35 More COVID-19 Infections In New Hampshire: 48 Hour Update

CONCORD, NH — New Hampshire youth hockey players attending a camp in Nashua in the middle of the month have contracted COVID-19.

The camp, organized by ProAmbitions and held at the Conway Arena, was held the week of Aug. 14. As of Aug. 24, according to email notifications from player orgs as well as information from parents, three players tested positive for the new coronavirus.

An email from ProAmbitions to parents from Aug. 26 stated the city's board of health had been in touch with the organization and it was working with officials to "determine close contacts and conducting social tracing and tracking."

A number of parents made accusations in emails that there were players from out of state, including Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, and limited safety protocols implemented. The Manchester Regional Youth Hockey Association also canceled practices last week due to the possible exposure and risk with some of its players, according to an email to parents.

The public information office for the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services Friday did not return an email requesting comment or information about the outbreak. Emails to ProAmbitions and the Conway Arena were not returned at post time. According to the arena's phone message, the rink is only open for private lessons and closed to public skating until November.

The hockey players may account for some of the children being infected by COVID-19 in the last few days in New Hampshire. According to the State Joint Information Center, nine of the 39 new positive test results during the past 48 hours were children and adults under 19. The latest data dashboard, however, showed only 7.8 percent of all the state's 7,254 patients were 19 years or age or younger.

Slightly more than half of the new cases were women. Eleven reside in Rockingham County while nine live in Hillsborough County outside of Manchester and Nashua, nine live in Manchester, and three live in Merrimack County.

Only one of the cases required more extensive care while the number of current patients hospitalized has dropped to six. Less than 10 percent of all cases in New Hampshire have required hospitalization. Six of the 39 had no identified risk factors.

On Friday and Saturday, 5,551 polymerase chain reaction test specimens were collected bringing the total of tests in the state 325,575 — while 209,295 Granite Staters have been tested for the new coronavirus.

Another 29,702 people have been tested for the antibody lab test.

Approximately 1,800 people are under public health monitoring.

Currently, Salem has 12 active COVID-19 infections and Bedford has 10. Merrimack has eight cases while Exeter has seven, Nashua has six, and Concord and Milford have five active cases each. Amherst, Hampton, Londonderry, North Hampton, Portsmouth, and Windham all have between one and four cases.

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.

• 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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