Coronavirus In New Hampshire: 1,031 New Cases; 11 More Deaths

CONCORD, NH — State health officials say more than 1,000 more Granite Staters have tested positive for the coronavirus during the past 48 hours.

Due to the Christmas holiday, no data was reported Friday. In a new report of data posted Saturday, which includes information from both Thursday and Friday, 1,031 new positive test results including 135 children. Slightly more than half of the new cases were male.

Most of the positive results were from antigen tests — 639, the most ever since the state began offering testing other than polymerase chain reaction tests. The specimens were collected during a six-day period: 18 new positive cases from Saturday were first reported Dec. 19; 64 are from Sunday; 80 are from Monday; 27 came in Tuesday; 562 were from tests taken on Wednesday; and 280 were from Thursday.

"Community-based transmission continues to occur in the state and has been identified in all counties," the State Joint Information Center said. "Of those with complete risk information, most of the cases are either associated with an outbreak setting or have had close contact with a person with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis."

Nearly one third of the new patients, 326, live in Rockingham County while 234 live in Hillsborough County outside of Manchester, 90 live in Nashua, and 78 live in Merrimack County. The county of residency is still being investigated on 73 new cases as well as 732 accumulative cases, according to state officials.

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The seven-day positivity rate is 8 percent.

The state health department also announced 11 new deaths related to COVID-19, bringing the total fatality count to 701 in New Hampshire. The deaths include two women and a man who lived in Hillsborough County, three women from Merrimack County, and three women and two men who resided in Rockingham County. Eight lived in long-term care settings while nine were 80 years of age or older and two were 70 to 79 years old.

The state said Saturday that 277 patients were currently hospitalized.

In New Hampshire, 39,933 have become infected with coronavirus while 33,113 or 83 percent have recovered from the infection. The state said 499,767 in the Granite State have been tested via PCR tests while 34,544 have been tested via antibody via antibody test — while 36.1 percent of all residents have been tested via 1.05 million tests.

There were no new school setting tests reported Saturday but college and university positive cases rose to 20: 18 active cases at UNH in Durham, one in New England College, and one at Plymouth State University.

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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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