Travel restrictions to loosen
Vermont plans to ease travel restrictions next week as the hospitality sector continues to struggle under the network of rules meant to counter the pandemic.
Effective on Wednesday, counties from seven more states will be included in Vermont’s quarantine-free travel policy, Gov. Phil Scott announced Friday. Currently, the policy lifts the 14-day quarantine requirement for travel to and from counties in New England and New York with less than 400 active cases of COVID-19 per one million residents. Next week, that will expand to include counties below this threshold in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia.
“Our hospitality sector and the thousands of jobs it provides Vermonters has been one of the worst hit by this pandemic, and even as we’ve reopened, it hasn’t been enough to help them make ends meet or put all of their employees back to work,” Scott said in a statement. “With this data-based approach to determine low-risk counties, we can welcome more people to Vermont and support these jobs while continuing to limit the spread of the virus in Vermont.”
Throughout the spring, the governor has continued to loosen restrictions as Vermont’s COVID-19 data continues to be favorable to reopening, despite two small clusters of new cases in Rutland and Windham Counties. A recent outbreak in Winooski now appears to be under control. Despite that, the Scott administration has still been cautious heading into travel season amid the growing number of cases throughout the country.
Moving forward, the biggest need for hospitality establishments is for restrictions to be eased while allowing for travelers from major markets to safely come to Vermont. Within that, they need travel to flow freely again between Boston and New York City - the two biggest providers of tourism for the state. Clearly, restrictions are preventing that as the pandemic is still with us, but both of those urban markets have made steady progress against the coronavirus, and New England is heading in the right direction. With continued collaboration and support among the states, this positive trend is set to continue. Together, we await more progress in the weeks to come.
— Gareth Henderson
