COVID-19 UPDATE: GOV. EXTENDS STAY AT HOME ORDER, UNEMPLOYMENT RISES PAST 20%
MONTPELIER: Governor Phil Scott announced this morning that he would be extending the stay at home order until May 15th. The announcement also came with clarifications to the original order.
During Friday’s press conference, the Scott administration also released updated modeling information in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic.
That modeling indicates the actions state officials are taking in order to “bend the curve,” or reduce the number of days it takes for the virus to double in case number.
The modeling also indicates that Vermont Health officials expect the “peak” in Vermont to occur near May 15th, the new end of the stay at home order.
The entire modeling report can be found here.
Workers at the Health Department worked overnight to finish processing tests from inmates and staff at the Northwest Correctional Center in St. Albans, according to Governor Scott.
The State announced yesterday that there were 28 more inmates who tested positive, and also five more staff members to test positive at the facility. 27 of those 28 inmates were immediately transferred to the St. Johnsbury Correctional Facility, the State’s spillover facility for COVID-19 inmates.
The state conducted 328 tests within 24 hours, 167 test results have returned. The remainder test results are expected back later this afternoon.
The remainder of the Correctional Centers in Vermont have moved into a full lockdown in order to reduce the spread of illnesses in all the statewide Correctional Centers.
The State is conducting universal testing for nursing homes, assisted nursing facilities, and all Correctional Centers.
The unemployment rate is continuing to increase, 73,000 individuals had filed for unemployment in Vermont as of Wednesday, with about 38,000 payments already having been paid. That comes to a total of about $23 million in payments, according to state officials.
With 73,000 claims, it indicated that the unemployment rate is running around 21%.
The Labor Department is seeing about 1,500 claims per week now that most of the initial workers have filed. The number of people filing weekly spiked at around 5,000 weekly.
The Labor Department hopes to have the program that accepts claims from non-payroll workers to be up and running by the end of next week.
The state is also hoping to increase the volume of claims that they can process by contracting out phone banking in order to process the extremely high call volume.
The State is also asking that callers follow an alphabetical call structure. That will be a voluntary guide to callers, but the state is asking that those who call need to call to follow the structure.
Anyone can call or file on Sundays and Fridays. Monday is dedicated to those whose last names begin with A through E, Tuesday is dedicated to those with last names beginning with F-L, and Wednesday will be for those with last names S-Z.
The original State of Emergency, issued on March 13, was set to expire on April 15, as were the subsequent mitigation measures. As a result of this extension, all measures, including the Governor’s Stay Home, Stay Safe order, are now in effect until midnight on May 15 (note, schools remain dismissed for in-person instruction through the end of the school year).
“These are incredibly difficult times, and I know this extension is disappointing news for many. But the fact is, Vermonters are literally saving hundreds of lives by staying home,” said Governor Scott. “We are making big sacrifices to save lives, but we cannot let our foot off the gas just yet. We will continue to watch the trends, and as soon as the data shows a downward trend, we can open the spigot, a quarter turn at a time, to get folks back to work in a way that’s responsible and safe. Please know, I will work every hour of every day, for as long as it takes, to see Vermont through this and to help rebuild stronger than we were before.”
The Scott administration developed and continues to update state-specific modeling to project COVID-19 case growth and track capacity of the healthcare system and availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) and life-saving equipment like ventilators. This data, along with guidance from public health experts at the Vermont Department of Health, has informed the mitigation measures put in place throughout this crisis.
Modeling shows the mitigation measures have slowed the expected spread of this contagious disease but that the state has not yet hit its peak number of cases. Accordingly, Governor Scott, in consultation with Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD, has extended the State of Emergency and all associated social distancing measures.
In addition to extending the State of Emergency, this order addresses several technical changes and clarifications:
- With support from House and Senate Transportation Committees, directs the Department of Motor Vehicles to extend motor vehicle inspections due in April for up to 60 days.
- Effective immediately, authorizes lodging operators to accept reservations for stays and events occurring on June 15 or later.
- Clarifies that state agencies may provide non-congregate housing for isolation purposes due to COVID-19 exposure or infection to first responders, including Department of Corrections personnel, health care workers and others working to support the COVID-19 response.
- Directs the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) to update guidance for real estate sales to ensure it applies to “for sale by owner” properties.
- Directs ACCD to clarify that essential services provided by financial, legal and professional services, as well as by municipalities, are allowed when helping Vermonters navigate and access the state and federal financial supports available in response to the economic impacts of COVID-19.
- Clarifies that protections for health care facilities, providers and volunteers afforded under 20 V.S.A. § 20 apply for the purposes of COVID-19 related emergency management services or activities.
Since declaring a State of Emergency in mid-March, the Governor has directed a number of strategies to slow the spread of COVID-19, including visitor restrictions for long-term care and other health facilities; the closure of bars and restaurants, schools and day care centers and close contact businesses; limiting the size of mass gatherings; postponing all non-essential medical procedures; issuing a Stay Home, Stay Safe order; closing in-person operations for most businesses; implementing travel restrictions and a 14-day quarantine for those entering Vermont from other states; and more.
