Alarmed by COVID spikes across the country, Scott keeps the line on the Vt spigot.

MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont Governor Phil Scott said Tuesday that despite the state leading the country with the lowest percentage of COVID-19 cases, he remains increasingly concerned about the rapid growth of the virus in the largest part of the country.

Scott says the latest data shows Vermont is only in the country when it comes to controlling the spread of the virus. Vermont has seen no deaths in more than a month and only three people were admitted to the hospital as of Monday. But based on the growth of the virus across the country, Scott said the state must be prepared to react if the “fire” returns. He says that means it will keep the spike in occupancy rates at 50% for now. He says the Vermont data does not yet support a facial coverage mandate, but that could change.

Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine says there are currently no outbreaks in the state of which they are aware, although health officials continue to investigate a series of rapid false positive antigen tests in the Manchester area. The health department says 65 people tested positive using the rapid antigen at Manchester Medical Center. But after the most reliable PCR tests, only four have been confirmed so far. In southern Vermont, more than 1,613 people have been tested at a variety of sites, and only five were positive.

As of Tuesday, Vermont health officials reported 1,366 cases of coronavirus in the state and 56 deaths. A total of 84,947 tests have been performed, 1,152 travelers are being monitored, 4,361 have completed monitoring and 1,148 have recovered.

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