Another COVID-19 Death In Merrimack County; 57 More Test Positive

CONCORD, NH — Another person has died and 57 more positive test results have been revealed by health officials in New Hampshire on Monday.

The most recent death related to COVID-19 involved a woman who was 80 years of age or older and connected to a long-term care setting in Merrimack County. She is the 468th fatality in the state.

About two-thirds of the new positive test results were discovered via polymerase chain reaction tests with the rest by antigen tests. Slightly less than 4,900 specimens were collected Sunday while 945 tests are pending. Prior test collection numbers were increased slightly from numbers reported last week to bring the positivity rate for Monday to 1.1 percent.

A little more than half of the 57 new cases were male while four were children. Fourteen reside in Rockingham County, 12 live in Merrimack County, eight live in Hillsborough County outside of Manchester and Nashua, and five live in Nashua.

New Hampshire has had 9,746 accumulative positive test results with 1,020 active cases — the most since mid-June. About 85 percent of the people, 8,258, have recovered from the virus.

"No new hospitalized cases were reported," the State Joint Information Center said. "There are currently 16 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19. One of the new cases had no identified risk factors."

Identified risk factors include close contact with a person with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis, someone who has recently traveled, or an associated outbreak setting like a long-term care facility.

Nearly 315,000 people have been tested via PCR tests while more than 543,000 tests have been issued.

Approximately 4,175 people are under public health monitoring by the state.

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School Info Update

A number of schools reported new cases on Monday.

The Gilsum STEAM Academy reported its first case; the Merrimack Middle School reported its second active case; the Riddle Brook Elementary School in Bedford has its fourth active case with three recoveries; and St. John Regional School in Concord has its first case.

There are 107 active positive infections connected to K-12 schools and school activities in New Hampshire.

Flu, Pneumonia Death Rates In NH

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, New Hampshire has one of the lowest death levels for COVID-19 in the nation — 42nd, with 468 deaths, with New York City first at 20,826 and Massachusetts ninth on the list with 8,128.

So far in 2020, more than 9,300 Granite Staters have died due to various reasons. Of those deaths, 554 were due to pneumonia with or without COVID-19. Only 120 deaths involving COVID-19 also had pneumonia. Those people, however, did not have the flu. About 31 people died in 2020 due to influenza — with or without COVID-19 or pneumonia. According to the data, 906 Granite Staters, or about 10 percent of deaths in the state, involved COVID-19, influenza, or pneumonia.

In the United States, according to the CDC site, there have been 206,172 deaths involving COVID-19 — less than 10 percent of the 2.2 million people who have died so far in 2020.

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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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