The Vermont Department of Health announced 28 new coronavirus cases Saturday afternoon, bringing the statewide total to 211 people who’ve tested positive for the virus. Two more people have died from COVID-19, bringing the state total to 12.

One death was a patient at the University of Vermont Medical Center. 

The new confirmed infections represent a 15.3 percent increase over the 183 cases announced Friday — the lowest percentage increase in more than a week.

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Coronavirus

By comparison, the spike from 28 to 44 cases announced March 21 represented a 57-percent increase in infections. The updated numbers follow the state’s announcement that it had relaxed testing protocols, allowing patients with mild and moderate symptoms to get tested.

While the increase in total positive tests was lower than it has been all week, the percentage of new tests that were positive was about 24 percent — well above nearly every daily tally since the outbreak began.

Health Commissioner Mark Levine said Friday that the protocol change reflected the state’s success obtaining more testing kits, though he declined to say how many the state now possessed.

Health department data show that Chittenden County continued to have the largest number of cases in the state, at 105. Two rural counties, Essex and Grand Isle, still had none.

The department also reported that the number of people tested had increased to 2,374.