58 New Positive New Coronavirus Cases In New Hampshire: Update

CONCORD, NH — Health officials in the state of New Hampshire reported the highest number of new positive COVID-19 cases in the state Saturday in nearly three months, according to the State Joint Information Center.

The state reported 58 new positive cases of the new coronavirus including four children. The new cases were split by gender 50-50. Sixteen of the new cases live in Strafford County — the most reported from that county in many months. Eleven live in Manchester, nine reside in Rockingham County, five live in Hillsborough County outside of Manchester and Nashua, and five live in Merrimack County.

During the past six days, the town of Durham, the home of University of New Hampshire, has gone from between one and four patients to 27 cases. Cases nearly tripled in three days, according to the state's data dashboard. The state did not release any information about the new cases in Durham or report if there was a coronavirus outbreak at UNH.

More than 29 percent of the new cases have no identified risk factors, according to the state.

"Of those with complete risk information, most of the cases have either had close contact with a person with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis or have recently traveled," the state said.

Nine people are currently hospitalized.

On Friday, 3,391 polymerase chain reaction tests were collected while Thursday's numbers were upgraded to 5,071 from 4,445 reported Friday. Slightly more than 346,000 PCR tests have been collected during the pandemic from nearly 219,000 Granite Staters. More than 30,000 antibody tests have been collected, according to the state.

Negative test results remain at around 98 percent of all PCR tests.

Approximately 1,625 people are under public health monitoring.

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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.

• 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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