More Than 150 In NH Being Monitored For Coronavirus: Update

CONCORD, NH — More than 150 people in New Hampshire are now under "public health monitoring" for the new coronavirus, according to state officials. Health officials held a press briefing Sunday to speak about two new presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 while also announcing that two other suspected cases in Grafton County have been confirmed positive by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While monitoring both confirmed and presumptive positive cases, and people who have been around those infected, officials are requesting residents who returned from affected areas of the world to self-isolate and everyone else to take the necessary preventative measures and precautions to stem infections.

In offering more details about a third case in the Upper Valley, Dr. Benjamin Chan, the state's epidemiologist, said while not wanting to get too deep into the timeline, the man contracted the virus, from the state's second infected individual, while attending a church service in Lebanon March 1. At the time, the second individual didn't know they had been exposed to the virus and hadn't exhibited symptoms.

The second patient contracted the virus from the state's first patient at a private event in White River Junction, Vermont, on Feb. 28, after the first patient exhibited symptoms and was told to self-quarantine but didn't. The first patient is currently in forced quarantine and being monitored at the direction of Lori Shibinette, the commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, after she declared a state public health incident.

The first patient previously traveled to Italy and works at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. State officials wouldn't say whether or not the third patient was a Dartmouth-Hitchcock employee and wouldn't reveal residential or employment community information of the second or third patient, citing privacy laws. Chan said the new detections didn't indicate a wider transmission spread of the virus from the initial first case.

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Approximately 60 people were at the church service on March 1, and the state communicating with and monitoring those parishioners.

Vermont had also announced its first presumptive positive but that case does not appear to be connected to the Upper Valley cases, according to Chan.

"Over the last week, we have tested more than 40 individuals in our public health laboratories for this new disease," Chan said. "About half of those tests were conducted (Saturday). So, we are certainly ramping up testing in our public health laboratories and we certainly expect more testing to be conducting in the coming days and weeks and, potentially, additional positive tests."

In this video clip, Elizabeth Daley, the chief of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control, and Dr. Benjamin Chan, the state's epidemiologist, talk about the cases in New Hampshire and the state's investigatory processes.

Limited information is known about a fourth case from Rockingham County since the division of public health's investigatory process started Saturday on the patient, a man, who exhibited symptoms after returning from Italy.

Chan reiterated that the best way Granite Staters could protect themselves was to self-isolate for at least two weeks after returning from affected areas or if you are sick or exhibit symptoms as you would with a cold of flu, covering your mouth while coughing and sneezing, staying at least 6 feet away from anyone who might have symptoms, disinfecting common areas like rooms and highly contaminated objects like doorknobs, and frequently washing your hands.

Chan said health officials have learned from their investigations that patients can have the coronavirus hours or days before exhibiting symptoms — making it all the more imperative to take the precautionary steps to prevent infections.

More than 50 people have been tested in New Hampshire and the state has testing capacity for about 150 more, Chan said. The CDC is working to expand that capacity and hospitals around the state are also stepping up their capacity to test, he added.

Elizabeth Daly, the chief of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control, said officials conducted about 8,000 investigations of residents each year who contract or have infectious diseases so the bureau was prepared for the expansive undertaking of the COVID-19 investigatory process.

That process included interviews with patients to find out everyone they may have been in contact with or any place they may have visited. After that, investigators conduct interviews with the people the patients may have interacted with before and after exhibiting symptoms. They then offer warnings and guidance to all of those people connected to the patients so they can be aware of the symptoms and actions they should take if they become sick.

"This process, of our contact investigations, is what we do every day," Daly said. "This is the bread-and-butter of public health."

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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