MERIDEN — Kimball Union Academy is reporting seven active cases of COVID-19, the most it has had since the pandemic began, according to the private boarding school’s website.
The new cases are linked to another the Meriden school reported in late February, KUA spokeswoman Tricia McKeon said via email Tuesday. Because the people who recently tested positive were already in quarantine, the new cases required no changes to the school’s operating procedures, she said.
KUA’s campus remains in a “heightened monitoring” phase, which includes twice-daily health screenings and a reduction in the occupancy levels of spaces. In-person classes on campus continue, however.
KUA had previously reported one other case of COVID-19 in August.
There also was a recent case of COVID-19 in a student at Woodstock Union High School, according to Sherry Sousa, the Windsor Central Supervisory Union superintendent. No change in operations was necessary as result, Sousa said in an email.
WEST LEBANON — As many as 20 people showed up at the former JCPenney building in the Upper Valley Plaza on Tuesday expecting to get their second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine before learning the state’s Lebanon vaccination site was closed for the day, according to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.
Former state Sen. Martha Hennessey, of Hanover, arrived to get her second shot on Tuesday and found the site closed. She drove to another site and was about to get her dose when she got a call from DHHS telling her to go to Claremont.
“You can’t make this stuff up!” she wrote on Twitter. “Could they (be) more disorganized?!”
Between 12 and 20 people were given cards in error indicating they would receive their second doses on Tuesday in West Lebanon, said Jake Leon, a DHHS spokesman, in an email. Those affected were given the option of going to the Claremont site at River Valley Community College, coming back to JCPenney on Wednesday or rescheduling for a day and location of their convenience.
“The vaccination sites in Lebanon and Claremont rotate days of operation to give equal access to each location, based on the allocation of doses and call volume each week,” Leon said.
He said Tuesday’s mix-up was an “isolated issue” and did not affect other days or sites.
BETHEL — Registration is open for upcoming Farmers to Families food box distribution events, including some in the Upper Valley.
The events include stops at the Cornerstone Baptist Church in Bethel on March 17; at the Upper Valley Aquatic Center in White River Junction on March 18; at the Agency of Transportation garage in Wells River on March 24; and at the Springfield (Vt.) Farmers Market on March 26.
Registration is required and can be done online at https://humanresources.vermont.gov/food-help. While people can pick up for more than one household, each must register separately. Registration closes at noon the day before the event.
People in the Newbury, Vt., area can also call Newbury United’s Helpline at 802-274-1120 for assistance. Bradford, Vt. residents who need assistance picking up their boxes can email bradfordresilience@gmail.com to connect with a volunteer.
LEBANON — Dartmouth-Hitchcock is slated to host a virtual discussion later this month about what people can do once they’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19.
The free March 29 event “But do I still need to wear a mask? Your guide to the COVID-19 Vaccines” is scheduled to be held via Zoom from 6 to 7 p.m.
The panel conversation is set to include Dr. Michael Calderwood, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center’s associate chief quality officer; Dr. Jonathan Thyng, D-H Nashua’s medical director; and Dr. Erik Shessler, a pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth.
People can register in advance at: https://us02web.zoom.us/…/reg…/WN_ovGHQy5DQIGCxB-coqrmJg.
Nora Doyle-Burr can be reached at ndoyleburr@vnews.com or 603-727-3213.
