Beginning April 9, vaccinated Vermonters may travel out-of-state without testing or quarantine, Gov. Phil Scott announced at the Covid-19 press conference today. Unvaccinated Vermonters may travel, but must be tested within three days upon return. They will not be required to quarantine.
Vermont Daily readers have been asking about the State of Vermont’s relationship with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In particular, they have asked about meetings between state officials, including Gov. Phil Scott, and PRC officials.
Governor Phil Scott doesn’t want the State of Vermont to “turn the screws” on” Vermonters or “break their wills” when it comes to climate-change reduction policies. His position runs contrary to advice given to the Vermont Climate Council by a Massachusetts climate official.
Northeast Kingdom TV news producer Steve Merrill was banned last week from asking questions at Gov. Phil Scott’s twice-weekly press conference.
Gov. Phil Scott would consider expanding sales tax on services, products, but only to reduce the overall burden. Asked about a plan to reduce the percentage of the sales tax but expand the scope of taxable products and services, Scott said: “This isn’t the time to increase taxes on anyone….if the Legislature is talking about reducing the burden, I’m all ears.”
There are no reported cases of any Covid-19 variants in Vermont, Health Commissioner Mark Levine said. That’s the good news. However, a variant in California may be fueling the current Los Angeles epidemic, he said. Also, relatively unpublicized variants in Brazil and South Africa may not respond to the current vaccine, he said.
This afternoon (January 19), Governor Phil Scott, Department of Health Commissioner Mark Levine, M.D. and other administration officials were informed that a contractor who provided services at the Governor’s coronavirus briefings on Friday, January 15 and Tuesday, January 19 has tested positive for COVID-19.
Climate caucus to hold first meeting Thursday Press pursues Trump bus pandemic risk story Scott signs into law 2021 Town Meeting changes By Guy Page The Vermont Department of Health can’t say […]
Gov. Scott answered: “I don’t believe President Trump will be declaring martial law.” Vermont Daily said, “Okay, say he does?” Scott replied: “I don’t want to play that game, because I don’t believe it will happen.”
On Nov. 24, Scott asked Vermonters not to shop on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving and the start of the holiday retailing season) if they didn’t have a need to. The normally pro-business Scott may be hoping to stop the new surge of COVID cases, but his comments seem to have rattled small business owners.
