Progress Report from the Envision Rochester High School Repurposing Committee 9/8/2020

3 weeks ago

In an effort to support families in our community, the Quin-Town COVID Response Team will host an Information Session Thursday September 3rd from 6:00 – 7:00 pm via Zoom for families who want to learn more about the rules and regulations around homeschooling.

We’ll be joined by Alicia Hanrahan, Education Programs Manager, Interagency Coordinator with the Agency of Education.

Families from throughout the White River Valley are welcome to join the call. If you’re interested, please E-mail Linda Anderson at landerson@capstonevt.org for the link.

Please share with folks in the valley who might be interested.

Thanks! ... See MoreSee Less

3 weeks ago

First, I wanted to say I am sorry to let you know that I will no longer be posting information for the Corona Task Force or Emergency Committee. The Task
Force will be appointing a new person to handle these duties as they develop their communication plan going forward.

Following our first positive case here in Rochester, Vic Ribaudo, head of the Emergency Committee and the Corona Task Force, contacted Meghan McCarthy, Co-Director, COVID-10 Main Call Center at the Vermont Department of Health, in order to clarify local and state responsibilities in the event of a positive Covid19 case in a local community and to better understand specifically what steps are taken by the state.

The nature of the pandemic and its management by the Health Department are such that the role of town officials to play is mostly to help with educating the public and reinforcing the standard messages about masks, social distancing and other means of slowing the spread.

For the state’s role, once a person receives a confirmed positive test, the Health Dept is automatically informed. Contact tracing staff get in touch with the individual immediately to assist and advise about what to do, including quarantine and to initiate contact tracing.

If a member of the public is aware of a positive case and believes that the person is breaking quarantine, they may call the Health Department and report it. After this the contact tracing team will follow up and determine what if anything needs to be done.

Successful case quarantining and contact tracing depends a lot on maintaining trust and confidentiality to the extent possible. Federal privacy law applies to protect the personal identity of any person who has tested positive. A person with a positive case has no duty to report themself to the public, only to quarantine and participate in contact tracing. There should be no public announcing of individual identities. Meghan manages the contact tracing teams and even she does not know the identities of individual positive cases.

She also said that if anyone has questions about managing the pandemic, whether town officials or the general public they are welcome to call the Health Department at 802-863-7240. .

The committee will continue to release relevant local information as events unfold.
Rob Gardner ... See MoreSee Less

4 weeks ago

The Select Board learned this week that we now have a positive coronavirus case in Rochester. The town office may have had a risk of exposure as a result. The state will begin contact tracing, the town health officer has been notified, and the town office has been closed and sanitized, though business can be done by telephone.

It is very important that we all continue to wear masks, wash hands, maintain social distance, and avoid gathering in groups.

If you think you have symptoms—fever, fatigue, dry cough, body aches, general flu symptoms—contact your physician to see if testing is recommended.

If you have severe symptoms, including trouble breathing, chest pain, blue lips or face, call a doctor or hospital right away.

This is the link to the Vermont Department of Health's information site about Covid19. It includes information about testing, contact tracing and a great deal more:
www.healthvermont.gov/response/coronavirus-covid-19 ... See MoreSee Less

4 weeks ago

From the Vermont Department of Health today:

Preparations for flu season amid pandemic are underway
Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD said at a press conference Friday that preparations are beginning for flu season, with the goals of keeping Vermonters healthy, and to have the rate of flu be as low as possible to ensure that we do not face a “twindemic” of both flu and COVID-19 cases this winter.

“Our primary focus will be to increase the rate of vaccination, especially among children and teens,” Dr. Levine said, adding that last year only 42.6% of children ages 5 to 12 and 35.5% of our 13 to 17-year-olds received the flu vaccine. “We can and must do better.”

Dr. Levine emphasized that no decision has been made to require universal flu vaccine for all K-12 students. Currently, only one state, MA, has moved to require flu vaccination for students.

“A policy decision of whether to do so is still under consideration — driven, as always, by the data and science,” Dr. Levine said. “But as a physician and a public health chief, I would be shirking my responsibility to protect the health of Vermonters if we did not at least explore the merits as well as the weaknesses of every potential public health intervention.”

Dr. Levine also addressed the controversy around some changes to Centers for Disease Control testing guidance, saying that Vermont’s recommendations will not change.

People who have COVID-19 symptoms should absolutely be tested, in addition to anyone who receives a recommendation from a provider to be tested.

Those who have had close contact (being within 6 feet for about 15 minutes or more) with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 can certainly be tested, Dr. Levine said. In addition, for these people, if they are part of or interact with a vulnerable population, we might strongly encourage testing.

He added that anyone identified as a close contact also needs to quarantine for 14 days to prevent any possible spread of the virus.

The CDC also essentially leaves the need for a travel-related quarantine up to states. Vermont still has the same policy and map that calls for the need for quarantine from yellow or red zones. ... See MoreSee Less

4 weeks ago

Thanks so much to all the volunteers from Rochester and Randolph who worked to make Gifford’s Veggie VanGo event at the Rochester Elementary school a success this morning.

198 families were given boxes of cheese, chicken and vegetables today which translates to about 650 individual people fed by today’s program.

And thanks to Feeding the Valley Alliance for bringing this program to our valley as well as the HOPE program, delivering food to the three towns from Granville.

We are looking forward to the next event and we hope that people in the valley will spread the word so that families who are stretching their budgets will have an opportunity to take advantage of these events.

And a special thanks to Lolly Lindsey for all her work to make Feeding the Valley Alliance a reality. ... See MoreSee Less

1 month ago

From the Vermont Department of Health today:

Keep Up Prevention Efforts as Schools Prepare to Open

Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD, reminded Vermonters at a press conference Friday that now — in the two weeks leading up to school reopening — is the time to do all the right things so that schools will be safe.

“That means mask-wearing, physical distancing, frequent handwashing, and staying home and away from others when you’re not feeling well,” Dr. Levine said. “We can’t afford to let down our guard now.”

That means thinking twice about fitting in a family trip or gathering before school start, and carefully considering the risks of all your activities.

“Yes, the school experience will be different this year, but we are gratified at how educators and administrators have been working and planning together with public health to make sure each student can get a high quality education this school year – no matter what form it takes in each school and school district,” he said.

While Vermont is among the states with a low incidence of COVID-19, it wouldn’t take much to lose that distinction, he added.

“Vermont will continue to see new cases, clusters or even limited outbreaks in our communities, but the public health protocols we have been using over the past many months – testing, contact tracing, interviewing and advising people who have been in close contact with a person who has COVID — really work, and will continue to work to limit the spread of the virus,” Dr. Levine said. ... See MoreSee Less

1 month ago

The Vermont Food Bank’s Veggie Van Go will be at the Rochester school parking lot again this Tuesday. All community members in need of food assistance are invited to drive through and pick up free boxes of veggies and more. No questions asked, no residential or income restrictions. Please help spread the word and please feel free to pick up for family members, friends and neighbors who are unable to travel. ... See MoreSee Less

1 month ago

From the Vermont Department of Health today:

What is a close contact?
When we talk about containing the spread of COVID-19, we often refer to reaching out to the “close contacts” of a person who tested positive. But what does that mean?

Both time and distance matter. Close contact generally means being within six feet for 15 minutes or more, of the person who tested positive while they are contagious (infectious).

Examples of close contacts include someone you live with, rode in the car with, or had dinner with.

Close contact does not mean: being more than six feet away in the same indoor environment for a short period of time, walking by, or briefly being in the same room.

Examples of not close contacts include a cashier or someone you passed by at a store, or a coworker you briefly passed to ask a question.

The infectious period starts two days before any symptoms began, or for people who didn't have symptoms, two days before they got tested, and continues until they are recovered.

The average number of close contacts per person who tests positive for COVID-19 in Vermont is three.

Close contacts get a call from the Health Department with guidance to stay home and away from others for a certain amount of time, and are asked to watch themselves for symptoms. ... See MoreSee Less