Waterbury COVID-19 spread remains steady; two school cases reported this week
Oct. 9, 2021 | By Lisa Scagliotti 
Credit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The past two weeks have seen more than 20 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Waterbury including two at Crossett Brook Middle School.
Waterbury still has the most new cases of communities in the area yet despite the two cases affecting fifth graders reported Oct. 3 and 6, no further cases have been reported at the middle or primary schools following testing.
According to Vermont Department of Health data released Friday, Waterbury’s case total stands at 344 since March 2020. Twelve cases were added in the week ending Oct. 6; 10 cases were reported the previous week.
In communities adjacent to Waterbury and in the Harwood Unified Union School District, case reports have been low in the past two weeks. Stowe and Warren have each had four new cases; others such as Moretown, Waitsfield and Bolton have had just one or two.
Washington County overall remains at a high rate of community spread for COVID-19 along with 11 other Vermont counties, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Addison and Lamoille have levels considered “substantial” by the CDC.
“Everyone in Washington County, Vermont, should wear a mask in public, indoor settings,” the CDC recommendation states. In Vermont, masks are not required but state Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine continues to strongly urge the public to wear a mask indoors in public settings.
Overall in the state, Vermont recently has seen some of the highest daily case counts of the pandemic. Thursday and Friday’s statewide totals were 287 and 283 respectively. The highest single-day report came in September when the state said a computer glitch resulted in delayed reports pushing up the Sept. 15 count to 330. So far this month, nine COVID-related deaths have been recorded in the state as well.
State health officials continue to emphasize vaccines to prevent the spread of the virus. Booster shots for those who received the Pfizer vaccine are now available at pharmacies and state vaccine sites.
Testing also remains available widely including daily at the Waterbury Ambulance Service station in Waterbury Center.
State officials have announced a plan to supply schools with rapid antigen tests to assist with testing when cases occur in schools to get results quickly and allow students in contact with an infected individual to return to the classroom if they are not infected.
The Harwood district also has set up a reporting system for families to share vaccination information for those students age 12 and older who are vaccinated to assist with the process of contact tracing and quarantine when cases arise. Vaccinated individuals are not required to quarantine in that circumstance.
The latest information on testing and vaccine hours and locations is online at the Vermont Health Department website..