Food distribution for residents in need

The Vermont National Guard will be distributing food to area residents in need at Middlebury Airport on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The distribution effort is a response to hardships caused by Covid-19.

Those wishing to receive the food are instructed to pull their cars up to the airport, 467 Airport Road off Case Street/Highway 116 in Middlebury, and open their car trunks for guard members to load boxes of food. The National Guard requests that you allow plenty of room for the boxes and that you leave pets at home for their safety.

Each household will be given two gallons of milk, two boxes of chicken, one box of vegetables, one box of Cabot cheeses and butter, one box of FEMA boxed meals.

Details are available on the Town of Whiting website.

The schedule of meal distribution around the state is outlined on the Vermont Emergency Management website.

Porter opens drive-up coronavirus testing

Individuals with referrals from their healthcare providers may be tested for COVID-19 at a drive-up location on the Porter Medical Center campus in Middlebury, according to a published report in the Addison County Independent.

Patients require a referral in order to be tested. Testing is done at a modular building, former home of patient financial services (recently moved), in Porter's south parking lot. The service hours are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday.

If you are sick, you are advised to contact your healthcare provider by telephone. You should not go to the hospital except in a life-threating situation. Vermont residents with questions about COVID-19 can dial 2-1-1 or 866-652-4636. 

Update, March 18, 2020: Vermont Department of Health reports that an individual in Addison County tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The patient was screened via telemedicine and tested at the new Porter Medical Center service. The patient has been notified of the positive result and has agreed to remain at home.

This week, Porter began restricting visitors to the hospital, according to an update on the University of Vermont Health Network website. It will not allow visits from those who have flu-flike symptoms, have traveled to high-risk areas within the past fourteen days or have had close contact with someone diagnosed with or suspected as having COVID-19. The hospital also will not allow visitors under the age of 16.

Emergency Department and Urgent Care patients are restricted to a single visitor. Other patients may only receive visits from the same two people for the duration of their hospital stay.

State schools closed in response to COVID-19 pandemic

In response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Vermont Governor Phil Scott has directed that all state schools close no later than Wednesday, March 18. The schools will remain closed at least through April 6, according to a press release.

Update, March 26, 2020: The governor has directed schools in the state to remain closed for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year, according to a press release.

Scott called for local school districts to plan for the food and special needs services of children, for childcare requirements of healthcare workers and others essential to the state response to the crisis and for the continuation of student education during the dismissal period. This last priority is to include the assignment of trackable work for students to do at home and the creation of a remote learning plan in case the closure must continue past April 6.

The governor's March 15 announcement stated that no students in the state would be required to be in school on Monday or Tuesday, March 16-17, if their parents or guardians would prefer to keep them at home.

"The orderly dismissal of schools is essential to support both the state's response to COVID-19 and the needs of children and families in Vermont," the governor said. "We must ensure children are safe, nourished and still learning even as the traditional structure of the school is disrupted."

Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union, which oversees the schools of the Otter Valley Unified Union in Whiting, Sudbury, Leicester, Brandon, Pittsford and Goshen, responded to the governor's directive by notifying district parents in a March 15 letter signed by Superintendent Jeanne Collins.

The school district stated that its buildings would be closed to students after Tuesday, March 17. Teachers and paras have been assigned to spend the remainder of the week preparing assignments for students to complete at home.

The district is planning to deliver meals to any student/household requesting the service. It intends to deliver bagged breakfast/lunch to homes using buses. The buses may also be tasked with delivery of school lesson materials.

The Addison Central School District, including Middlebury schools, released a March 15 letter confirming that students would be dismissed at the end of the day Tuesday, March 17. The district pledged additional communication with parents on matters relating to continuing educational services and providing food and learning support.

COVID-19 in Vermont

The State of Vermont has a dozen COVID-19 cases, according to a March 16 report by the Seven Days newspaper. Three of the most recent four cases do not appear to be related to travel by the affected individuals. That indicates that "community transmission" from one person to another is occurring within the state.

The U.S. Centers for DIsease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that COVID-19 is a global pandemic. At last count, more than 6,500 people around the world have died from the virus. As of midday, March 16, there were at least 3,910 cases within the United States. Though the U.S. is still in the early stages of an outbreak, seventy Americans already have died. West Virginia is the only state without a reported case. (West Virginia's coloring in the CDC map below appears to be an error.)

According to a press release by Vermont Commissioner of Health Mark Levine, M.D., symptoms of a COVID-19 infection include fever, cough, fatigue and shortness of breath. Most people affected by the virus - classified as the SARS-CoV-2 virus - will have mild symptoms. About 15 to 20 percent of patients will experience severe illness. Older people and those with existing health problems, including lung disease, heart disease and diabetes, are particularly at risk.

Not a roll in sight.
(Middlebury Hannaford)

 Dr. Levine urged those who experience mild symptoms to remain home and contact their healthcare provider for guidance. Patients with more severe symptoms and patients who have mild symptoms but also belong to high-risk groups should contact a physician as quickly as possible.

The possible transmission of the virus from one person (who may or may not have symptoms) to another person has caused the cancellation of numerous gatherings and popular sporting events, as well as the closures of colleges (see Middlebury College article), schools, museums and other establishments. On Monday, March 16, Governor Scott issued an executive order banning large nonessential gatherings. Gatherings are limited to no more than fifty people or fifty percent of an establishment's occupancy, whichever is less. The states of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey also have banned groups of more than fifty people. Rhode Island has banned groups of more than twenty-five.

Around the country, retail stores are experiencing panic buying and hoarding of various food items and supplies. Stores in the Whiting area have bare shelves where hand sanitizer, cleaning products and toilet paper were formerly found. Certain food items, including pasta and some frozen items, are in short supply.

Virus concerns close Middlebury College campus

Middlebury College is moving up its spring break and telling students to remain home until further notice. These measures are in response to concerns over the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

middlebury.edu

In a lengthy series of Tweets released on Tuesday, March 10, 2020, the college announced that spring break would begin this Friday, March 13 (one week earlier than originally scheduled), and on-campus classes would not resume until further notice. The college plans to offer remote instruction following a two-week break. The situation is to be reviewed by the college in the first weeks of April.

"We are aware that the impact on everyone—students, faculty, and staff—will be great," one of the Tweets stated. "However, our top priority is the health and welfare of the entire Middlebury community, and to minimize the risk of exposure to COVID-19."

Most students will be required to leave the Middlebury campus. Those who cannot return home will require prior approval to remain on campus. They must submit a form to the college no later than 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 12. Middlebury's student population includes about 10 percent international students. The college acknowledged that some of those students may be at increased risk of exposure to COVID-19 if they returned home.

All spring athletic activities, including practices and home and away games, have been suspended until further notice. Group events are limited to no more than 120 people. Dining service operations will limit the number of students in the dining halls at any one time. And no visitors - including prospective students, alumni, job applicants, speakers, performers - will be permitted on campus.

The measures taken by the college may appear extreme, since the campus is located in a rural setting and no cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the area.  The administration addressed this in an online statement:

Unfortunately, it is not possible to isolate the campus, and we have limited ability to have control over when students or others leave campus. The strategy we've outlined focuses on social distancing in order to prevent a local or regional surge in cases and preserve critical medical services. Due to shared facilities, including dorms, bathrooms, dining facilities, classrooms, college environments are not ideal places for social distancing. Dispersing students, ideally before there is a known case on campus, allows for the strongest level of social distancing.

The college, which sits about 10 miles north (Route 30) of the center of Whiting, has opened a web page with coronavirus-related questions and answers:

Coronavirus FAQs