Medical Questions

There have been multiple confirmed cases in Addison County. For more information about cases in Addison County and Vermont, visit the Vermont Department of Health website.

The CDC has advised the use of homemade cloth face coverings to help slow the spread of coronoavirus. Cloth face masks can help people who have the virus, but are asymptomatic, from spreading it to others.

More information, including instructions for making your own mask, can be found on the CDC website.

CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. More details are available here.

If you are feeling sick or have been informed by the Health Department that you may have been exposed, please call the Parton Center for Health and Wellness. Call the Registered Nurse Triage Line (802-443-3290) or the main business line (802-443-5135). Parton staff will start with a telephone call to determine the best course of action.

According to the CDC:  

• COVID-19 is a new disease and we are still learning how it spreads, the severity of illness it causes, and to what extent it may spread in the United States.
• People are thought to be most contagious when they are most symptomatic (the sickest).*
• Some spread might be possible before people show symptoms; there have been reports of this occurring with this new coronavirus, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

At this time, we know that exposed people who are quarantined (because of exposure) but not sick are not thought to be highly infectious to others. People who are feeling well and living with quarantined individuals who are also feeling well are unlikely to transmit the virus to others. While that may be reassuring, social distancing is still highly recommended.

The Vermont Department of Health has issued a PDF with detailed guidance. Download here.

*According to the CDC, close contact is defined as

• being within approximately 6 feet (2 meters) of a COVID-19 case for a prolonged period of time, such as while caring for, living with, visiting, or sharing a healthcare waiting area or room with a COVID-19 case, or
• having direct contact with infectious secretions of a COVID-19 case (e.g., being coughed on).

We urge you to take the precautions recommended by the CDC to protect yourself and prevent the spread of COVID-19 by following these guidelines:

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick. 
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. 
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. 
• If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol.
• Wear a cloth face covering when you are out in public.

• CDC Coronavirus FAQs

• CDC What to Do if You Are Sick

• CDC How to Prepare, including links for protecting yourself, your family, and your home.

• CDC/White House 15 Days to Slow the Spread

• CDC Preventing the Spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Homes and Residential Communities

• Vermont Department of Health NOVEL CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) updates page (click on Updates tab under case count table for local and regional information)

We’re watching the research as scientists learn more about how COVID-19 affects the body. The Wall Street Journal has produced a video on this topic with some very helpful information.

Watch the WSJ video here.

Rarely, a test sample is determined to be insufficient, indicating that an individual needs to be retested. Those individuals are contacted, and repeat testing is arranged. Individuals who receive an insufficient sample/retest result are informed and instructed to remain in quarantine until the new test result is received. (Quarantine would not be advised during Targeted Dynamic Testing, though the test would be repeated). While the initial reporting dashboard included Sample Insufficient/ Retesting information, we have since removed that section given that all of those individuals are being retested, and their test results will be reflected either in the positive or negative result numbers going forward.