Laura Mauldin came to the Middlebury Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference from New York City in mid-August prepared to be vigilant against infection from Covid-19.
The sociologist and nonfiction writer brought N95 masks that she wore during indoor gatherings on Bread Loaf’s Ripton campus, and she ate all her meals outdoors.
Despite those efforts, she started feeling very sick on Friday as the conference was ending, becoming one of 28 participants who organizers said had reported a positive Covid test.
“I tried to do everything as an individual that I could do to protect myself,” Mauldin said in an interview Monday, adding that it was her first bout with Covid-19. “But there is no amount of me doing my individual best that can overcome a failure of community policy.”
The conference’s current Covid-19 policies mirror those of its affiliate, Middlebury College, which starts orientation for new students next week. Both entities say they follow guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and rely on individuals to manage their own testing and to voluntarily mask and isolate themselves when symptoms appear.
“By focusing on individual responsibility and CDC guidance, we haven’t needed special isolation spaces, meal delivery or other supports that were utilized in earlier stages of the pandemic,” explained Mark Peluso, the college’s chief health officer, in a video recording for summer students.
That approach did not stop the virus from spreading among Bread Loaf’s 272 participants throughout the 10-day annual conference, which brings together poets, novelists, memoirists and others for readings, workshops and pitch sessions with literary agents.
“To keep the community safe and try to slow the spread of the virus, those who could safely leave the campus were asked to do so,” said director Jennifer Grotz in an email to VTDigger. A few who could not leave were given an option to isolate in place. Conference organizers are not aware of any hospitalizations resulting from an illness, she said.
All participants who did leave were able to participate remotely in one-on-one sessions via Zoom and were provided with audio and video recordings of other events, she said. They are also being offered prorated tuition, room and board.
The reports of illness began after three days of the conference and then kept on coming. An email from Grotz to participants on Sunday morning, Aug. 20, said that two participants had tested positive, updated a few hours later to three. By late Monday afternoon, Aug. 21, after three more updates, the count was up to six cases.
The following day, on Aug. 22, Grotz shared with attendees that she had become concerned enough to meet with Peluso and Middlebury President Laurie Patton Tuesday morning “to seek information and guidance as we navigate our remaining days on the mountain.”
That email repeated a strong encouragement to mask in indoor spaces but added that “Dr. Peluso reassures us that the current variant of COVID-19, called EG.5, is slightly more transmissible than previous Omicron variants, but all indications are that its effects are not as severe as previous strains.”
In continuing the conference as planned, Grotz said in the email to participants that Bread Loaf was following CDC guidelines, “none of which suggest that we should cancel the conference early or that doing so would minimize further cases.”
An email on Thursday afternoon revealed that at that point, 26 cases had been reported, but the rate of new cases appeared to be declining. “Despite the sense of concern the virus has generated, amazing readings, lectures, classes, and workshops have continued to take place on the mountain, which is an astonishing feat,” Grotz wrote. Two additional cases were later reported, including Mauldin’s.
As of Monday afternoon, those cases had not been reported to the Vermont Department of Health, according to department spokesperson Ben Truman. Such reporting is required only of certain entities, such as long-term care facilities, hospitals and child care centers.
However, the department asks businesses and event organizers to contact the department “so that we are aware of potential situations, and can take any needed action to investigate,” he said. “We would also provide guidance to organizers for managing any disease outbreak and health information to any individuals who may be affected.”
Department of Health officials have in recent weeks been keeping a close eye on rising rates throughout the country and in Vermont, where hospital admissions have increased.
Mauldin is just one of several attendees who have criticized the conference publicly on social media. Other commenters pointed to literary conferences held earlier in the summer with more robust policies that required masking and Covid-19 testing prior to arrival.
As a professor who writes and teaches about disabilities, Mauldin said that she is particularly aware of the risk the virus still poses to many people, particularly those with compromised immune systems.
“When I looked at their Covid protocols, it was clear to me that disabled or chronically ill people were not prioritized,” Mauldin said. “When we don’t prioritize them, we’re saying that we’re OK with either leaving them out or with harming them.”
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August 29, 2023 at 06:22AM
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Covid-19 spread during Middlebury Bread Loaf conference - VTDigger
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