Vermont’s first three tests for the coronavirus came back negative Tuesday, as New Hampshire officials announced a second presumptive positive case of the rapidly spreading virus.
Officials in both states are seeking to contain the spread of the illness one day after the announcement that an employee at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon had been exposed to the virus on a recent trip to Italy.
The Vermont Department of Health is hoping to identify any individuals the Dartmouth employee came in contact with at a performance venue in White River Junction on Feb. 28.
After he was advised to isolate himself, the individual attended a private, invitation-only function at the Engine Room that evening, according to a Health Department press release.
Vermont officials have asked anyone who attended that event to contact the Health Department.
“We’re not highly concerned that there’s transmission, but it’s possible,” said Vermont state epidemiologist Patsy Kelso. The department has worked with the Engine Room to ensure proper sanitizing efforts were carried out there, officials say.
The second New Hampshire resident identified as having been exposed to the virus had been in contact with the first, according to New Hampshire Public Radio. Both individuals live in Grafton County and have been directed to self-isolate. Grafton County borders Vermont from about White River Junction to Barnet.
Both New Hampshire tests are presumed positive, and are awaiting confirmation by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Kelso.
The tests Tuesday, which were first reported by Seven Days, were the first conducted in Vermont, and none came back positive. Kelso declined to identify the individuals, whether they had traveled abroad, or which hospitals had conducted the test. There’s no indication that the Vermonters tested were exposed to those who contracted the virus in New Hampshire.
The announcement came as the Department of Health had increased its monitoring efforts. The department was monitoring 84 people and had completed monitoring 17, according to the Department of Health website. Those people had traveled to areas that had experienced outbreaks such as China or Italy, but had not experienced symptoms.
Kelso said she expects the state to conduct more tests tomorrow. Some of the likely tests will be on people who had traveled abroad; others had coronavirus-like symptoms and had tested negative for other viruses like the flu, Kelso said. Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath.
It’s only a matter of time before the new virus, known specifically as COVID-19, arrives in Vermont, as cases proliferate across the globe, Health Commissioner Mark Levine warned in a press conference last week. He urged Vermonters to “prepare mentally and logistically.”
Besides the cases in New Hampshire, New York and Quebec have also reported positive test results.
Last week, Gov. Phil Scott convened a task force that was to include members from Vermont Emergency Management, the agencies of Education and Human Services and the Vermont National Guard.
The Department of Health is also holding weekly conference calls with hospitals and communicating regularly with the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Kelso.
Levine and Scott both have authority to cancel large gatherings including school or concerts or other public gatherings, Levine said.
The virus spreads through person-to-person contact, or through exposure to droplets when someone with the virus coughs or sneezes. It can also be transmitted through contact with contaminated surfaces.
The Department of Health and the CDC have issued guidance to prevent the spread of the disease, including frequent hand-washing, staying home when sick, and avoiding contact with those who are sick.
