Vermont retail businesses may expand capacity from 25% to 50% starting Saturday at the same time that Vermont’s statewide mask mandate goes into effect, Republican Gov. Phil Scott announced Friday.

The state will also start giving out up to 200,000 free cloth masks. The masks will be distributed through emergency management factions of communities, at community action organizations and by the Vermont National Guard at food distribution sites, said Agency of Human Services Secretary Mike Smith.

“The fact is we’ll continue to fight back against this virus until a vaccine has been developed and distributed, which is in all reality several months away,” Scott said. “So it’s up to us to protect the gains we’ve made and take steps forward when it makes sense to do so. If we all do our part to suppress this virus we can get our kids back to school and keep our businesses open.”

People can make a difference by staying at least 6 feet apart when possible, wearing masks in public places, washing their hands a lot, and staying home when sick, Scott said.

The mask mandate requires people to wear facial coverings in public spaces, including in stores, but stores won’t be required to enforce the mandate, Scott said. All public and private businesses must display signs saying masks are required for anyone over age 2. There are a number of exemptions, including people who are eating or drinking, engaged in strenuous exercise or those who have a medical exemption.

Meanwhile, Vermont officials are keeping a close eye on surges in other parts of the country and a rise in cases in the Northeast.

“For example, this past week in Rhode Island and New Hampshire reported their highest daily case count since early June, Massachusetts saw a similar case growth that they have not seen since the middle part of June, and even in Quebec, where the virus has been in retreat for a very long time, it is seeing a new uptick in new cases,” said Michael Pieciak, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, who is managing Vermont’s COVID-19 data during the pandemic.

Although the case growth in the Northeast is slight compared with other parts of the country, the region has seen four weeks of case growth, with new cases about 25% higher this week than they were at the end of June, he said.

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INFECTED RETURNING INMATES

After six inmates who returned to Vermont from a Mississippi prison tested positive for COVID-19, the Vermont Department of Corrections instructed the remaining inmates at the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Tutwiler, Mississippi, to be tested.

The inmates, who had arrived at the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland on July 28 by van transport, were immediately placed in medical quarantine and tested, the Corrections Department said. They are now in medical isolation.

Another Vermont inmate at the Mississippi prison also has tested positive. The remaining Vermont inmates were tested on Thursday night and Friday, Smith said. The state is expected to get the results on Saturday.

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THE NUMBERS

Vermont reported eight new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, for a statewide total to date of 1,414. The number of deaths remained at 57, after the state reported it’s first death from COVID-19 in 43 days on Thursday. Two people were hospitalized with the illness, the Health Department said.

The state has the lowest rate of positive tests and the lowest number of cases in the country, Scott said.

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