LONDONDERRY, Vt. (WCAX) – A possible outbreak of coronavirus in southern Vermont makes hundreds of people wonder if they have been infected. Our Olivia Lyons has been following history. She was at two statewide emerging testing sites on Wednesday where people lined up for testing.
The Londonderry test site collected 306 specimens for testing. The second site in Manchester expected to test about 600 on Wednesday.
“Many people have come because of recent news in the area,” said Megan Herrington of the Vermont Department of Health.
There was a steady flow of traffic at both state emergency test sites in Londonderry and Manchester on Wednesday.
Annie Wright and Ronnie Black moved to the area from Virginia on Tuesday. Tests were being done to make sure they were not bringing the virus to Vermont.
“Back in Richmond, we are starting to close again. We reopened and now some places are closing and we’re getting a little bit stricter about it, so in a sense we’re getting a little bit more freedom, “Black said.
Many people wanted the diagnostic tests after learning that dozens of people in the area were recently found positive for COVID-19 after what the state considers less reliable rapid tests.
“We have also had people seeking confirmation after antigen testing. We also have people seeking their status just to keep loved ones protected,” said Herrington.
At the end of the Londonderry clinic, they had collected 306 samples to analyze.
As soon as a positive case comes, contact trackers contact the person to discuss any possible symptoms, leading them to get tested, and then explore who they might have contacted and where. Each positive antigen test is treated as a confirmed positive and a contact trace is performed with that individual.
“There are new individuals who have been reported today. They have been assigned. We have expanded our team to make sure we can recall timely with our interview,” said Daniel Daltry, a contact tracker.
Manchester’s location responds to so many people who say they also want to get tested. By around 12:30 pm, nearly 200 tests had already been conducted.
“We will probably run this same clinic for several days until we take care of the community,” said Trey Dodson of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.
No data has yet been collected for the Manchester location, but Dodson says they expected to collect around 600 specimens on Wednesday.
Some people on the sites are concerned about the spread. Tom Simonetti of Manchester is being evaluated after potentially being exposed to people who have not worn masks.
“In my town in the last week or so, I have seen over 50% at large gatherings and sometimes all occupants of convenience stores do not have masks,” said Simonetti.
But others say they are not concerned.
“No, I am not because I know Manchester and they are doing the right thing,” said James Sessions of Manchester.
The Health Department has not yet told us how many more days they expect to test in Manchester, but this is part of a possible outbreak investigation. With more testing and contact tracking, they hope they can determine where the outbreak originated and how widespread it is.
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