The Vermont Health Department is urging the state’s long-term care facilities to take the temperature of all staff members before they enter the buildings where they work.
Workers who are showing any signs of being ill are being told to stay home.
The moves are part of the state’s effort to stop the spread of the new coronavirus in long-term care facilities. More than 10 cases of COVID-19 were reported at the Burlington Health and Rehabilitation Center. One patient at the facility died of COVID-19.
“This is perhaps the most complex public health event most Vermonters have experienced,” Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine said in a statement. “And I can’t repeat this enough – It is extremely important for all of us, young and old, to take extra care to help protect the people most vulnerable to serious illness – older Vermonters and people with chronic illnesses or who have impaired immunity.”
For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus.
On Saturday, the health department reported the number of cases of COVID-19 in Vermont jumped more than 50%, going from under 30 to almost 50. Two Vermont COVID-19 patients have died, including the elderly woman from the Burlington center, and an elderly veteran from Windsor County.
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