In its latest county-by-county Covid-19 report, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention increased its tally of Vermont counties with “medium” Covid levels to nine: Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden, Franklin, Lamoille, Orleans, Rutland and Washington. The state’s remaining five counties all had “low” levels, according to the CDC.
Last week, only four counties — Addison, Chittenden, Orleans and Washington — had “medium” Covid levels.
The CDC measures Covid levels in a community based on the case rate, the number of new hospital admissions and the number of Covid patients compared with hospital capacity. The agency recommends that high-risk people take additional precautions in medium- to high-level communities.
Vermont also on Friday reported 263 new Covid-19 cases, 32 hospitalizations and no additional deaths.
The state’s seven-day average for new infections was 228, up from 227 on Thursday, according to the Vermont Department of Health dashboard.
The state’s seven-day average test positivity rate was 10.9% on Friday, up from 10.3% on Thursday. The test positivity rate includes only PCR tests, not at-home antigen tests.
The health department reported that 32 people were hospitalized with Covid as of Friday, down from 35 on Thursday. That includes six people in intensive care, down from seven on Thursday.
The health department reported no additional Covid deaths on Wednesday. In total, 623 people have died since the beginning of the pandemic.
In the past week, Burlington wastewater treatment plants reported a sharp increase in viral samples at the North Plant, a sharp decrease at the Main Plant and a slight increase at the East Plant, according to data from the City of Burlington. All three plants remain elevated from their levels in mid-March.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated one of the counties listed in the CDC’s “medium” Covid-19 levels.
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