New Hampshire COVID-19 Milestone: 2,004 Deaths Since March 2020

CONCORD, NH — The announcement of 31 deaths due to or related to COVID-19 on Tuesday by state officials brought New Hampshire across another coronavirus milestone: more than 2,000 fatalities.

Since March 2020, 2,004 people have died in New Hampshire. More than half of the deaths, 1,091, were people who were 80 years of age or older. Only one person under 19 has died while four in the 20 to 29 age bracket have died. Eighty-eight percent of all deaths were people 50 or older. Fifteen of the deaths were health care workers, according to the state.

Hillsborough County recorded most of the deaths — 783, while 409 in Rockingham County and 173 in Merrimack County have died. Strafford County reported 168 deaths while Belknap reported 149 deaths. All of the other New Hampshire Counties have fewer than 100 deaths each.

Nearly 205,000 Granite Staters have contracted coronavirus since March 2020 — meaning the death rate for COVID-19 has dropped below 1 percent.

There were around 9,200 active cases as of Tuesday. In New Hampshire’s 26 hospitals, 381 people are hospitalized with COVID-19. That’s down about 100 from the peak hospitalization period in early December.

The state reported that around 56 percent of residents have been vaccinated with around 62.5 percent with at least one shot. Around 480,000 residents have chosen not to take the shots.

The state does not have information about "breakthrough" cases or deaths — people who were vaccinated but still became infected or died. However, a number of hospitals are independently reporting the data.

Last week, the New Hampshire Hospital Association reported around 63 percent of hospitalizations were people who were unvaccinated. On Tuesday, Concord Hospital reported that 60 percent of its hospitalizations were unvaccinated people. That number is down from 66 to 76 percent of unvaccinated patients at the hospital in December — meaning vaccinated patients at the hospital have increased to around 40 percent. At Laconia and Franklin hospitals, 43 percent were unvaccinated. On Dec. 23, 83 percent of the patients in Laconia and Franklin were unvaccinated, according to the hospital.

About 3.9 million tests have been administered with 81.4 percent of residents being tested at least once.

Testing data by the state, however, is limited due to thousands of in-home tests being delivered to people in the state who may test positive but are not required to report the results to the state.

A number of mainstream news outlets have been reporting an explosion in hospitalizations involving children. But that does not appear to be happening in New Hampshire.

According to state data, of the 2,865 hospitalizations, only 48 have been residents who were 19 or younger. Six months ago, when there were 1,639 hospitalizations, 23 were under 19. More than 83 percent of all hospitalizations were Granite Staters who were 50 years of age or older.

COVID-19 Info For NH

COVID-19 is a disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, which was first discovered in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The virus is spread through the transfer of microscopic respiratory droplets, usually by coughing, sneezing, or exposure to others who are sick, whether they show symptoms or not.

Since the discovery of the first case in New Hampshire in March 2020, there have been a number of recommendations and changes to recommendations on how to prevent the virus and disease. The latest New Hampshire Universal Best Practices for the public, businesses, and schools can be found linked here, in PDF format. For resources in NH, including vaccine, testing, and treatment information, visit the state's resources and guidance page, linked here.

Basic health concepts to reduce the risk of infection include ensuring social distancing (staying 3 to 6 feet away from other people); washing hands with soap and water (for at least 20 seconds) or using alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol; wearing a facemask in indoor public spaces or outdoor spaces with large crowds; avoid touching eyes, nose, and mouth, and sneezing into a sleeve or tissue that is disposed of later; avoid sharing dishes, glasses, bedding, and other household items when sick; clean or disinfect high-touch surfaces; avoid public transportation when sick; and work remotely, if possible.

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