By Stephen Mills
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MONTPELIER — Legislative leaders have announced restricted public access to the State House in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Notice of the restriction came in a Wednesday email from Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe to Capitol Police Chief Matthew Romie that was forwarded to Montpelier Police Chief Tony Facos and City Manager Bill Fraser and obtained by The Times Argus and the Herald.
The notice came on the day the World Health Organization declared the new coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.
President Donald Trump addressed the nation on national television Wednesday evening, announcing a 30-day travel ban for anyone from Europe, except the United Kingdom, effective Friday. He also detailed a sweeping economic package of loans and payroll tax cuts to soften the financial impact on the country.
The Legislature’s Joint Rules Committee — of which Ashe is chairman and House Speaker Mitzi Johnson is vice chairwoman — has been meeting this week to discuss response and strategy to limit the risk of exposure to the virus.
In the e-mail, Ashe said: “Today, the Joint Rules Committee voted to cancel all ‘nonessential’ gatherings at the State House through March 31. This is a significant action that we did not take lightly. The list of events we’ve canceled includes: nonlegislative press conferences, outside bookings of State House rooms, school visits, card room presentations and Side Bar Cafe meet-and-greets, and public-invite coffee hours.”
Also, Ashe said witnesses scheduled to appear before legislative committees have been asked to complete a Department of Health COVID-19 Risk Questionnaire, telling them not to appear if they answer “yes” to any of the questions. Their testimony will be accommodated in “another way,” Ashe said.
“We have been actively discussing how best to protect public health through our State House policies, while facilitating the legislative work before us and granting the public the maximum level of safe public access to their elected officials,” Ashe said. “As you can imagine, the unique nature of the State House makes this a particularly complex balancing act.
“We know how disruptive this is to many long-planned events at the State House, but we believe this is the appropriate action to protect public health.
“The Joint Rules Committee is meeting regularly because guidance re: handling this public health challenge is constantly evolving, and we will be required to make additional changes in normal procedures here,” he added.
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