Coronavirus Testing Nearly Doubles In New Hampshire: Data Update

CONCORD, NH — Nearly 24 hours after announcing its highest one-day total of testing to date, the state of New Hampshire reported Thursday that its one-day testing totals nearly doubled in a single day.

Deep inside the State Joint Information Center daily release of data, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services reported that 3,705 people were tested for COVID-19 Wednesday — up from more than 1,900 Tuesday. Part of the reason for the increase was commercial labs like Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp reporting higher testing numbers. Quest nearly doubled its testing from 1,334 to 2,527 in one day after doubling its testing capacity each day this week; LabCorp's testing has fluctuated from between 130 tests to around 600 tests all week.

Some of the testing data from the state's labs were not available in the daily briefing meaning that the numbers Friday may be revised up for Wednesday.

Health officials reported 84 new cases of the coronavirus bringing the total number of accumulated cases to 3,382 in the state. There are currently 1,984 active cases and 1,247 recovered cases, about 37 percent.

Of the new cases, three were children, 57 percent women, and 43 percent men. The state is still investigating several cases for information and residency.

Most of the new cases, 33, live in Hillsborough County while 19 are in Rockingham County. Five reside in Merrimack County.

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The residency of 33 cases is still unknown.

Only four of the new cases required hospitalization bringing the total to 303 or about 10 percent of cases with one-third of those cases, 115, still receiving care. Six of the new cases had no identified risk factors, according to contact tracing investigations.

The state also announced an additional death related to COVID-19, a woman, 60 years or older, from Hillsborough County.

Approximately 3,425 people are under public health monitoring while 39,148 people have tested negative for the coronavirus. About 543 tests are pending.

Expanded Antibody Testing

Antibody testing was announced during a news conference Wednesday but the state has been collecting antibody data at least since May 1.

Between 100 and 300 antibody tests were performed between May 1 and May 11. On Tuesday, more than 700 antibody tests were taken while more than 800 were taken Wednesday.

A tiny fraction has tested positive via the antibody tests, according to the data released Thursday.

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Weekly Summary Data Released

The state also released its weekly summary data report releasing more information about some of the new coronavirus cases during the pandemic.

According to the data, two health care workers have died from complications related to COVID-19 while 816 have become infected by the virus. About 832 people with the virus were associated with long-term care settings.

Seven people under the age of 60 have died due to the new coronavirus while 87.3 percent of deaths were people 70 years of age or older. 63.2 percent of deaths were people 80 or older.

Learn More About 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.
• Anybody who is told to self-quarantine and stay at home due to exposure to a person with confirmed or suspect COVID-19 needs to stay home and not go out into public places.
• If you are 60 years or older or have chronic medical conditions, you need to stay home and not go out.
• Avoid gatherings of 10 people or more.
• Employers need to move to telework as much as possible.
• There is increasing evidence that this virus can survive for hours or possibly even a few days on surfaces, so 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 when sick (i.e., social distancing).
• 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.

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