Vermont’s top officials said Tuesday that small gatherings and out-of-state travel by people who do not quarantine on their return appear to be the source of COVID-19 infections that are increasing across the state.
During his regular Tuesday virus briefing, Republican Gov. Phil Scott said the outbreak that began at a skating rink in Montpelier earlier this month is continuing to spread across Vermont. The total number of infections from the outbreak has now reached 70.
It wasn’t the on-ice activities at the rink that are driving the outbreak. Rather, officials believe it is social events and other activities such as carpooling and out of state travel without following quarantining guidelines that has led to the spike in cases.
“Getting together without taking precautions, including mask wearing and distancing, and not following the travel guidance appear to be a common denominator in what we’ve been seeing over the last few weeks,” Scott said. “I want to be clear: This is travel by Vermonters, not out-of-state visitors.”
The 70 cases linked to the outbreak that began at the Central Vermont Memorial Civic Center in Montpelier includes those originally infected, secondary infections and then additional cases of people infected by the secondary spread.
The cases that grew from the hockey outbreak are now reported in four counties, at a number of colleges and universities, schools and workplaces in four counties.
The outbreak at St. Michael’s College in Colchester, which as of Monday had reported 28 positive cases of the virus, is part of the Central Vermont outbreak.
The cases come as Vermont and much of the nation is seeing an increase in cases.
“’The nation and even the immediate region could be labeled as dangerous right now,” Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine said at Tuesday’s virus briefing.
Of the cases, 32 are in people age 19 or younger, 19 are in people 20-44 and the remaining 19 are in people over age 45, state statistics show.
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