Coronavirus Self-Quarantine Ends For Some In NH — With No Illness

CONCORD, NH — State officials reported Tuesday that while it was monitoring 228 people in New Hampshire, "a number of individuals" have completed their quarantines and are currently showing no signs of illness. Some include residents "who participated in school trips to impacted areas," according to Jake Leon, a public information officer for the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.

"The cooperation and compliance of these individuals and their families has prevented potential spread of COVID-19," he said. "We thank them for exercising these important preventive measures that protect the health of their neighbors and communities."

As of 9 a.m. Tuesday, 68 people in New Hampshire have provided specimens to the state with 53 testing negative. Ten tests are pending, according to officials.

A second Rockingham County man has tested as a presumptive positive after coming into contact with a patient in Massachusetts. There are now three presumptive positives and two confirmed positives with coronavirus in New Hampshire.

Insurance Commissioner Orders Coverage

Gov. Chris Sununu announced the state's insurance commissioner had issued an order requiring the state's health insurers to cover services associated with testing for the virus without cost-sharing Tuesday. Chris Nicolopoulos, the commissioner, will also take a series of related measures designed to promote early detection and access to prevention, treatment, and recovery services, the governor said.

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"Several insurance companies operating in New Hampshire have been very proactive in their efforts to combat the coronavirus outbreak," Sununu said, "and this Order will help more New Hampshire consumers feel confident that they can access necessary services without cost acting as a barrier."

The order, which can be read fully here, directs insurers to keep their members informed with accurate information, provide coverage, utilize telemedicine, when possible, make sure patients have access to prescriptions and maintain an adequate supply of medications.

"It is important to remove actual or perceived barriers to testing and treatment for New Hampshire residents," Nicolopoulos said. "We do not want anyone to be reluctant to seek medical services due to anticipated costs. If people are getting the care that they need, we may be able to mitigate overall costs to the health insurance markets."

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The decision comes about five days after one of Sununu's potential gubernatorial opponents, District 2 Executive Councilor Andru Volinsky, called on the governor to have insurers waive fees, provide aid to make testing free for the uninsured, and ensure residents on Medicaid also had no copay for testing.

School Trip Planning Guidance

Health officials along with the New Hampshire Department of Education have issued a trip planning guidance advisory for schools in the state which recommends avoiding travel to Level 2 (Japan) and Level 3 (China, Iran, Italy, South Korea) countries — as well as other countries "with rapidly increasing case counts and evidence of more sustained or widespread community transmission, which includes a number of countries such as France, Germany, Spain, etc."

The memorandum, which can be viewed in full here, also recommends New Hampshire students stay out of communities in the United States with high levels of COVID-19. Some of those communities include King and Snohomish Counties in Washington State, Santa Clara County in California, and Westchester County in New York.

"Because of the rapidly changing global epidemic, it is difficult to provide exact guidance, but we recommend that any school closely scrutinize the purpose and destination of any planned travel and consider postponing any out-of-state travel for the time-being," the memorandum advised.

Data from China, the report stated, was showing people 60 and older are at are "at increased risk of serious health complications and even dying if they become ill with COVID-19." Older adults and those with other medical conditions, whether traveling with students or alone, should consult health care providers before any domestic or international travel and consider postponing travel to minimize their risk.

What Is COVID-19?

COVID-19 is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that's a close cousin to the SARS and MERS viruses that have caused outbreaks in the past. Like all respiratory illnesses, it is spread through respiratory droplets. State officials reminded residents to take "the same precautions as those recommended to prevent the spread of" the flu and common colds. If you're sick, stay a home and avoid public places, cover your mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, wash hands frequently, with soap, for at least 20 seconds, stay away from people who are sick, don't share drinks, smoking or vaping devices, or other utensils or objects that may transmit saliva, and 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.

For more news about the coronavirus from around the United States, visit the Across America Patch COV-19 Roundup site.

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