Vermont announces first 2 deaths from Covid-19

By Cynthia Prairie
©2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC

Gov. Phil Scott called  an emergency press conference in Montpelier this evening with Vermont Health Secretary Mark Levine to announce that the state has experienced its first two deaths from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Currently, the state has said that 22 people have tested positive for the virus, which in vulnerable people, can cause severe respiratory problems and death.

Dead are a man from Windsor County who was being cared for at the Veterans Administration Hospital in White River Junction and a woman at Burlington Health and Rehab.

Both were elderly, they said. The man, according to earlier Health Department reports, was in his 90s. And the woman was “over 80,” according to the Health Department. Neither Covid-19 infection was believed to be travel-related cases.

Scott said, “No doubt, this is sad for all of us.” Like other viruses, he added, this has the potential to cause serious illness and can be fatal and puts the vulnerable, such as those whose health is already compromised, “at extreme risk.”

We will get through this. Vermonters
rise to the occasion.

Gov. Phil Scott

But he reassured the state, “We will get through this. Vermonters rise to the occasion. … I’m seeing the good in people every single day and we will (get through) it together.”

Dr. Levine said that while he had “sincerely hoped our community would be spared such losses … the deaths highlight just how important it is to protect those who are vulnerable.” According to a press release, the Health Department is “prioritizing testing samples from health care workers who are symptomatic, people who are hospitalized, residents of long-term care facilities, people who are immunocompromised, and other high-risk groups.”

During the press conference, Levine added that the state “has taken very strong action” to control the spread of the virus.