6 More Die Due To COVID-19 In 48 Hours In New Hampshire: Data

CONCORD, NH — During the last 48 hours, six more people have died due to the new coronavirus in New Hampshire, according to state health officials.

All six Granite Staters, four women and two men were 60 years of age or older and lived in Hillsborough County. The fatality count now stands at 373 with 17 under the age of 60 and 87 percent 70 years of age or older and 82 percent connected to long-term care settings. Six of the deaths in New Hampshire were health care workers.

"We offer our sympathies to the family and friends," the State Joint Information Center said Wednesday.

Health officials also announced 42 new positive patients bringing the total cases to 5,802 in New Hampshire. Nearly 4,500 or about 77 percent of those people have recovered from the virus.

Of the new cases, 14 live in Manchester, eight live in Nashua, six live in Hillsborough County outside of Manchester and Nashua, five reside in Rockingham County, and three live in Merrimack County.

None of the new cases required hospitalization. Currently, there are 32 people hospitalized. Since the pandemic started in March, 565 patients or about 9.7 percent of all cases required hospitalization.

Seven of the new cases have no identified risk factors meaning they were not in contact with people who were infected or did not travel. Most of the remaining cases had either close contact with a person who had a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis or were associated with an outbreak setting.

Since late January, the state has collected 140,151 specimens with 95.8 percent offering a negative result. On Monday, the state collected more than 1,900 tests including 1,131 new individuals; on Tuesday, 1,546 specimen were collected including 1,025 new people being tested.

The state has around 3,475 residents under public health monitoring.

Learn More About 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.
• Anybody who is told to self-quarantine and stay at home due to exposure to a person with confirmed or suspect COVID-19 needs to stay home and not go out into public places.
• If you are 60 years or older or have chronic medical conditions, you need to stay home and not go out.
• Avoid gatherings of 10 people or more.
• Employers need to move to telework as much as possible.
• There is increasing evidence that this virus can survive for hours or possibly even a few days on surfaces, so 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 when sick (i.e., social distancing).
• 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.

ALSO READ:

• $35M More For People Facing Eviction Due To COVID-19: Sununu
• 14 New COVID-19 Cases In New Hampshire: Data Update
• 31 New Patients Including 2 Children Catch COVID-19 In NH
• Coronavirus Outbreak Continues At Nashua's Greenbriar Healthcare
• 18 Die Due To Coronavirus In 48 Hours In New Hampshire: Data

Got a news tip? Send it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube channel.