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Monday, July 13, 2020

What The H... Is Wrong With Jewish Parents?

“When you have a facility that can host 600 people,” he said, “50% is 300, and that’s still a lot of people, during a pandemic, to come into a small community and stay for a long period of time coming from other places in the country, including some of the hardest-hit places, like New York City, and the surrounding communities in New Jersey and elsewhere.”

Campers unload from charter buses at Rutland’s Holiday Inn Sunday evening. Courtesy of John Faigant, Rutland Town Health Officer

A summer camp at the Holiday Inn in Rutland Town is over the capacity permitted under Vermont’s Covid-19 restrictions, according to the state.

Town offices in both Rutland and Bennington have been inundated with complaints about the camp, BRC Teens, which is currently hosting two groups of around 350 out-of-state campers — one at the Holiday Inn in Rutland, and another at the former campus of Southern Vermont College.

The camp’s Bennington branch appears to be complying with Gov. Phil Scott’s executive order, which caps summer camp occupancy at 75%. But the Rutland camp has exceeded the 50% capacity limit the state has in place for lodging establishments.

The Holiday Inn’s full capacity is 600, according to Michael Schirling, commissioner of the Department of Public Safety. With an estimated 350 to 400 campers at the hotel, BRC Teens, is over the limit. 

Vermont’s Division of Fire Safety visited the hotel Wednesday morning and issued a warning; they are expected to return Friday for another inspection, Schirling said.

Rabbi Moshe Perlstein
Rabbi Moshe Perlstein, who runs both camps, has until then to decide how to relocate 50 to 100 of the Rutland campers, and Schirling is now working with the camp director to figure out where to send them. 

Schirling said the Holiday Inn, not the camp, is responsible for coming into compliance.

The Holiday Inn declined to comment, and instead referred VTDigger to Perlstein, who did not immediately answer a request for an interview.

Schirling said the camp director is cooperating fully with the state. Perlstein also attended a Rutland Town Selectboard meeting on Tuesday night where he listened as John Faignant, the town’s health officer, listed concerns about the camp.

Faignant, who is also a selectman and constable in Rutland Town, was troubled by what he saw at the hotel when he visited Sunday evening.

The first town official to learn about Rutland’s branch of the camp, Faignant responded to a complaint on Sunday evening from a resident who told him that busloads of people were arriving at the Holiday Inn. 

Faignant interviewed one of the bus drivers, who told the health inspector that the bus had carried 50 children, and that at least five more buses were on the way. Most campers are from New York and New Jersey.

Perlstein told VTDigger on Tuesday that buses to the camp in Bennington included space for campers to socially distance from each other. He hoped to quell residents’ concerns about the approximately 15 buses that arrived on the Southern Vermont College campus over the weekend by stating that the buses were not full. 

Faignant doubts the validity of that statement based on the buses that arrived in Rutland. “That’s what the driver told me, that each bus was carrying 50 campers,” he said. “And there’s no way you could socially distance 50 campers on a bus.”

Most coach buses made by Prevost, the company that produces the buses shown in photos taken by Faignant, hold fewer than 60 passengers.

Faignant watched and took photos on Sunday as campers, some of whom were not wearing masks, unloaded from the bus to exchange hugs and close-up greetings.

“I observed staff not wearing masks, and when they learned who I was, they put masks on,” Faignant said.

Perlstein has said each camper was required to take a Covid-19 test days before traveling to Vermont. Campers’ results were negative, and those who had positive results were not allowed to come, he said. Faignant questioned whether all the tests were recent enough, and planned to meet with the camp director Thursday evening to review records of the tests.

Both the health officer and Joshua Terenzini, president of the Rutland Town Selectboard, are concerned about the potential for Covid-19 to spread from such a large gathering into the surrounding community.

He’s also concerned that splitting campers into two groups and transporting them elsewhere in town to reduce occupancy at the hotel, per the Department of Public Safety’s request, would be “counterproductive,” as it could endanger additional members of the community.
Terenzini has been fielding calls and messages from concerned citizens around Rutland County this week.

“My phone, my Facebook, Town Hall’s phone, our other board members, City Hall in Rutland City, Mayor Dave Allaire,” he said, “we have all been inundated with comments and concerns and questions and frustrations and fears, which I think are pretty realistic.”

Terenzini is concerned for the hotel staff, which he says has been reduced, who will engage with other community members.

“We’re very concerned for them,” he said. “We’re concerned for the loved ones they go home to, we’re concerned for the grocery store workers they come in contact with. We’re concerned for the community, that this could be the way it’s transmitted out of the facility.”

Terenzini said the town wishes Scott would reconsider the 50% occupancy requirement for hotels, and instead base the occupancy cap on the size of the institution. While he thinks the rule, as it stands, makes sense for small bed-and-breakfast-style inns, he feels large hotels should be more restricted.

“When you have a facility that can host 600 people,” he said, “50% is 300, and that’s still a lot of people, during a pandemic, to come into a small community and stay for a long period of time coming from other places in the country, including some of the hardest-hit places, like New York City, and the surrounding communities in New Jersey and elsewhere.”

Bennington town officials released a statement yesterday detailing actions the town has taken to ensure compliance with Scott’s executive order, including a cap on 75% occupancy at summer camps.

Given the camp’s reported number of 350 campers, the camp is well within occupancy of Southern Vermont College’s campus, which has an occupancy of around 1,000 people, Schirling said.

Some Bennington residents are frustrated that state officials have relied on the camp director’s word, and have not attempted to otherwise verify the number of campers, their negative Covid-19 tests, or whether campers and staff members are socially distancing and wearing masks.

“If there are reasonable grounds to believe someone’s in violation of an executive order, then we send a variety of different entities depending on the circumstances to check in on that,” Schirling said. “There’s been no information coming out of Bennington to indicate that they are not in compliance with the health and safety guidance.”

The town’s statement, written by Bennington Selectboard Chair Don Campbell and Stuart Hurd, town manager, also mentioned a blog post — titled “Jackson NJ Lawbreaker Sets Up Sketchy Summer Camp in Vermont?”— by an organization called Rise Up Ocean County that circulated recently. The group has been under scrutiny by New Jersey officials and anti-hate watchdog groups for anti-Semitic and racist comments that appeared on its Facebook page.

“Earlier this year, the governor of New Jersey identified Rise Up Ocean County as an anti-Semitic group and their Facebook page was taken down due to their hateful messages about the Jewish community,” the statement reads. “The town of Bennington does not condone any hateful rhetoric and strives to create a welcoming and safe environment for all.”

Terenzini said his reluctance about Perlstein and the camp is centered on health concerns and its alignment in timing with Covid-19.

“In normal times, without a pandemic, we would roll out the red carpet for him and his youth,” he said. “We would celebrate with him and we would welcome him to Rutland Town. But this has everything to do with the health and safety of our community. We want them here during normal circumstances, but this is a pandemic!

https://vtdigger.org/2020/07/09/camp-at-rutland-hotel-exceeds-covid-19-capacity-limits-state-says/

9 comments:

Agudah Fresser Politburo said...

Chaim Dovid Zweibel has some sense of imagination! And his novel interpretations are even more novel than the coronavirus itself! When the Federal Judge noted that by the time the Fressers sued Cuomo the Jews were the only ones still fighting to get into overnight camps, which was clearly not meant as shevach, Zweibel twists this into WOW we Agudah Fressers are making such a "Kiddush" Hashem (sic)!

Filthydelphia said...

Old Shmuel Kaminetzky must be sitting on Pinny Lipschutz's head to make sure that the Yated and Matzav.com are becoming increasingly more unhinged in the anti-vaxx pro-corona infection direction.

Pinny has been upping the ante as each week goes by. Now he is editorializing in the headlines to mock public health officials who are calling for lockdowns as infection rates skyrocket out of control.

And the Philly boys must be flooding the Matzav comments section instead of learning in their illegal, clandestine yeshiva in Kiryas Yoel. The comments are full of anti-vaxx and Cuomo-bashing drivel. One lunatic writes that hospitals are manufacturing fake infection counts because they are being paid big bucks as part of a larger conspiracy. Another chuchem writes that coronavirus is not even a disease.

Kings College London verifies report on UOJ said...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/12/immunity-to-covid-19-could-be-lost-in-months-uk-study-suggests

Vos zogt UOJ? said...

What's pshat that Cuomo just folded like a cheap camera to Trump's threats on opening schools? I know they are both politicians that the economy comes before pikuach nefesh to them, but where are Cuomo's 'Progressive' bonafides that if Trump says A he does B?

He is opening all NY schools and only closing them if there is a 7 day average of 9% new infections.

Is he insane?

Do you know how many people drop dead each day if the new infection rate is only 1%?

New infection rate means he is not counting the multitudes of already infected, many of whom are still contagious!

It is estimated that the real NY infection stat is not 406,000 but somewhere between 4.06 million to 8.12 million. So what are the chances that the new infection rate could ever be sustained again at 9%? Many people are eveh afraid to get tested because they are afraid of being infected at the testing sites.

Philly Sleeper Cell Infiltrates Knesset said...

Israel’s coronavirus committee voted to reopen gyms and pools against the advice of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the Health Ministry‏‏ and overruling their decision minutes earlier to leave gyms closed and allow pools to open under certain criteria.

Netanyahu met with the chairwoman of the coronavirus committee, MK Yifat Shasha Biton (Likud), prior to the vote in an effort to convince her to reject the proposal against the reopening of pools and gyms in light of the skyrocketing coronavirus infection rate.

Likud coalition whip Miki Zohar whispered to Shasha-Biton immediately after the vote: “You’re finished in the Likud and I’m ousting you as chairwoman. Have a nice life.”

Minutes later, Zohar sent a letter to the House Committee head announcing his intention to replace Shasha-Biton as chairwoman of the coronavirus committee.

The Health Ministry says that the conditions at gyms, including crowding, close quarters, heat, humidity, heavy breathing [due to exercising], and shared equipment as well as the conditions at swimming pools, including the inability to wear masks, crowding, splashing, crowding, difficulty in maintaining social distancing and hygiene, will lead to an increase in virus infections.

Paul Mendlowitz said...

What's pshat that Cuomo just folded like a cheap camera to Trump's threats on opening schools?


****

Stam geplapalt --- tomorrow everything could change. Testing the troubled waters for reaction.

Video of Zhlob Perlstein said...

https://www.wcax.com/content/news/Out-of-compliance-camp-group-to-remain-at-Rutland-hotel-for-now-571709291.html

he lucked out finding this slimy Indian hotel owner to sneak him in under everyone's noses

This Holiday Inn location has been slapped with criminal charges in the past for safety hazards

Lies are a Mitzvah when ensuring Agudah Fresser principles said...

it's almost 400 at the hotel & Perlstein put another 400 at the college campus

https://www.timesargus.com/opinion/editorials/bursting-the-bubble/article_df7640f9-7ba6-531a-a8e3-60da2ed5c1a6.html

Rabbi Moshe Perlstein, of Zichron Chaim Cong., told officials his “campers” will not be leaving the premises while attending camps during the next 3 weeks.

Social media & eyewitnesses who reached out to the newspaper, suggest otherwise. Sources claim the young people have been in local stores & businesses.

The public is not just concerned, they're scared.

We believe they have a right to be.

State & local officials also believe Perlstein is in violation on safe distancing & pandemic guidelines. He has until Friday to come up with a plan to remedy.

We first heard about the “camp” when a reliable source reached out seeking confirmation from us. The scenario – 350+ young people & staff from New York & New Jersey had been bused to Rutland for a religious camp at the Holiday Inn for the month – sounded too outrageous to be true.

When we confirmed officials were investigating & all indications were it's true, we had the same questions everyone's having:

How did this happen?

Is our community vulnerable to a health risk?

Who knew they were coming?

How did officials not know they were coming?

Does this prove enforcing quarantine & monitoring a pandemic is impossible? Is it an honor system?

And what happens now?

Individuals in Rutland have spent months protecting themselves from the virus to protect their families who are more susceptible.

But they're justifiably upset the rules have been broken. And those actions have kicked open the door of uncertainty.

Is it safe shop at the grocery store?

Town officials are unimpressed that 350+ students & staff hailing from a hot spot for coronavirus are visiting.

There's a system in place: quarantine, enforcement. We should trust the process will work.

We feel angry & betrayed that there's arrogance at play that the organizers feel the best opportunity was — unannounced & unsolicited — to arrive in a community where residents were safe — and through vague responses & false pretenses — assume it's all right with everyone.

Arrogance in a pandemic has a price.

Shmuel Kaminetzky said...

Koifer!

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz called on the government to impose a full nationwide lockdown for ten days to stem the skyrocketing infection rate in an interview with Ynet on Monday.