NH Focuses On Preventing Coronavirus Surge As Reopening Begins

CONCORD, NH — As the state of New Hampshire nearly reaches the end of its first day of flexible reopening of nonessential businesses, Gov. Chris Sununu and health officials stressed the need for continued preventative measures against the new coronavirus — while also telling a somewhat anxious public they are prepared for surges, if they come.

Monday was the first day of Sununu's "stay-at-home 2.0," with a "flex open" plan, including allowing retail stores to expand beyond curbside service, with no more than 50 percent occupancy as well as the opening of golf courses to Granite State residents and club members, and barbers and hair stylists. Restaurants reopen next week.

The governor, at a news conference Monday, said the state had taken thousands of orders for personal protection equipment which were continuing to be sent to businesses — with more being delivered this week.

The state's reopening task force is evaluating what "areas and steps we can take next" while testing will also be "increased and robust" and "a part of everything we do here," Sununu said. The state will study and test, whether another surge occurs, so it can be prepared to respond, he added.

Sununu said concerns about potential future surges were valid because it could happen — which is why health officials were working to gain access to information and resources, while taking a slow, flexible approach to reopening.

"The real purpose of what we're trying to do is to make sure that we are prepared," he said, "that our health system has the capacity, our testing is where it needs to be, PPE is available to mitigate any spread, contact tracers are available if numbers were to increase, and have that data (available)."

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After giving an overview of two new long-term care outbreaks, at the Hillsborough County Nursing Home in Goffstown, where 15 residents and staffers are infected, and Community Resources For Justice, a transitional housing facility in Manchester for adults, were 11 residents and three staffers were sick, Lori Shibinette, the commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, said new testing sites were coming to Concord and Milford. She said nearly 1,000 tests were performed by ConvenientMD last week.

After concerns were raised about the number of deaths at long-term care facilities in the state, including claims New Hampshire had a very high rate, Shibinette pulled data from around the region as well as the Kaiser Foundation to disprove the claims. New Hampshire has the lowest percent of fatalities at long-term care facilities at 0.7 percent when compared to New England and New York, she said. Only 21 percent of long-term care facilities have a single case in the state which is lower than Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, Shibinette said.

"So, what's important here is that the department develop and use relevant data to change the narrative," Shibinette said. "It's not whether New Hampshire is the worst or the best when it comes to the number or the degree of long-term deaths — it's that every death is unacceptable."

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Each death, she said, represents a grieving and devastated family. The importance of the number should really be about developing solutions to the crisis.

"Since the beginning, we have worked really hard to take an aggressive containment strategy, stop it at the door, screen everyone that comes in, and test everyone in the unit," she said, "and I think that testing strategy is working out … but (death) is never good."

Shibinette said positivity rates in recent weeks have been in the 5 to 7 percent range of all test performed and she expected that to continue — unless there were any new outbreaks with large clusters of infections. She pointed to the Biogen incident in Boston, which was attended by about 200 people in late February, and led to more than 100 people infected. That event helped fuel the outbreak in Massachusetts, according to press reports. Shibinette hoped a similar situation would not happen in New Hampshire and would not lead to the spread of the virus to the suburban and rural areas of the state.

During a data update, Dr. Benjamin Chan, the state epidemiologist, said there were more than 4 million COVID-19 cases in the world including 1.3 million in the United States. About 34,000 people have been tested in New Hampshire. The average is still around 1,200 per day. Another 89 positive cases were reported Monday but no new deaths connected to or related to complications of the new coronavirus.

"However, there are a number of deaths that are currently undergoing investigations," Chan said, "so we can expect this number to increase in the coming days."

COVID-19 is likely to be in the state "for many more weeks if not months," since many people who have not been exposed to the virus and do not have evidence of immunity. Chan said the reopening business guidance focused on building protection to stop the spread. The future, however, was unknown, which was something health officials expect with many different viruses and sicknesses.

"It's difficult, if not impossible, to predict what is going to happen with COVID-19 in New Hampshire," Chan said, "or, for that matter, nationally. It's a new virus … we are still very much in the active learning (stage) of this."

There is the potential for reintroduction of this virus, Chan said, if "we let our social distancing down too rapidly," which is why officials were trying to reopen slowly and keep COVID-19 from surging. Officials will follow the numbers and the data, he added, saying it could take up to three weeks before were reflected in the numbers, since there were multiple areas and layers of control they were trying to implement in society.

Chan was asked about the coronavirus rising back in the fall since there probably will not be a vaccine. He said it was an unknown when a vaccine would be available, adding that COVID-19 was expected to be with everyone in the fall and winter; the risk is real of another insurgence including during the next flu season, Chan said. The symptoms are very general and non-specific, he said.

"The goal is to get this to a low level of community transmission," Chan said.

Chan recommended wearing a cloth covering when in proximity to other people, maintaining safe distances of at least 6 feet, and washing hands repeatedly.

"We still, very much need, to protect those in our communities who are more vulnerable where, again, COVID-19 infection could lead to hospitalization and, potentially, even death," Chan said.

Sununu was asked about out-of-state residents coming into New Hampshire and playing at golf courses and shopping. He said short trips to the state, to do business, were allowed but not golf. Anyone who moves into the state from somewhere else still needs to quarantine themselves for two weeks, he added.

Sununu said while the state could not prevent them from coming in, he hoped they would adhere to Massachusetts' stay-at-home order.

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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• 2 More Men Die; More Children Catch Coronavirus In New Hampshire

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