By Wilson Ring
Associated Press
Here are the latest developments regarding the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic throughout New England:
New Hampshire
As Election Day approaches, many New Hampshire voters have taken advantage of the state’s absentee ballot law, which was expanded to allow for concerns about the coronavirus.
As of Tuesday, more than 225,000 absentee ballots were requested statewide. Of that, over 181,575 ballots have been returned.
In the November 2016 general election, state election officials counted 75,305 absentee ballots.
Anyone concerned about the coronavirus can vote by absentee ballot, either by mail or by dropping off completed ballots with election officials on or before Nov. 3.
New Hampshire had a late state primary, in September, so voters have some experience with the safety measures at the polls and their voting options.
Restaurant cases: The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday it is investigating potential exposures related to a person who tested positive for the virus at a restaurant in Atkinson.
The department said the potential exposure happened in the bar and tavern area of Merrill’s Tavern at the Atkinson Resort & Country Club on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22.
The department said that it conducted contact investigations but that there may be additional people who were exposed to the coronavirus on those days and should get tested.
Also, a popular restaurant in Raymond has shut down for 10 days, saying seven of its more than 120 employees have tested positive for COVID-19.
The Tuckaway Tavern & Butchery posted online that it closed Sunday. The staffers include a server, a chef, two prep cooks and two members of management. Restaurant officials said all affected employees were wearing masks while working, and are feeling OK.
The building will be sanitized and all employees will be tested before reopening, the restaurant said.
Restaurant officials said there was the potential for exposure to the coronavirus between Oct. 19-24 and encouraged anyone in the building at that time to be tested.
Arena events: Hockey and other indoor ice arena activities can resume in New Hampshire starting Oct. 30 but participants and staff will have to be tested for COVID-19, Gov. Chris Sununu said.
The state paused all hockey activities at indoor rinks for two weeks following positive tests for 158 people associated with the sport over the last two months.
Guidance for re-opening rinks released Friday says all volunteers, coaches and staff, referees, and athletes in both youth and adult leagues must be tested at least once by Nov. 6 “to limit early re-introduction of COVID-19.”
State officials are calling for all staff, volunteers and athletes to wear face coverings at all times when indoors and not participating in sports. Parents and other spectators must also wear face coverings when inside a facility. When outside, face coverings should be worn when people cannot socially distance.
“This new guidance will safely get folks back on the ice utilizing flexible testing protocols like non-invasive antigen options with the goal of continuing a safe, fun and healthy season,” Sununu said in an emailed statement.
The numbers: As of Tuesday, 10,531 people had tested positive for the virus in New Hampshire, an increase of 140 from the previous day. The number of deaths remained at 475.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in New Hampshire has increased over the past two weeks from 66 new cases per day on Oct. 12 to 93 new cases per day on Oct. 26.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.
Vermont
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.
Vaccine study: The University of Vermont Medical Center has been chosen to participate in a Phase 3 trial for a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University and manufactured by AstraZeneca, officials said.
UVM is looking for at least 250 volunteers from Vermont, northern New York and New Hampshire to take part. About 30,000 people are taking part nationwide in the study.
People interested in participating can read the requirements and apply through the UVM Medical Center website.
The numbers: On Tuesday the Health Department reported 29 new cases of the virus, bringing the statewide total since the outbreak began to more than 2,110.
There are currently four people hospitalized with COVID-19.
The number of deaths remains at 58, a number that has not changed since late July.
But the number of people who can travel to Vermont without quarantining continues to shrink.
The travel map updated every Tuesday now shows that 880,000 people across the northeast can now travel to Vermont without quarantining. The state’s system allows people to visit Vermont without quarantining if they come from counties where the active infection rate is less than 400 cases per million inhabitants.
The new map makes all of New Hampshire and much of upstate New York adjacent to Vermont off limits for people to visit for routine purposes without quarantining or for people from those areas to visit Vermont.
“This is the lowest the map has ever been in terms of the number of people who can enter without quarantining,” said Michael Pieciak, the commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, who oversees the map.
But the state’s travel guidelines do allow people to travel to and from those areas for essential reasons, such as work, school, medical care or buying groceries, Pieciak said.
School staffing shortage: More than a dozen Vermont school districts say they are stretched thin and need to fill 100 positions to be fully staffed to return to full in-person learning.
Leaders in the 16 districts that cover the counties of Addison, Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle are urging people to consider applying, warning that there will likely be a delay in bringing students back full time if the positions aren’t filled, mychamplainvalley.com reported.
“I think it’s very fragile right now,” said Winooski School District Superintendent Sean McMannon. “That’s why we’re reaching out and basically appealing to our communities, otherwise we will either have to stop our plans where they are, or we may have to backtrack.”
A lack of personnel is causing logistical challenges, said Superintendent Lynn Cota of the Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union.
“We’re kind of a desert,” she said. “We have positions that are still open for professional staff that we have no candidates for, or maybe one or two non-licensed or non-qualified candidates.”
Amy Rex, superintendent of the Milton Town School District, said health and safety guidelines have changed the way schools operate.
“We can’t go without those support staff people if we continue to increase our numbers,” she said. “Typically, all students go to the cafeteria at the same time, and then you have two supervisors who supervise lunch. Now, every classroom has to have lunch supervision… We’re just figuring out how to put the puzzle pieces together.”
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.