,100 new children during the school year, officials estimate. They could be located in workplaces, schools, municipal buildings and summer camps around the state. Relaxing rules for existing in-home childcare providers, as Scott did with an executive order, would create another 3,000 childcare slots, officials said.
“We know we need more childcare capacity and we need it quickly,” Scott said. “For many parents, childcare will be a challenge when they go back and forth between in-person and remote learning.”
Tags: Phil Scott , Mike Smith , childcare , COVID-19 , remote learning , school , education , Vermont , Web Only , Image
Monday, August 17, 2020
Thirty additional inmates have tested positive in recent days, bringing the total number of infections to at least 176 out of 219 total Vermont prisoners.
The new cases stem from a second round of mass testing on August 6.
"I cannot tell you how disappointing it is to look at a piece of paper in front of me that says 80.4 percent of the inmates that the commissioner of Corrections of Vermont — that's me — is responsible for, are positive," Department of Corrections Commissioner Jim Baker told reporters during a press conference announcing the results.
Tags: Jim Baker , Vermont Department of Corrections , Tallahatchie Regional Correctional Facility , CoreCivic , COVID-19 , coronavirus outbreak , Web Only , Image
Friday, August 14, 2020
Scott issued an executive order clarifying that any local government — from college-rich Burlington to tiny hamlets with a single bar — has the power to issue such restrictions under the new order.
Evidence from other parts of the country suggests that “uncontrolled parties and crowded bars and clubs are a big part of the problem" in spreading the virus, Scott said.
“I believe giving our towns, especially the college towns, some additional mitigation measures to work with is the right thing to do,” Scott said.
Tags: COVID-19 , Gov. Phil Scott , Miro Weinberger , curfew , colleges , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, August 11, 2020
On Monday, university president Suresh Garimella reiterated his confidence in UVM's current approach in a written response to a slate of concerns raised last week by Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger.
"I am proud to say that it not only meets the Governor’s standards, it exceeds many of them, and is one of the most stringent plans of any university in the nation," Garimella wrote.
Tags: University of Vermont , Suresh Garimella , City of Burlington , Burlington City Council , Miro Weinberger , Jane Stromberg , Karen Paul , coronavirus , covid-19 , college reopenings , surveillance testing , Web Only , Image
Friday, August 7, 2020
Interim Corrections Commissioner Jim Baker has previously said the outbreak had eroded his trust in CoreCivic, the private company that runs the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Tutwiler, Miss., where 219 Vermont inmates are housed.
But, on Friday, Baker said he got reassuring word from two Vermont Department of Corrections officials sent to Mississippi.
“My trust level is rising,” Baker said during a press conference on Friday.
That trust was shaken over the weekend after 86 inmates tested positive for the virus. Additional results raised that number to 146.
Tags: CoreCivic , prison , coronavirus , COVID-19 , out-of-state inmates , Web Only , Image
Thursday, August 6, 2020
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger asked University of Vermont leaders to reconsider key aspects of their plan to bring students to campus later this month, suggesting that it may not protect Burlington from a COVID-19 outbreak.
"Despite weeks of coordinated planning and multiple discussions with your team, I continue to have concerns with UVM’s current plan in a number of key areas," Weinberger wrote.
City officials posted the letter publicly on Thursday afternoon.
Tags: University of Vermont , Mayor Miro Weinberger , Suresh Garimella , COVID-19 , coronavirus , Web Only , Image
Wednesday, August 5, 2020
The new results mean that roughly two-thirds of the Vermont inmates housed at the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility have tested positive for the disease, according to the Vermont Department of Corrections.
Sixty-two of the 219 inmates there have tested negative, eight have refused to be tested, and the results of two tests are still pending.
Interim Corrections Commissioner Jim Baker said he was “very concerned” about the latest results and was sending two top staffers to Mississippi Thursday to get a closer look at the situation.
“One hundred forty-seven inmates testing positive gives me great pause,” Baker said during a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
Tags: COVID-19 , prison , Mississippi , Vermont , CoreCivic , out-of-state inmates , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, August 4, 2020
The university announced the cases in an online statement Tuesday afternoon.
[image-2] The statement does not specify whether the cases involve players or when the positive tests were received, and director of athletics Jeff Schulman declined to comment beyond it.
Only one of the cases is considered "active," according to UVM Athletics. Both individuals who tested positive were asymptomatic and were quarantining. Pending further tests, the men's basketball team won't resume training until next week.
"Individuals who had close contact have been notified and are quarantining per current public health guidelines," the release states.
The men's and women's basketball teams are the only athletics programs at UVM currently permitted to practice. They began training on July 20 after all players met state-mandated quarantine requirements, according to the release.
Since then, the university has conducted 75 tests of players, coaches and staff, which apparently detected the two positive cases.
Tags: UVM Athletics , UVM men's basketball , UVM women's basketball , COVID-19 testing , coronavirus , University of Vermont , Web Only , Image
The issue was discussed during a session of the Vermont House Education Committee last week, and educators expressed further concerns in a call Monday with three Vermont senators.
Superintendents had to draft school reopening plans without knowing whether their staff members would be able to come back. And staffers couldn’t decide whether to return until they knew what their individual district's plans were. Jeff Fannon, executive director of the Vermont-NEA, described the conundrum as a “chicken or egg” issue.
Libby Bonesteel, superintendent of Montpelier Roxbury Public Schools, announced plans last week to bring students in grades K-8 back to school Monday through Friday this fall, with an abridged school day ending at 1 p.m. The district will also offer a K-8 Virtual Academy for those who prefer that their children learn remotely. During the Education Committee session, Bonesteel said that while more than 80 percent of families have indicated they would like their kids to return to school, having a workforce in place is “a considerable concern.”
Tags: COVID-19 , back to school , teachers , Web Only , Image
Monday, August 3, 2020
Gov. Phil Scott announced that beginning Tuesday, August 4, employers can apply for hazard pay grants for those who worked between March 13 and May 15 at certain jobs that put them at greater risk of exposure to the coronavirus.
The $28 million program covers private sector employees who made less than $25 per hour and worked for at least 68 hours during the period. Home health care and nursing home workers are eligible regardless of their pay rate.
The funds come from the $1.25 billion Vermont received from the federal CARES Act.
“We are encouraging employers to apply to make sure these critically important employees receive recognition and compensation to reflect the work they did keeping Vermonters safe during the crisis,” Human Services Secretary Mike Smith said in a press release.
The grants will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis until the funds are gone.
Tags: essential workers , Tim Ashe , COVID-19 , hazard pay , Web Only , Image