Harwood Families,
Given the Governor's recent Press Release we wanted to send out the updated guidance regarding social gatherings and contact tracing in order to guide us all in making safe decisions for ourselves and each other. Please see below:
Public and Private Multi-Household Social Gatherings Prohibited
Attendance at all public and private social gatherings, indoor and outdoor, including social gatherings incidental to ceremonies, holiday gatherings, parties and celebrations, shall be limited to participation with only members of a single household. Individuals who live alone may gather with members of their immediate family residing in a different household.
Contact Tracing and Testing Requirements
All restaurants and other businesses hosting non-essential activities shall maintain a 30-day log of employee and guest names and contact information in case contact tracing is required by the Health Department. These individuals are consenting to be contacted by the Health Department Contact Tracing Team. Further, all Vermonters are directed to comply with requests made by the Contact Tracing Team. Finally, college students returning home in Vermont (from in-state and out-of-state schools) shall quarantine for 14 days or seven days with a negative COVID-19 test and testing is strongly encouraged.
“We rely on data to guide each and every decision we make, and that data has shown us a clear picture of a rising tide that could have serious consequences,” said Health Commissioner Mark Levine, MD. “Whether it’s friends or our own family members, we need to limit any social activities to our own households to protect all these people that we don’t even know we’ve put at risk - where we work, where we learn, where people live in situations that make them more vulnerable. And we need to make these sacrifices now.”
These steps add to actions taken over the last several days, including requiring quarantine for all non-essential out-of-state travel by Vermonters and for all travelers entering Vermont from another state; expanding testing opportunities for Vermonters; and increasing outreach to assess and encourage compliance with travel and gathering guidance. Governor Scott has also directed the state’s emergency response team to prepare to execute existing surge plans, including re-deploying field hospital sites as a precautionary measure.
Under Addendum 8 to the Amended and Restated Executive Order 01-20, Governor Scott has also extended the State of Emergency to December 15. Click here to view the full Addendum.
For more information on:
COVID-19 health information, guidance and case data, visit www.healthvermont.gov/covid19.
The Governor’s actions, visit governor.vermont.gov/covid19response.
The state’s modeling, visit dfr.vermont.gov/about-us/covid-19/modeling.
You can find the full release here.
We also want to confirm that we have completed communication with those community members identified by the Vermont Department of Health as close contact to the positive COVID case at Harwood Middle/High School this week.
In partnership,
Meg, Laurie and Duane.