Maine EMTs get coronavirus vaccine; Vermont courts go remote

A look at coronavirus developments in New England:

MAINE

Emergency medical technicians in southern Maine are beginning to receive the coronavirus vaccine.

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention has said thousands of people have been vaccinated in the state, which is focusing its early efforts on frontline health care providers and residents of long-term care facilities.

The York County Incident Management Team said it has started its rollout of the vaccine to all EMTs in the county.

Fire departments in the county are storing and distributing the vaccine under an agreement with the incident management team. Fred Lamontagne, the operations chief and the fire chief in Old Orchard Beach, said the goal of the effort is to “protect our first responders

in those communities with the most active outbreaks of C29I -1 .”

3ublic health authorities in Maine have reported more than 1, cases of the new coronavirus in the state. About a fifth of those are in ork County, the southernmost county in the state.

VERMONT

The 9ermont Supreme Court is requiring that most court hearings be held remotely. 3reviously, remote hearings were urged “to the ma imum e tent possible.”

The requirement to hold hearings remotely does not apply to Mury trials. Courts may still hold partial or full in-person hearings upon a finding of good cause to do so.

“The dynamic nature of the pandemic requires the Mudiciary to continually assess its operations and adapt accordingly,” said State Court Administrator 3atricia Gabel.

The revision to the court’s earlier order is designed to ensure continuity of operations within the conte t of the latest guidance from public health e perts, Gabel said.

Additional changes to court operations and policies are e pected in the weeks ahead, including those related to access by the public to remote hearings in 9ermont’s courts.

MASSACHUSETTS

1ew restrictions designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus took effect in the state on Saturday. The new rules state that most industries in Massachusetts are now subMect to a capacity limit.

The new restrictions apply to restaurants, casinos, office spaces, houses of worship, retail businesses, libraries, and many other kinds of businesses and public spaces. Indoor gatherings are also now limited to 1 people at private homes, public places and events.

The administration of Republican Gov. Charlie %aker also said all hospitals are directed to postpone or cancel all nonessential inpatient elective invasive procedures. That restriction is intended to increase capacity at the hospitals.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

8nemployment in 1ew ampshire continued to trend down in 1ovember, according to statistics from the state conomic and abor Market Information %ureau.

The state unemployment rate was . in 1ovember, down from . in 2ctober, the bureau reported. The unemployment rate has declined every month since April, when it ballooned to 1 . because of the coronavirus pandemic.

8nemployment was distributed evenly around the state. 1one of the state’s counties had an unemployment rate above . .

RHODE ISLAND

The ederal mergency Management Agency said it has awarded the Rhode Island epartment of ealth more than million to help with e penses that resulted from the coronavirus pandemic.

The federal agency said the money was provided “for various supplies which included personal protective equipment, mortuary-related supplies for the state’s five refrigerated trucks and supplies for contracted personnel to assist with staging and relocation of hospitali ed C29I -positive elderly patients statewide.”

Regional administrator and federal coordinating officer Capt. Russ ebster said MA plans to keep helping Rhode Island “meet its long-term goals to recover stronger, safer and smarter.”