Ohio: Deaths and hospitalizations are up
Vermont has created a task force to oversee the reopening of higher education facilities led by Rich Schneider, the recently retired president of Norwich University, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott announced Tuesday in a news conference.
Schneider said that the state’s universities have collectively agreed to a contract for all students, faculty and staff on campus at universities and colleges in the state that requires them to sign a pledge verifying their honesty when reporting their health and agreeing to practice physical distancing, wear masks/face coverings and wash their hands frequently.
Schools that are welcoming students back in the fall will require everyone — students and staff — to be tested upon arrival and have another test one week later.
Any subsequent routine testing will be at the discretion of each university. Any student violating the policy will be subject to discipline, including being dismissed from their college or university. Any faculty or staff found in violation will face up to and including termination.
From a legal standpoint, Schneider said liability for anyone who gets sick had not been a broached subject. He did say, though, that “if someone wants to sue you, they’re going to sue you.”
Most Vermont schools holding in-person instruction in the fall will send students home for Thanksgiving break to mark the end of the semester, so as not to have students traveling back and forth within a week and potentially become infected with and/or spread the virus.
The state’s health commissioner, Dr. Mark Levine, said in today’s news conference that deaths remain stable in the state at 56, and cases in the state have remained stable overall, with small ups and downs that Vermont residents should consider to be a new normal.
