LEBANON — Amid record-high cases and hospitalizations of people with COVID-19 in the Twin States, visitors for the most part will be barred from Dartmouth-Hitchcock facilities in Lebanon until further notice, the health system announced Thursday.
Under the new rules, which go into effect Friday, caregivers are allowed in specific circumstances. But they must not have any symptoms of COVID-19, nor be on quarantine due to exposure to the disease or travel, nor have had a diagnosis of COVID-19 in the last 10 days.
The change applies to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon; D-H’s outpatient clinics in Lyme and on Heater Road in Lebanon; the Jack Byrne Center for Palliative and Hospice Care in Lebanon; the D-H Outpatient Surgery Center in Lebanon; and the Norris Cotton Cancer Center North in St. Johnsbury, Vt.
As an exemption to the rule, visitors may be allowed for end-of-life patients. Three visitors at a time are permitted for COVID-negative patients. Meanwhile, two visitors at a time are permitted for COVID-positive patients, for one hour, for a total of four visitors. Visitors must check in and out to allow for new visitors.
Pediatric patients are allowed two dedicated adult parents, guardians or support people. For prenatal appointments, ultrasounds and in the birthing pavilion, one adult support person is allowed with the patient.
More information is available online at: dartmouth-hitchcock.org/covid19/lebanon-visitor-policy.
NORWICH — The Norwich Selectboard approved a temporary indoor mask mandate at its meeting on Wednesday night.
In a vote of 4-0, with one abstention by Marcia Calloway, the board decided to require people ages 2 and older to wear masks inside buildings where members of the general public gather. There are exceptions for people with medical conditions or difficulty breathing that make wearing a face mask difficult.
The rule does not apply to schools, churches, private residences or offices where people are separated from the general public. Also exempt are stores, gyms or theaters that restrict entrance to those who have been vaccinated for COVID-19.
The rule does not include an enforcement mechanism.
“Norwich, like other Vermont communities, would be stretched to find the resources to enforce the mandate,” Norwich Selectboard Chairman Roger Arnold said. “Nonetheless the board believes a mandate without enforcement still provides important cover for businesses in Norwich.”
The rule is in place for 45 days. The board can vote to extend it for 30-day periods, or to rescind it.
The rule notes that the board’s decision to rescind it will be based on Windsor County being at or below the “moderate” level of community transmission as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is fewer than 50 new cases per 100,000 in the past week. Currently, Windsor County, like the rest of the Twin States, has “high” transmission, or more than 100 new cases per 100,000 in the past week.
Norwich’s vote follows Thetford Selectboard’s vote to institute a mask requirement earlier this week. The votes come after Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, signed a bill last month allowing municipalities to enact their own requirements. Scott has said he doesn’t think mandates will increase compliance, while Democrats in the Legislature have called for a statewide mandate. The law expires on April 30, 2022.
“While it’s not optimal to have a patchwork of ordinances or temporary rules, I think it’s important that Norwich have one,” Arnold said. “It recognizes that we are a part of a wider region.”
Amid an uptick of cases in Norwich last month, town officials closed Tracy Hall to the public and encouraged residents to conduct business with town employees by phone, email or during 15-minute appointments.
Nearby, the New Hampshire communities of Lebanon and Hanover have had mask mandates in effect for several months. Last week, the Weathersfield Selectboard opted to require masks only in town buildings.
Last week, the Hartford Selectboard rejected a mandate on a 5-2 vote, but Joe Major, vice chair of the Hartford Selectboard, said the panel will revisit the topic at its meeting on Tuesday.
“We decided to revisit it because we got so much response,” Major said. “We’ve heard from (residents), we’ve heard from the business community and the (COVID-19 case) rates continue to go up,” Major said.
Although he was opposed to a mandate last week, Major acknowledged that mask mandates “do work” in limiting the spread of COVID-19, and he is leaning toward changing his vote in light of the changing circumstances.
“It’s unfortunate in having to go back to this, but sometimes it is for the greater good that we do,” he said.
A COVID-19 vaccination clinic that was scheduled for Friday at the United Congregational Church of Orford has been canceled due to illness, church officials said.
They plan to reschedule it soon, according to the church’s Facebook page.
Elsewhere, Hartford High School at 37 Highland Ave. in White River Junction is slated to have walk-in vaccine clinics for people ages 12 and older clinics on Mondays and Thursdays from 4 to 7 p.m. All three authorized vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson will be available.
Valley News staff writer John Gregg contributed to this report. Nora Doyle-Burr can be reached at ndoyleburr@vnews.com or 603-727-3213.
