85 New Cases Of Coronavirus In New Hampshire: 48-Hour Update

CONCORD, NH — Another elderly woman has died in New Hampshire due to or due to complications from the new coronavirus, according to state health officials.

The woman lived in Rockingham County, lived in a long-term care facility, and was 80 years of age or older, the State Joint Information Center reported Saturday.

According to the state, 435 people have died in New Hampshire, about 6 percent of all cases.

During the past 48 hours, 85 new positive test results for COVID-19 were reported in New Hampshire — including 11 children. The new infections bring the total accumulative number of cases in the state to 7,652. Despite the uptick in cases in recent days, the three-day average percent positive rate of tests still remains less than 2 percent — as it has since mid-June.

Some of the cases are still under investigation but most were male. Nearly one-third, 28, reside in Rockingham County while 12 live in Manchester, nine live in Merrimack County, seven live in Nashua, and five live in Hillsborough County outside of Manchester and Nashua.

Infections continue to increase in a number of local communities including Windham which saw cases increase from 10 to 19 cases to 21 cases in 48 hours. There was a recent outbreak connected to athletes in that community. Salem also saw an increase in cases from eight positive test results to 13 in 72 hours. In Concord, active cases rose from six to nine in 72 hours.

Two of the new cases required hospitalization but active hospitalizations dropped to six and accumulative hospitalizations dropped to 9 percent of all cases — 721. A few days ago, hospitalizations were 9.5 percent of cases and less than two weeks ago, it was 10 percent of cases. Twelve of the new cases had no identified risk factors.

On Thursday and Friday, specimens for 7,206 polymerase chain reaction tests were collected in New Hampshire while 110 antibody laboratory tests were also gathered. More than 229,000 people have been tested and nearly 370,000 PCR tests have been administered in New Hampshire.

Approximately, 1,950 Granite Staters 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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