Another 361 New Positive COVID-19 Test Results In New Hampshire

CONCORD, NH — State health officials announced Sunday that New Hampshire had another 361 new positive COVID-19 test results including 50 children.

The new cases were discovered after more than 8,000 polymerase chain reaction test specimens were collected Saturday with about 650 outstanding coronavirus tests and anywhere from 9,200 to 12,100 specimens collected earlier in the week. The daily positivity rate was 2.2 percent.

Slightly less than 14,700 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since March while nearly 10,900 have recovered. A little more than 3,300 are currently diagnosed with the virus.

The state is still investigating 20 of the new cases but of those cases with completed information, 171 were female, according to the State Joint Information Center. Seventy-six of the new patients live in Rockingham County while 46 reside in Hillsborough County outside of Manchester and Nashua, 40 live in Merrimack County, and 27 live in Nashua.

"None of the new cases had no identified risk factors," the state said. "Community-based transmission continues to occur in the state and has been identified in all counties. 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 are associated with an outbreak setting."

Sixty-nine Granite Staters are in the hospital receiving more extensive case for the virus. Since the start of the pandemic in March, 814 or about 6 percent have been hospitalized.

Nearly 385,000 New Hampshire residents have been tested via PCR test while almost 33,000 have been tested by antibody test.

Nearly 6,000 people are under public health monitoring and the state has not completed residency location investigations on 169 cases, according to data.

Currently, Manchester has the most active cases in the state at 316 with Nashua at 314. Salem has 95 cases, Bedford 80, and Concord 73. Portsmouth has 68 cases while Londonderry has 59, Merrimack 51, and Windham 50. Hampton has 43 current cases while Exeter has 34, Milford has 29, and Amherst has 19. North Hampton has less than five.

Other state data, including school infection updates, was not available due to maintenance on the state's data dashboards. They are expected to be updated by Monday afternoon.

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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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