Warner campus outbreak prompts testing; Gov. Scott receives vaccine

By Holly Ramer And Lisa Rathke
Associated Press
In New Hampshire, any resident 16 years of age or older can register for a COVID-19 vaccination appointment at vaccines.nh.gov or by telephone at 2-1-1. In Vermont, any resident 40 years of age or older or those 16 years of age or older who have chronic health conditions that put them at high risk of hospitalization or death can register for a COVID-19 vaccination appointment at healthvermont.gov or by telephone at (855) 722-7878. You are also eligible for an appointment if you are: a health care worker, first responder, associated with long-term care, corrections officer, prison staff member, K-12 educator or onsite staff member, or child care staff member.

The Sullivan County vaccination clinic currently located at River Valley Community College in Claremont is relocating to Newport in the former Dollar Store building at 62 John Stark Highway, according to state officials. Appointments scheduled at the Claremont site on and after Thursday will still be honored at the Newport location for the same date and time.

Here are the latest developments regarding the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic throughout New England:

New HampshireFederal appellate judges on Monday questioned whether the New Hampshire House has undermined the Americans With Disabilities Act by insisting on in-person sessions during the coronavirus pandemic, while also suggesting that vaccinations have made the issue moot.

Seven Democratic lawmakers sued Republican House Speaker Sherm Packard in February arguing that holding in-person sessions without a remote option for medically vulnerable lawmakers violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and has forced them to either risk their lives or abandon their duties as elected officials.

A U.S. District Court judge in Concord later ruled that the speaker can’t be sued for enforcing House rules, prompting an appeal to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, which held oral arguments Monday. Because of coronavirus precautions, only an audio recording of the hearing was publicly accessible, and the judges did not identify themselves before speaking.

One judge asked Assistant Attorney General Sam Garland, who was representing Packard, whether the House could enact a rule that prohibited Asian American lawmakers from voting on legislation. Garland said no, because that would be discriminatory on its face, while the rule in question is a blanket prohibition on remote sessions that doesn’t single out a particular group. But the judge noted that a facially neutral rule could still have the effect of discrimination.

“We’re here wrestling with the problem of: can you have a rule, the effect of which is to undercut the ADA?” said the judge, who also seemed skeptical of the notion that it would be too difficult to provide remote access.

Since the start of the pandemic, the 400-member House has met several times at the University of New Hampshire ice arena, outside on a UNH athletic field, and — after former Speaker Dick Hinch died of COVID-19 — from their cars in a parking lot. More recently, they have met at a Bedford sports complex and have three sessions scheduled for that location later this week.

Another judge asked the plaintiffs’ attorney whether the lawmakers in question have been vaccinated against the virus. Attorney Israel Piedra said at least some of them have not yet received their second doses.

“If everyone’s vaccinated within a week or two, then that would seem to leave no case,” the judge said. “It’s sounding like an issue that was ripe and very significant and important a couple of months ago, but I’m having trouble understanding now what the dispute is about.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that those who are fully vaccinated can gather indoors with unvaccinated people from one other household without masks or social distancing. But it still says vaccinated people should avoid medium or large-sized gatherings.

Warner college outbreak: Those who attended events at a small Catholic college in Warner around Easter are being asked to get tested for the coronavirus after an outbreak infected at least 16 people.

Anyone who attended events and services between March 21 and April 4 at Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts — including Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday — may have been exposed and should seek testing, the Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday.

The department also is conducting contact tracing. The campus is currently closed to the public.

The numbers: More than 86,000 people have tested positive for the virus in New Hampshire, including 289 cases announced Monday. No new deaths were announced, leaving the total at 1,249.

The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in New Hampshire has risen over the past two weeks from 275 new cases per day on March 20 to 403 new cases per day on Saturday.

VermontGov. Phil Scott announced a three-month plan Tuesday for loosening restrictions as more Vermonters get vaccinated with a goal of being largely back to normal by July 4.

“We’re in the last laps of this very long and difficult race, and this plan will show how we finish strong,” said Scott, a Republican, in his twice-weekly virus briefing. “But I want to be really clear: The key to getting there are vaccinations, which is why we’re laser-focused on making sure as many Vermonters as possible get them. And it’s why when you’re eligible you need to sign up.”

Vermont’s travel guidance will change Friday and be focused on testing rather than quarantining. Unvaccinated Vermonters returning to the state will be required to be tested within three days, and visitors can come to Vermont without quarantining as long as they have a negative test within three days of arriving, Scott said. Vaccinated people can continue to travel without restrictions, he said.

Mostly outdoor businesses, low- or no-contact professional services, retail operations, and farmers’ markets will move from sector-specific to universal guidance on April 9. That will be followed by most other sectors, such as manufacturing, restaurants, gyms and hair salons, as well as places of worship and museums moving to the guidance on May 1.

Gatherings will be allowed to increase in size both indoors and outdoors.

Masking and physical distancing will still be required. By June 1, if enough people get vaccinated, travel will be allowed without testing or quarantining requirements. By July 4, the state will be issuing guidance, not mandates, Scott said.

“I hope each of you sees this road map as a reason for optimism and also as a reason to make smart choices, to do your part, the common good, especially when it’s your turn to get vaccinated,” Scott said.

Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine said he’s still concerned about the rise in coronavirus cases in Vermont and the presence of virus variants. A lab informed the state on Monday that a variant first found in Brazil had been detected in a Vermont specimen, he said.

“It’s not unexpected but is a concern,” Levine said. “The variants we have found in Vermont spread more quickly from person to person, faster than we can vaccinate people. This is why everyone needs to follow the guidance very strictly to prevent the spread of the virus, to each take the important personal responsibility to keep illness from spreading and to limit the odds of more variants of concern from developing here.”

Last week, Vermont reported 1,231 new cases, its highest weekly total to date, said Michael Pieciak, Vermont commissioner of financial regulation, who has been monitoring the COVID-19 statistics during the pandemic. The state is seeing more cases among young people, with the median age of 27, he said. “Deaths have remained low and continue to slowly trend down over time,” he said.

As of Tuesday, 42% of Vermonters had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, said Human Services Secretary Mike Smith. Vermont is the top state for the rate of people ages 65 and older who have started or completed vaccinations, said Pieciak.

BIPOC vaccine eligibility response: Vermont Gov. Phil Scott on Monday condemned the “racist response” to his administration’s decision to make Black, indigenous, and people of color of any age eligible for a coronavirus vaccine before residents of other races.

The state granted preferential vaccine access April 1 to the BIPOC community and anyone living in their households. The Republican Scott called their disparity in vaccination rates compared to non-Hispanic whites “unacceptable.”

About 20% of the state’s BOPIC population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, compared with an about 33% vaccination rate for non-Hispanic white residents, Scott said in a statement Monday.

“In addition to the greater risk of hospitalization among BIPOC community members, the pace of vaccination for these individuals is too far behind the white population,” Scott said in the statement.

Vermonters of other races aged 40 and over became eligible Monday, with those 30 and over scheduled for eligibility April 12 and all others 16 and up eligible April 19.

Scott gets vaccine: Gov. Phil Scott received his COVID-19 vaccine on Monday.

Scott, a Republican, and his wife Diana McTeague Scott got the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot at a state-run clinic at Montpelier High School, his office said.

“Like the 220,000 Vermonters who’ve already received at least one dose, I am thrilled to be vaccinated against COVID-19,” Scott said in a written statement.“ Vaccinations are how we can put this pandemic behind us, and it will not be long before every adult in the state has the opportunity to be vaccinated.”

He urged Vermonters to do their part and sign up for the vaccine, “not only to protect yourself, but those around you as well.”

The numbers: Vermont reported 106 new cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday, for statewide total since the pandemic began of over 20,370.

The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Vermont has risen over the past two weeks from 121.00 new cases per day on March 21 to 180.71 new cases per day on April 4.