'M BACK!!! And so excited to live-tweet another COVID-19 press conference. Who's with me?
Expecting to hear more about the outbreak related to a private party in Killington and thoughts on schools reopening--one week from today.
Expecting to hear more about the outbreak related to a private party in Killington and thoughts on schools reopening--one week from today.
Governor Scott kicking off the press conference talking about schools and how hard school administrators and teachers have been working to figure out a creative plan for this very unique fall.
Scott says everyone, not just those connected to the schools, will have to work to prevent the spread of COVID-19 if we want to keep schools open.
"Vermont continues to be a leader in our ability to surpress this virus...But let me tell you how quickly that can change if we let our guard down," Scott says, highlighting Hawaii, which used to have very low case counts but now has more than 8440 cases.
Human Services Secretary Mike Smith going next (not Dr. Levine, as listed in the "run of show" we got from the governor's press staff). He's outlining the state's approach to address child care needs as the majority of VT schools start with a remote or hybrid approach.
Smith talking about the childcare “Hub” program the state is setting up, acknowledging that one priority is to make sure this setup doesn’t negatively impact the existing network of child care and early childhood education.
Here are the hub sites that are currently identified. 
Also really interesting just to see that graphic representation of which districts are remote, which are hybrid, and which are 5-day in person.
((Btw, if you're listening, that crackling on Smith's mic is overmodulation, when he speaks so loudly it distorts. Happens especially w/ speakers who change volume a lot in their normal speech pattern--it's really hard to "ride levels" when someone gets loud and soft frequently!)
Smith says there's still a lot in flux as districts work to figure out how to make child care work around their schedules. Wednesdays are a challenge that many are currently working on. Districts also working out food distribution for remote days.
Ed Secretary Dan French now. Addressing privacy concerns related to how any COVID outbreaks could be reported. Says they probably won't report data on schools that have a combined staff/student total of less than 25. That's about 15 schools in VT.
For larger schools, data will be reported without separating out whether cases are in students or staff, but instead will be listed as one total number for each school.
French says the Ed Agency expects that schools will be going to "Phase 3" in mid-September.
French highlighting River Valley Technical Center as an example of how one technical center is trying to figure out how to operate safely, especially with students coming from many different high schools, including 1 district in NH. Here's more on RVTC: rvtc.org
French thanks all school staff around the state and says, I expect the reopening of schools next week will go very well, thanks to your dedicated service. (I didn't quite get the exact quote, but that's the gist!)
Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine speaking now. Says he understands Vermonters may be feeling confused or overwhelmed by all the national news about COVID lately.
Says he's going to limit his remarks to VT. And he's offering an update on the outbreak associated with a party at the Summit Lodge in Killington. Levine taking pains to thank the lodge, which did everything right, he says.
Levine says there are 14 current cases associated with this party, though not all of the people who have tested positive were at the party, which indicates spread. But all of these cases have been traced to this private gathering.
Dr. Levine says contact tracers are reaching out to the 40+ people at the party (under the state's limit of 50). "If you attended the Aug. 19th event, but have not been in touch with the Health Dept.," please get in touch, he says. And take steps to limit your exposure to others.
Levine going over how contact tracing is working, expressing pride in how well Vermont has been doing reaching people who test positive and then finding those who might also have been exposed. Says he's also proud of Vermonters who have responded to this public health outreach.
Levine says there's no shame in being exposed to the virus or contracting it. And says if you've let down your guard in terms of precautions, just try to do better next time. Says the health department has encountered a few people who are hostile to contact tracers, but not many.
Time for Qs. First, why it took so long to get started setting up these "pods" for child care, especially since remote learning was a possibility.
Sec. Smith says the state started doing this as soon as "we saw the trend" toward hybrid learning that so many schools were taking.
Sec. Smith says the state started doing this as soon as "we saw the trend" toward hybrid learning that so many schools were taking.
Dan French says that schools didn't have reopening plans until mid-August, suggesting the state couldn't have worked on creating child care hubs earlier. Says he did hear about schools struggling w/ child care for their own staff around August 1st.
Secretary Smith says the state is working to create a whole new network of child care in a matter of weeks. "This is a Herculean task that we've undertaken."
Again mentions the difficulties in staffing these center w/out draining resources from existing system.
Again mentions the difficulties in staffing these center w/out draining resources from existing system.
Governor Scott says that there are still 40,000 unemployed Vermonters. And if any of them are interested in child care and education, working for these hubs could be an option.
Quality affordable and accessible child care has been a huge problem for years, and yet here we are potentially setting up a statewide system in a matter of weeks. It often takes a crisis for major change, but also reminds me that so much is a matter of having the political will.
Phil Scott says he's going to be putting out a press release related to policing in VT in the coming days, that hasn't been made public yet. Not sure what will be in his statement/proposal.
(I mean I'M not sure what's in that statement. Presumably the governor is.)
Governor Scott also says he appreciates the cooperation of the Summit Lodge in addressing this outbreak and also the many other lodging and food establishments that have had to keep close track of all their guests and diners.
Steve Merrill with NEKTV asking a personal question today: wondering if he should ask hikers on the Long Trail, where he lives, about whether they've followed state protocols about quarantining etc.
Gov. Scott advises him to have that conversation with folks, if he's comfortable doing so, just to let them know all the VT rules. And says Steve should wear a mask while he chats with these hikers.
Steve Merrill brings up the idea of how many COVID fatalities could actually be attributed to other co-morbidities. This is an issue that the President has elevated, and that some are using to suggest that the COVID numbers are overblown. politifact.com/factchecks/202…
Dr. Levine emphatically says the idea that having a co-morbidity listed on a death certificate negates the impact of COVID is just false. People may be more vulnerable if they already have other health concerns, but that doesn't mean they didn't die because of COVID-19, he says.
To give you a sense of where we are: an hour into the press conference, we're on the 5th reporter in the queue and we still have 15 to go!! This could be a long one.
Ed Secretary Dan French says he expects to see a 100% increase in home schooling this year.
The state is talking about freezing the "average daily membership" for school districts, in order to provide some stability when it comes to funding for districts with so much volatility in how many kids are enrolled in the public schools this year.
Mike Bielawski, from True North Reports, questions the policy of requiring masks for kids playing sports, says a mother told him her son could barely breathe after a soccer practice, and wonders if this is doing harm.
Governor Scott says, basically: look, this is a challenging time and preventing the virus is paramount, so if that means taking more breaks during sports or even not doing them, we have to prioritize virus prevention.
Dr. Levine says there's not evidence showing that mask-wearing while exercising causes harm. But also more research should and will be done on this now that it's an issue so many people are facing.
.@wringap goes back to the governor's statement at the beginning about Hawaii and wonders if Vermont could find itself in the same position, even if the state tries to do everything right. Governor Scott gets animated in his answer saying only history will tell, but...
@wringap ...that only increases the need to continue taking preventive measures. Says he fears we may "believe our own magic" and let our collective guard down. Says we need to keep doing the hard work to prevent the spread.
Scott references "an earlier question" in the presser, possibly Mike from True North Reports, saying some people still think of this as a "hoax" and says: tell that to the families of the 58 Vermonters who have died. (cont.)
Imagine what could have happened if we hadn't shut down, which goes against everything he stands for, Scott says.
Conversation has moved on now to addressing visitation rules in long term care facilities and the difficulties families face in not being able to spend enough time as they'd like with their loved ones, especially those who may be nearing the end of their lives.
"I understand, profoundly, what ppl are feeling out there. But you also have to understand that we have to protect ppl in these long term care facilities," Smith says. "When one case gets in there, sometimes...it affects the whole facility, and that's what we're struggling with."
.@FreepsMikeD says the state is taking a "bunker approach" to keeping some information about COVID cases in VT schools "secret". Asks, don't Vermonters deserve to know if there are cases in their schools?
@FreepsMikeD French says privacy concerns prevent the state from revealing stats on very small schools. Mike says he doesn't think privacy laws apply, and pushes the secretary to explain why telling Vermonters about new cases in ALL schools isn't the top priority.
@FreepsMikeD Sec. French says the FERPA laws are strict and apply here, and then seems to try to shut this conversation down, saying Vermonters should give the Ed Agency time to prove that they can do it well (both schooling and reporting, I'm guessing). Mike's not having it, keeps pushing.
Whenever any reporter asks "can you hear me" when they unmute themselves, I instinctively shout "YES!" at my radio.
.@mcquiston asks about when/what the next "spigot turn" might be. Gov. Scott says getting schools open is the highest priority, and there won't be more loosening of restrictions right now, until we see how the school year is going.
We're moving through reporters at a good clip now, but we've still got about 7 to go!! Stay with us, @vermontedition will start right after the press conference, and it's going to be a health update with deputy commissioner Tracy Dolan. Tweet us your q's if you can't listen live!
.@VPRDillon asks Dr. Levine to help us contextualize the outbreak related to the party. Did people do anything wrong, or is this just what we should expect in a pandemic?
@VPRDillon Levine says he hopes this isn't something we should just expect, since the state does think we can have "mass gatherings" (max is currently 50) without an outbreak. Says he doesn't think the lodge is at fault, and stops short of blaming participants, but does say...
@VPRDillon ...that given the number of close contacts being identified in the tracing protocol, there would have had to be people who were not distancing, probably not wearing masks (there was food, so people were presumably at the very least eating without their masks on), etc.
@VPRDillon Sounds like the state doesn't know of anyone in particular who should have been quarantining but wasn't.
Question now about who might have come from out of state to that party, and if they were from areas that might have required a quarantine. Levine says "I can't give you a full breakdown," but says we should be able to see county of origin by looking at the daily health update.
Levine says this outbreak is far from over, and they expect there could be more cases.
Levine reveals that dealing with some of the people the state has been in contact with in this particular outbreak has been less than positive and that these interactions standout as atypical of how Vermonters have typically responded to being contacted about possible exposure.
.@loladuffort asking good questions about the child care hubs, including the fact that many families are now paying for care that was previously wrapped into the school costs. How does this make child care "affordable" she asks? Smith acknowledges that that's an issue.
On the VT inmates in MS: 172 of the 185 people who tested positive are "in recovery" and almost ready to move back into the general population. (The 4 who refused to take the test are quarantined separately.) More than 3/4ths of the VT inmates in that facility tested positive.
For those who prefer not to read in segments.
