11 More COVID-19 Deaths, 667 Positive Tests In New Hampshire

CONCORD, NH — State officials announced Tuesday that another 11 New Hampshire residents have died due to or related to COVID-19.

Seven, four women and three men, were all residents of Hillsborough County while a woman and man lived in Merrimack County and a woman and man lived in Rockingham County. Six lived in long-term care settings while six were 80 years of age or older, three were between 70 and 79, and two were between 60 and 69 years of age. There have been 792 fatalities due to COVID-19 in New Hampshire. Of those deaths, 78.4 percent have been from long-term care settings while 88.8 percent were 80 years of age or older.

The state also reported 667 new positive test results for coronavirus with 240 found by antigen test and a polymerase positivity rate of 6.6 percent. The overall seven-day test positivity rate is 8.7 percent. The new infections were found from specimens taken during four days: 111 on Dec. 29, bringing the case count for that day to 1,091, or the third highest one-day total for cases in the state. Another 83 positive infections were from tests taken on Dec. 30 while 133 were taken Sunday and 340 on Monday.

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The state has 6,480 active cases of coronavirus and 47,992 accumulative cases.

Of the new cases, half were female and half were male while 93 were children. Most of the cases resided in Rockingham County — 195, while 184 live in Hillsborough County outside of Nashua, 66 live in Merrimack County, and 38 live in Nashua. The residency of 22 new cases is still under investigation.

Manchester, the state's largest city, still has the most active cases — 698, while Nashua is second with 536. Another 324 live in Concord. Salem has 180, Bedford has 156, Londonderry has 144, Merrimack has 143, and Milford has 110 active cases. Windham has 93 active cases while Portsmouth has 91, Amherst has 86, Hampton has 59, Exeter has 45, and North Hampton has 11 active infections.

The state said 305 patients were still hospitalized and about 2 percent of all cases or 918 have needed hospitalization. Nearly two-thirds of all patients requiring hospitalization were between 60 and 80 years of age or older since the pandemic started in March while only 10 children have been hospitalized with symptoms.

Nearly 526,000 people have been tested via PCR test.

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Stop The Spread Of COVID-19

The COVID-19 virus is spread through respiratory droplets, usually through coughing and sneezing, and exposure to others who are sick or might be showing symptoms.

Health officials emphasize residents should follow these recommendations:

• Avoid any domestic and international travel, especially on public transportation such as buses, trains, and airplanes.
• Practice social distancing. Stay at least 6 feet from other people, including distancing while in waiting areas or lines.
• When you can't practice 6 feet of social distancing, wear a face covering.
• Anyone who is told to self-quarantine and stay at home due to exposure to a person with confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19 needs to stay home and not go out into public places.
• If you are 60 years or older or have chronic and underlying health conditions, you need to stay home and not go out.
• Avoid gatherings of 10 people or more.
• Employers should work from home as much as possible.
• There is increasing evidence that the virus can survive for hours or possibly days on surfaces. People should clean frequently touched surfaces, including door handles, grocery carts and grocery basket handles, etc.

Take the same precautions as you would if you were sick:

• Stay home and avoid public places.
• Wear a face covering.
• Cover mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing.
• Wash hands frequently.
• Disinfect frequently touched surfaces.

More information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services about coronavirus can be found here on the department's website.
COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Schools, Employers, Employees and Businesses (Can your employer force you to get the vaccine? It depends).
COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Healthcare Providers and Public Health Partners

• Guidance to schools can be found can be found here.
• Instructions for returning travelers to self-observe for symptoms of COVID-19 are available are available here.
• For more information on COVID-19 in NH, visit its site here.
• For the latest information from the CDC, visit its site here.
• To access the state's COVID-19 data dashboard, click on this link here.
• To access the state's COVID-19 Interactive Map Dashboard, click on this link here.

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