The latest developments in Vermont related to the coronavirus pandemic:

Hair stylists and barbers are back in business Friday as part of the latest round of business reopenings in Vermont from COVID-19 shutdowns.

The hair professionals must follow a number of restrictions. Customers also must book appointments in advance and remain at a safe distance from other customers.

Meanwhile, Gov. Phil Scott announced Friday that he is increasing the size of allowable gatherings from 10 to 25, guidelines for the reopening of gymnasiums, cleaning services and museums.

Starting Monday, massage therapists, indoor gymnasiums, cleaning services and some other close contact businesses will be able to resume limited operations.

The state is also going to allow the reopening of overnight camps for out-of-staters.

“It’s a pilot project, if you will, because taking this step within this very controlled environment will give us some insight into how we manage out-of-state tourists as we move to easing restrictions such as quarantine requirements,” Scott said during his regular COVID-19 briefing.

The guidelines for the overnight summer camps say they can operate at 75% of capacity.

There are quarantine requirements, which can be done before traveling to Vermont or at the camps. There are also requirements for parents or others who would be bringing the campers to Vermont.

While Vermont is seeing a small growth rate in new cases, the virus hotspots of Boston and New York are only several hours drive from the state.

Scott said he hoped to be able to encourage out-of-state visitors to come to Vermont again soon.

“At this point in time its just not safe to do so,” Scott said. “So, again, the strategy that we’ve been using appears to be working and I know it’s frustrating for some, but if you look at the bigger picture, and you have to look at the regional picture, you can see that one false step, opening up too quick will set ourselves back a month.”‘

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CLUSTER

Health Commissioner Dr. Levine said officials were monitoring what he described as a small cluster of cases in Winooski. Citing privacy concerns, he wouldn’t provide detail about how many cases had been found, or who was infected.

Levine said the department’s staff was working with community organizations and employers to provide education, followup, support and testing as needed.

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THE NUMBERS

On Friday, the Vermont Health Department reported one additional positive test for the virus that causes COVID-19, bringing the total to 975. The number of deaths is holding steady at 55.

After two days of reporting no patients hospitalized with COVID-19, the state reported Friday one person was hospitalized with the disease. The number of patients under investigation for COVID-19 dropped by four, to 13.

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