MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Some unemployed Vermonters will be getting an extra $400 per week in benefits through an executive order signed by President Donald Trump.
Gov. Phil Scott announced that the state had received a nearly $36 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that will provide eligible workers up to $300 a week.
The state is hoping to use $20 million in coronavirus relief funds to pay an additional $100 per week.
Trump authorized the payments earlier this month after Congress was unable to agree on an extension to a $600 per week benefit set up to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This added benefit is another necessary step as we continue to navigate the uncertainty that this once in a century crisis brings our way,” Scott said in a Tuesday statement. “Using Corona Relief Funds to add financial security and peace of mind to those hit hardest by the pandemic is crucial in supporting our economy, communities and families.”
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PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT FOR SCHOOLS
The state of Vermont is working to provide personal protective equipment and other resources to the state’s schools.
The resources that will be provided by the Agency of Education and the State Emergency Operations Center will include PPE kits for school nurses and school COVID-19 coordinators.
The supplies will also include hand sanitizer and cloth face coverings.
Posters and other mask campaign resources will be distributed to remind and encourage all Vermonters that face coverings are required in all Vermont schools to protect students, staff and their families.
Vermont schools are preparing to open Sept. 8.
“Educators and school administrators are in the middle of a herculean effort to get ready for students to return to the classroom,” Secretary of Education Dan French said in a statement. “At the state level, we’re doing everything we can to find and provide resources to help them do this.”
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PRISON CASES
The Vermont Department of Corrections say tests for the virus that causes COVID-19 of all 455 inmates and staff at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield found no new cases.
The testing held Monday at the Springfield prison is part of the department’s plan to test everyone in Vermont prisons on a rotating basis. On Aug. 31 the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington will be tested.
The department says another Vermont inmate being held at the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Mississippi tested positive for the virus.
There have now been 185 cases of the virus among the 219 Vermont inmates being held in Mississippi. Of the inmates who were infected, 153 are now considered to be “in recovery.” Two inmates are in the infirmary, none are hospitalized and “none are exhibiting concerning symptoms.”
Interim Corrections Commissioner Jim Baker says Vermont officials hope to have access soon to the camera system at the Mississippi prison run by the company Core Civic as part of an effort to ensure “we’re doing everything in our power to bring the Vermont standard of COVID mitigation to Mississippi.”
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NUMBERS
On Wednesday, the Vermont Health Department reported for new positive tests for the virus that causes COVID-19 bringing the statewide total since the pandemic began to just under 1,580.
Of the new cases, two were reported in Rutland County, and one each in Chittenden and Bennington counties.
Four people are hospitalized across the state.
The number of deaths remains at 58.
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