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On Friday, we recognized the Vermonters lost to COVID-19 and sadly, since then, we’ve lost at least two more lives. Today I want to talk about one of those lives: Mary Pat Brown. 1/
Mary Pat was a mother of 6 children who she raised in Bristol with her husband. I appreciated hearing from her family, who loved their mom a great deal: “Her loss weighs heavy on us, the worst part being that we couldn’t be with her as she struggled to fight this awful virus." 2/
“Our family feels that these deaths need to have names attached to them. Maybe it will spark even one person to do better and try harder to follow guidelines for their loved ones and community. This is what would give our family comfort.” 3/
I appreciate the Browns' willingness to share their story and put a name to the very real consequences of this virus. These deaths are not just numbers. They’re people who loved their families and their communities, and who are no longer with us because of this terrible virus. 4/
This is a tragic reminder of why we’re asking Vermonters to sacrifice to slow the spread of the virus, protect the vulnerable and keep families like Mary Pat’s whole. I know many of you stepped up from the beginning and I thank you for your help, even when it’s hard. 5/
There are some who want to do the right thing but don’t see the risk in getting together. But with the amount of virus in our communities right now, even your trusted friends and households are at much higher risk and may not know they have the virus. 6/
Maybe you just aren’t worried about getting the virus. You’re young/healthy, you can work remotely or you just don’t think it’s a big deal. But you never know if you’re going to be the domino that leads to a nursing home outbreak or pushes an entire school to remote learning. 7/
Enough of these dominoes put our health care facilities at risk. Protecting our family and friends is in our hands and we all have a role to play. So I’m asking you to help by avoiding getting together with people outside your households and not travel this week. 8/
Unfortunately, we know some will still get together and schools have asked for help. @VTEducation will direct schools to ask students or parents if they were part of multi-family gatherings and if the answer is yes, they'll need to go remote for 14 days or 7 days and a test. 9/
We also advise businesses to consider asking employees to quarantine if they don't adhere to gathering restrictions. This isn't a way around the ban or an excuse to get together. The more we adhere to this policy, the faster we’ll lower case counts & ease up on restrictions. 10/
And the VPA is aware (based on current data) that we must unfortunately postpone the start of school sports until further notice (we’ll review weekly). I hope adults realize the need to sacrifice to give our kids these experiences and keep them in school as much as possible. 11/
We’ve spent a lot of time recently talking about those who aren’t following the guidance, so I want to recognize the many more who are doing the right thing. While we’ve seen record growth, we still lead the nation in the lowest number of cases/deaths & that’s because of you. 12/
I know asking you to sacrifice yet again is frustrating. But there is light at the end of the tunnel and we’ll get there. The sacrifices we make today and in the next few weeks will ensure we get to the end faster, stronger and in a better position than any other state. 13/
