NH Coronavirus: 4 More Deaths Announced; No Timeline On Reopening

CONCORD, NH — State health officials and the governor announced Tuesday that four more people have died due to the new coronavirus in New Hampshire. Dr. Benjamin Chan, the state's epidemiologist, gave a brief public health update announcing the new deaths, all who were older, and living in long-term care facilities, where there have been COVID-19 outbreaks. Chan called the deaths "an unfortunate situation" during "trying times."

Three of the four deaths were at The Huntington at Nashua and one at Hanover Hills in Manchester, he said. Fifteen of the deaths in the state were at those two facilities. The 12 other people who have died were either older adults or "individuals with multiple, chronic medical conditions," Chan said.

Chan said nearly 12,000 people have been tested in the state with 1,091 positive tests including 73 new positive tests. Part of the reason for the higher positive count Tuesday was due to "batch testing" occurring in Massachusetts and the public health department in that state sending the results to New Hampshire. The lower positive numbers were "evidence that our social distancing is showing benefits," Chan said. But, he added, residents needed to "take steps to protect one another," which included everyone staying at home as much as possible.

"If you do go out, keep a safe distance … practice good hand cleaning and good hygiene," Chan said.

And, if people find themselves in a situation where they can't stay 6 feet from others, "wear a cloth face mask or cloth covering" to stop the spread of droplets "that may or may not contain the virus," he added. Also, "avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth, to avoid transmitting the virus," when out, Chan said.

Relaxing social distancing now could lead to "an increase in cases," Chan said.

"The (outbreak) is likely to continue for weeks if not months," he said. "Our hope is that this plateaus, and we want to see it go down, but there is always the potential that it could increase."

Gov. Chris Sununu announced the creation of a fund for "front-line workers" at the long-term care facilities, including a $300 a week stipend paid to the facilities, to be given directly to workers, by the state, during the pandemic. He said the stipends would be audited to ensure they went to workers. The stipend, the state hoped, would be an incentive to stabilize both current and new employment in the facilities.

The state was also partnering with Convenient MD to expand testing of long-term care employees in Hillsborough and Rockingham County with mobile sites and two clinical teams during the next three weeks. The plan is to test and evaluate asymptomatic workers to see if they are positive or negative in an effort to stem the infection rate inside of nursing homes and also gather more information about how the virus is spreading in those facilities. The cost of the programs is about $30 million which the governor said would be reimbursed by the federal government.

Sununu said there were discussions between the governors of Maine, Vermont, and Massachusetts about whether or not there would be regional planning to reopen the states similar to discussions going on in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Decisions would not be made "in lockstep" for all the states, Sununu said, but "we all want to have an understanding of where we all are." There was no timeline, however, on ending the current stay-at-home order in New Hampshire, and no updated information about remote learning either, which is expected this week.

When Sununu was asked about political attacks — including from Democrats running for governor like District 2 Executive Councilor Andru Volinsky, who likened him to acting like "a king" in a recent column, and state Sen. Dan Feltes, and a new attack ad from the Democrat Governors Association, and an online petition with more than 1,000 signatures, promoted by the conservative GraniteGrok.com website, calling on the state to be reopened and individual liberties restored — he said he was surprised by the criticism in recent days. But, Sununu added, his first job was to protect the citizens of New Hampshire.

"I can take it," Sununu said. "I have big shoulders … I don’t care. There's not a single decision we've made that hasn't been incredibly difficult. There hasn't been a decision that has been made with politics in mind. If people want to do that, frankly, shame on them."

Stop The Spread Of COVID-19!

COVID-19, not unlike the flu and other respiratory illnesses, 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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• NH Coronavirus: Monitoring Surges To 3,350; 22nd Death Announced

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