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Vermont Business Magazine “The internet is necessary infrastructure that is essential for Vermonters to stay safe when they shelter at home during a crisis, such as the COVID-19 emergency,” said June Tierney, the Commissioner of the Department of Public Service. Today, the Department released a draft of its Emergency Broadband Access Plan, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The draft plan lays out a strategy and action steps for how to get internet service to the nearly 70,000 business and residential locations or about 23% of the state that presently do not have access at speeds at or above 25/3 Mbps. Broadband is defined as 25/3 Mbps. Universal access to broadband will help improve the lives of those who struggle to access needed services, telecommute, learn remotely or access telemedicine.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott said on Monday that he will announce this week that some social provisions of his "Stay Home" order will be relaxed, but that the overall emergency order he signed March 13 will be extended. He said that announcement will come by May 15, the day it would have expired. The emergency order gives him the authority to enact the mitigation efforts like the "Stay Home" order. The scientific data shows that the spread of COVID-19 has at least plateaued, as the number of cases slows even with more testing. Hospitalizations associated with the novel coronavirus also continue to fall.

Vermont Business Magazine With Governor Scott's May 1 announcement of manufacturing and distribution businesses ability to resume limited operations as of May 4 as well as their impending restart on May 11 if they can meet all health and safety requirements, VMEC has invited Vermont safety professionals and manufacturing leaders to share their expertise and experience during this pandemic.

Vermont Business Magazine Rutland Economic Development Corporation (REDC) announced Tuesday that it has received authorization to offer an Emergency Loan Program through its Revolving Loan Fund to assist businesses that are impacted by COVID-19. USDA Rural Development has authorized REDC to use $150,000 from its Revolving Loan Fund for the COVID-19 Emergency Loan Program.

Vermont Business Magazine For the first time in its 73-year history, Shelburne Museum will not open for summer due to concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic, Museum Director Thomas Denenberg announced. All exhibition buildings, the grounds and the Museum Store will remain closed through the spring and summer months. Exhibitions will be canceled or postponed. Events and activities, educational programming and rental events will be canceled or rescheduled. The museum’s administrative offices are also closed, with staff working remotely until public health officials advise it is safe to return to offices.

Vermont Business Magazine There are a lot of healthy choices you can make every day, but this one feeds the soul AND others in need. The new Foodbank Farmer’s Market sock from Darn Tough in Northfield is knit to service the Vermont Foodbank, with 100 percent of its proceeds. We looked at ways we could help with COVID-19 response. The fact is, we knit, we do not cut and sew - we're not set up for that - and mask making wasn't something we could just order up and get working on. But we had socks, and we knew if there's something we could do quick, it was make more socks. Something unique to benefit people.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) announced today the promotion of longtime aide Kathryn Becker Van Haste to fill the role of State Director. Van Haste began working for Senator Sanders in 2013 in Washington, D.C. where she served on both his Senate Veterans Affairs and Budget Committee staffs. Most recently, she has worked in the Vermont office on health care and veterans' issues.

Vermont Business Magazine Effective, May 5, 2020, in accordance with Governor Phil Scott’s order, Rutland Regional Medical Center will resume outpatient surgeries and procedures, in-person physician clinic visits, and diagnostic imaging services. These services will come back on-line in a controlled and phased way while following strict protocols from the Centers for Disease Control and Vermont Department of Health.

Vermont Business Magazine Effective May 5, 2020, Rutland Regional Medical Center will now provide laboratory services at the former Affiliated Lab Services location at 65 Allen Street in Rutland. Northern Light Laboratory, the parent company of Affiliated, which is based in Maine, ceased providing lab services in Vermont on May 1, 2020.

“As soon as Affiliated alerted us about their plan to pull their operations out of Vermont back in February, we began to do the work to transition the space to a Rutland Regional Lab Draw station,” said Jonathan Reynolds, Vice President of Clinical Services at Rutland Regional Medical Center. “We have hired the majority of the Affiliated staff, so the same familiar faces will be in the lab, and we’ve acclimated Rutland Regional lab techs to the space as well.”

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan announced today that he secured from Comcast a donation of 250 Chromebooks to a Vermont school district in need. As Vermont school children have shifted to remote learning, some pupils in the Orange-East Supervisory Union (OESU) did not have reliable access to tablets or computers. The Chromebooks were delivered on Monday.

Vermont Business Magazine US Small Business Administration (SBA) announced Monday that agricultural businesses are now eligible for SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance programs. SBA’s EIDL portal has reopened and is accepting applications from agricultural businesses only as a result of funding authorized by Congress. The legislation provides additional funding for farmers and other agricultural businesses affected by COVID-19. Also Monday, Governor Scott issued an amendment to Addendum 3 to his executive order, allowing limited elective health care procedures to resume. Outpatient clinic visits and diagnostic imaging can resume immediately if providers demonstrate they are adhering to physical distancing and relevant CDC guidelines. Providers may also begin to perform outpatient surgeries and procedures that have a minimal impact on inpatient hospital bed capacity.