Vermont Gov. Phil Scott is giving schools the green light to interrogate students about their Thanksgiving activities following the break.
According to Scott, students or parents who admit to violating the state’s holiday travel and gathering rules will be forced to participate in online school for two weeks, he announced via Twitter on Tuesday. The penalty will be reduced to one week if the students in question take a COVID-19 test.
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/
— Governor Phil Scott (@GovPhilScott) November 24, 2020
The same quarantine method, Scott claimed, should apply to businesses whose employees decide to celebrate the Thanksgiving holidays with friends and family.
“This isn’t a way around the ban or an excuse to get together,” he wrote. “The more we adhere to this policy, the faster we’ll lower case counts & ease up on restrictions.”
Scott also announced that COVID-19 the cancellation of school sports until further notice, pinning the responsibility of mitigating coronavirus spread on parents of school-age children.
“I hope adults realize the need to sacrifice to give our kids these experiences and keep them in school as much as possible,” he wrote.
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/
— Governor Phil Scott (@GovPhilScott) November 24, 2020
Scott echoed promises made by other politicians around the country in March, claiming that making sacrifices now would make future circumstances better.
“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,” he wrote. “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.”
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/
— Governor Phil Scott (@GovPhilScott) November 24, 2020
During a press conference on Tuesday, Scott threatened that he has “a lot of tools in the toolbox” and could use them if the virus continues to spread in his state.
Just this week, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown encouraged citizens to call the police on their neighbors who violate her latest executive order, which includes a six-person limit from two households maximum on in-home gatherings. People who violate Brown’s orders this Thanksgiving could face misdemeanor penalties of up to 30 days in jail, fines of up to $1,250, or both.
