Vermont officials announced changes to COVID-19 testing and tracing procedures in schools on Tuesday.
Gov. Phil Scott unveiled the plans at his weekly coronavirus update.
They include notifying all students in a classroom in case of a positive test and giving unvaccinated children rapid tests to take at home. Education officials said previous testing procedures were not enough to keep up with the current omicron-fueled surge in cases.
"Omicron makes this shift essential to supporting school operations and preventing further spread," Scott said.
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The governor also announced that Vermont residents will be able to go onto the state's website starting Tuesday to place an order for some of the half million at-home tests obtained by the state. Each household will be able to order two kits, each of which include two tests. He said this is separate from President Joe Biden's initiative to send tests to all Americans, which is expected to begin later this month.
The Vermont Department of Health said Tuesday that updates to its COVID-19 dashboard are delayed due to a lab reporting issue that occurred over the weekend, affecting about 40,000 lab results.
For that timeframe, approximately 4,735 additional positive cases have been identified.
"As we see what's happening across country and the northeast, it's clear cases will continue to increase for a while," Scott said. "Although Vermont leads the nation in vaccinations, and as a result has one of lowest hospitalization and death rates in the country right now, it's not enough. Please make sure getting a booster is a top priority for you and your family. It's not too late."
