Nearly 3,200 Coronavirus Specimens Collected In NH: Data Update

CONCORD, NH — Saturday was another busy day of gathering thousands of specimens from Granite Staters testing for COVID-19 while Sunday saw one of the lowest days of new positive test results released in weeks. One new death was also reported in New Hampshire.

According to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, 2,396 polymerase chain reaction tests and 775 antibody tests were collected Saturday, the second highest day of test collection in the state since the pandemic started more than two and a half months ago. At the same time, 41 new positive test results for the new coronavirus were released by the state bringing the total accumulative count of positive patients to four shy of 3,600.

One of the new cases was a child while 63 percent were men and 37 percent women. Twenty-three of the new cases reside in Hillsborough County while nine live in Rockingham County and one in Merrimack County.

The single death case reported Sunday was a woman from Hillsborough County who was 60 years of age or older.

"We offer our sympathies to the family and friends," the State Joint Information Center said.

The death count is currently 172 cases or about 5 percent of patients infected.

The state announced that 12 of the new cases were hospitalized while seven had no identified risk factors like travel history or contact with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis. Currently, 114 people are hospitalized with 359 accumulative cases needing care.

About 3,625 people are under public health monitoring while 50,717 tests have been conducted. Of those tests, 47,121 or 93% have tested negative for the new coronavirus.

Accumulatively, 79.3 percent of all infected Granite Staters live in two counties: Hillsborough and Rockingham. According to the latest data, 7.7 percent of cases live in Merrimack County while 6.5 of cases live in Strafford County.

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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