Cavendish Connects 5/22/20 Rt 131/News/Treatments
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Quarantine made the Mumfords’ fitness training more important than ever.
CHECK THE CAVENDISH VT FACEBOOK PAGE DAILY FOR THE LATEST NEWS You don’t have to be a Facebook subscriber to see this page.
5/22/20
1. Cavendish Info
2. Latest spigot turn
3. Covid-19 Vaccines/Treatments
4. Events
Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Just a reminder that the update will be dropping back to once a week on Fridays but Facebook is available seven days a week. Stay safe and enjoy the start of the summer season.
1. CAVENDISH INFO
• Proctorsville resident Ellen Parish passed away Saturday, May 9, 2020, at home, after a three-and-a-half-year battle with cancer. Obituary
• Jim Hassen, Cavendish resident and WWII Seabee, is featured in Seven Days Article
• Jersey Barriers and Traffic Lights up on 131: Between Center Rd and Chubb Hill, extensive road work is taking place on 131 so expect delays, including weekends. Construction is also taking place on other sections of 131. Please use caution and go slow if you are taking back roads.
• Green Up Day has been rescheduled for May 30 (Saturday): Cavendish will not be having a formal day. Bags are available in the breezeway of Town Hall to be picked up and be used on your walks. They may be brought to the transfer station free of charge for roadside refuse. Some bags will also be available at Greven Field. Please e-mail cavendishrecreation@hotmail.com so that they can keep a tally of areas being done.
• The Cavendish Historical Society Museum will not be opening on Memorial Day due to Covid-19.
• Okemo Valley TV seeking Nominations for to its Board of Directors.
• Black River Good Neighbors thrift stores has begun to plan a strategic reopening. No date has been set yet for either the actual reopening or for receiving donations. The store has been closed and there’s a surplus of inventory at this time and much of this has to be dealt with along with implementing new regulations due to Covid-19. This will take time, so the store will not open right away. Anyone who needs food for any reason should call 802-228-3663 and make an appointment to pick up bags of groceries. Also, anyone having trouble paying rent or utility bills should call and request an appointment. BRGNS can help with such assistance as well.
• Free Coping with Stress & Anxiety Workshop from HCRS: May 27. This free, online workshop will provide information and practical steps towards addressing stress and anxiety as well as suicidal thoughts. This information is especially pertinent in light of how some individuals and families are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics will include discussion about the nature of emotion and ways in which anxiety is experienced, coping skills, strategies for creating new habits, as well as recognizing when someone is at risk for suicide and steps to take to assist these individuals with remaining safe and seeking further help. To register: Contact Jack Heddon at jheddon@hcrs.org by next Tuesday, May 26.
2. THE LATEST SPIGOT TURN: Covid Related Information for VT
• On Wednesday, the Governor outlined a $400 Million economic relief plan, which targets VT businesses, agriculture and housing. Outlined in two phases, phase I $310M provides immediate relief to survive (financial, housing, technical and marketing assistance). The plan would be funded by a large portion of the $1.25 billion the state is receiving from the federal CARES Act, Phase 2 would spend $90 million on such initiatives as expanding broadband, housing assistance, retraining unemployed Vermonters and additional grants and loans. The plan includes assistance for renters and landlords as well as funds for housing rehabilitation. Scott referred to this as a starting point, recognizing that much more is needed.
• Restaurants, as of today, can open with limited outdoor dining.
• Testing continues to ramp up, with the goal to incorporate testing at Federally Qualified Health Centers-Ludlow is one-pharmacies and even places like Walmart. Basically, using the pop ups, anyone who wants a test can get one in VT and you don’t need a doctor’s order to do it.
• If the numbers continue to remain low, a lot more will be open by June 1, including personal services such as salons and barber shops, and more services in the healthcare field. However, the Governor remains concerned about the hotspots in surrounding states, last weekend alone, Mass detected 6,678 new cases, New York about 14,500 and NH 400.
• Tag sales should be fine, as long as social distancing, masking and sanitizing are adhered to. The 10 person rule applies. Flea Markets are yet to be determined.
• Public access television can reopen studios provided, occupancy, social distancing and mask wearing conditions are met.
• State parks are opening with a lot fewer services. Tent camping will be possible but boat and bicycle rentals, cabin and cottage rentals, concessions and the swimming pool at Button Bay State Park will not be available this season. Out of state campers will only be allowed if they quarantine for 14 days prior to camping.
• VT’s black and Hispanic people are testing positive for Covid-19 at a disproportionately high rate
• Burlington, South Burlington, and Brattleboro are now requiring shoppers to wear masks. While the state highly recommends wearing a mask, businesses and municipalities can make them a requirement. VT’s Senate has begun discussions on a statewide masking mandate. A new study provides evidence that Covid transmission can be significantly reduce by wearing masks.
• With such low numbers, and even now with several days of zero, health commissioner Mark Levine warns that Vermonters should not become complacent.
• Update on New Work Safe Additions to the Stay Smart, Stay Safe Order issued May 19
• The CDC has issued new guidelines for schools reopening in the fall. Among the new requirements, all children over 2 must wear a mask; desks should be 6 feet apart and facing the same direction; playgrounds and cafeterias will be closed and children will be required to bring their own lunch; no changing classrooms; staggered arrivals. Can VT Schools meet strict new CDC rules to reopen?
• The National Guard is planning a salute to health workers today with a F-35 Flyover. The flyover with four F-35 Lightning IIs is scheduled to take just an hour, from approximately 12:17 to 1:17 p.m., and span nearly the entire state, going as far south as Bennington and Brattleboro and as far north as St. Albans and Newport.
• The CDC has released new data information to help states plan their reopening. Among their estimates are: approximately 35% of those infected are asymptomatic; of those who develop symptoms, 0.4% will die, more than 3% will require hospitalizations, but that number is more than double for seniors.
3. VACCINES/TREATMENTS: While steps to stop the virus spread-masks, staying six feet apart, washing hands for 20 seconds frequently, staying at home, along with testing, contact tracing and quarantine-are working, they also impact various aspects of daily life. It’s going to take a vaccine and/or a very efficient treatment for things to return to pre Covid behaviors. Even then, some changes, such as telecommuting, aspects of remote learning and telemedicine will have become mainstays.
Worldwide, there are currently 1,303 Covid-19 studies ongoing and/or completed which focus on understanding the virus, potential treatments as well as vaccines. In the United States, there are 272 studies with some looking at drugs already available, including such things as hyperbaric medicine, convalescent plasma (blood from recovered Covid patients) with an emphasis on using drugs and treatments already approved for other uses.
To date-There are no Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs for the treatment of COVID-19. Although reports have appeared in the medical literature and the lay press have claimed that patients with COVID-19 have been successfully treated with a variety of agents, definitive clinical trial data are needed to identify safe and effective treatments for this disease. Recommended clinical management of patients with COVID-19 includes infection prevention and control measures and supportive care, including supplemental oxygen and mechanical ventilatory support when indicated. As in the management of any disease, treatment decisions ultimately reside with the patient and their health care provider. NIH COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines
• As of May 8, three medications (anti-malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, the anti-viral remdesivir, and a drug used to sedate people on a ventilator) have received emergency use authorization from the FDA. Note that growing research does not support the use hydroxychloroquine and the FDA issued a warning in late April that it should only be used for clinical trials research. The agency stated there were “serious and potentially life threatening heart rhythm problems” connected with the drugs.
• Remdesivir has shown “clear cut positive effect in diminishing time to recover.” People taking the drug recovered from Covid 19 in 11 days compared to 15 when to those who didn’t take it. This drug is available in VT hospitals as well as Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.
While a good summary article, Here’s Exactly where we are with vaccines and treatments for Covid-19, new information is coming out daily. The National Institutes of Health is regularly updating their Treatment Guidelines, which are available on-line.
4. UPCOMING EVENTS: Go to dgBody Works for classes that are being posted via Facebook live. Take a new one, do an old one. Stay fit and healthy.
MAY 30 (SATURDAY): Cavendish Historical Society Plant Sale, 9-Noon in front of the Museum. Mask required along with social distancing.
- Green Up Day.
Food Drive Continues for BRGN: Through the end of May, Cavendish Connects and the Cavendish Baptist Church are sponsoring a food drive to help Black River Good Neighbors as they help many in the Okemo Valley. Drop off items at the Cavendish Baptist Church. From the side of the building, enter the door closest to the parking lot-has a roof over the door-and leave donations in the designated box. Donations can also be left at the front door of BRGN (you will not be able to enter the building) in Ludlow from 10-3, Monday-Friday. If you prefer not to shop, you can donate at their website or send a check to BRGN 37 B Main St. Ludlow, VT 05149. Remember all items should be non-perishable and in date.
Have a Heart -stay home or 6 feet apart wearing a cloth mask or scarf.
Stay healthy to protect yourself and Cavendish.