Mr Governor, Please Address COVID-19 As an Emergency That it Is

COVID-19 is at unprecedented highs and leadership seems determined to ride it out as Black and Brown and poor folks are hit first and worst. We sent this memo to the Governor on Oct 12th and all media outlets…

No response.

Silence reenforces the “new normal” as economics over people. Ask the governor to follow the science and handle this pandemic as an emergency, as nearly half the states in the country continue to do.

Governor’s Office
(802) 828.3333

October12, 2021
Mr. Governor,

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to severely impact citizens of Vermont. Transmission rates, daily infections, hospitalizations and deaths are nearing unprecedented highs over the past three weeks. Since the beginning of this virus, African Americans are amongst those severely impacted socially, economically and emotionally.

We as Vermonters can not morally stand and watch silently as folks continue to get sick and die at near record levels.  It is not right for us to stay on this trajectory knowing  those who are most vulnerable do not have the ability to protect themselves due to their socio-economic positions.  We have the power to do otherwise and save lives.

It is inhumane to act as observers with the callous refrain that only the unvaccinated are dying.  The facts show dozens of vaccinated Vermonters have recently perished from the COVID-19 “Delta variant.  Secondly, the breakthrough rates are approaching 20 percent!  We must consider the implications of this previously unconsidered variable in our communities.  Even if none of this was true, Vermonters are not the kind of people that silently stand by and watch their neighbors suffer and die.  Especially knowing that there is something that they can do to prevent it.  Mr. Governor, it is your constitutional duty to ensure our safety and protection.  You have not, and as a result your policy violence has  hurt our Vermont communities.

We’re asking you to consider the following recommendations:

·  Mandate the wearing of masks indoors.
·  Mandate vaccination or recurring testing of all State employees and contractors
·  Order the closure of nonessential facilities such as gyms, solons, theaters, bars, etc. (for a 30-day period)
·  Delay reentry of personnel back into offices spaces through the end of the year
·  Allocate designated ARPA funding towards those impacted sectors
·  Reinstitute essential worker financial offsets

Respectfully,

Leadership Team,
Vermont Racial Justice Alliance