NH Coronavirus: 6 New Deaths; 23 More Children Test Positive

CONCORD, NH — Health officials in New Hampshire announced Wednesday that the new coronavirus had taken the lives of six more people in its deadliest day for reporting data since the discovery of the state's first case nearly eight weeks ago.

All six people — five men and a woman — were 60 years of age or older but it is unknown if the victims had underlying or chronic health conditions like nearly every other person who has died due to complications from COVID-19 in the state. The announcement brought the count to 48 in the state who have died. Three of the men lived in Hillsborough County, two in Rockingham County, and the woman lived in Strafford County, the location of a recent outbreak at a Dover assisted living facility.

Ninety-nine new positive test results were also announced. Of the new cases, 23 were children, after an outbreak at the Easterseals Gammon Academy in Manchester reported last week. Several of the new cases were still under investigation but nearly two-thirds were women and the rest were men. Thirty-eight of the new cases live in Manchester while 27 live in Rockingham County. Ten new cases reside in Hillsborough County while five live in Nashua and four live in Merrimack County.

Seventy-six percent of all cases in New Hampshire are in two counties: Hillsborough and Rockingham. So far, 1,588 people have contracted the virus in the state.

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State health officials don't know exactly where six new infected individuals live bringing the number of open investigations about residency and other info to 17.

Of the new cases, five have no identified risk factors — with most of the remaining cases having a history of travel or were in close contact with someone who was infected, the state said.

Seven of the new cases were hospitalized while 91 were currently hospitalized; 213 or about 13 percent of victims have needed hospital treatment.

The State Joint Information Center also announced that 550 people, about 35 percent of those infected, were in recovery while 14,424 people or 89 percent have tested negative at state and commercial labs for the virus. About 265 tests are pending in the state's labs and 2,550 are under public health monitoring.

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Stopping 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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