State officials on Friday shared news of vaccine progress with the oldest Vermonters and gave the go-ahead for school and youth indoor sports to begin competitions.

Waterbury and Stowe each logged five new COVID-19 cases in the past week while thousands of older Vermonters have made appointments to get their first dose of the vaccine. 

State officials on Friday announced plans to begin vaccinating Vermonters aged 75 and older against COVID-19 just as new Vermont Department of Health data show another significant uptick in virus cases in Waterbury in the past week. 

As Vermont settles in to daily triple-digit increases in COVID-19 cases, the state’s top health official Friday forecasted that the pandemic’s total will surpass 10,000 cases by next week. 

With the Christmas and New Year’s holidays at hand, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott this week announced several steps to relax public health restrictions, but couched them in cautions regarding risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus. 

As health officials begin to vaccinate those at high risk for COVID-19, Vermont’s cases of the deadly virus continue to climb including in Waterbury where cases have nearly tripled since the start of November. 

Gov. Phil Scott hailed news of approval of a COVID-19 vaccine late Friday while cases in Vermont and the nation continue to climb. 

After holiday hiatus in reporting town-specific COVID-19 data, the state Department of Health on Friday released its latest community case counts that showed a 51% increase for Waterbury in two weeks. 

Waterbury Ambulance Service has expanded hours at its Waterbury Center COVID-19 testing operation and it is adding a satellite weekend site in Waitsfield. Meanwhile Gov. Phil Scott on Friday called on Vermonters to “light the way” this holiday season.

Waterbury is seeing stepped-up efforts to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic this week with a new testing site opened in Waterbury Center and municipal officials taking steps to curb the spread of the virus and help property owners struggling to pay their taxes.

News related to the increasing spread of the COVID-19 virus throughout Vermont was steady this week highlighted by record new daily case counts and new measures announced by Gov. Phil Scott aimed at slowing the spread. 

The number of COVID-19 cases in Waterbury is growing and can be attributed in part to an outbreak in Central Vermont connected with recreational hockey, state officials said Friday. 

As plans for reopening schools this fall continue to evolve, the Waterbury Recreation Department is launching a weekday camp for approximately 15 students in grades K-5 to help families navigate remote learning days. 

The Waterbury Select Board’s recent resolution calling on the public to wear masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus gets some welcome backup as the state’s directive goes into effect today. 

Waterbury town officials continue to navigate the impacts of COVID-19 that this week included decisions to keep the town swimming pool closed for the summer, combine property tax payments into one bill due in November, and to keep the municipal offices closed for several more weeks.