Sununu: Death Of NH House Speaker Stark Reminder To Stay Vigilant

CONCORD, NH — Hours after the release of autopsy information that showed that a prominent state political figure had died from COVID-19, New Hampshire's governor warned the public of the need to stay focused on fighting the spread of coronavirus.

Gov. Chris Sununu called the death of House Speaker Dick Hinch, a Republican state representative from Merrimack, shocking, and commended him as a tireless leader who was community-minded, respected, and admired by many people in the state. Hinch's tragic death, he said, was "a stark reminder" that the coronavirus did not discriminate and "no one was immune." It affects everyone, everywhere, Sununu said.

While coronavirus fatigue was setting in, and everyone was seeing that, "we have to stay vigilant" and "can't take our foot off the pedal," he said.

Sununu also reminded residents that wearing masks and respecting social distancing was not just about keeping yourself safe from the virus but keeping others safe, too.

Gov. Chris Sununu talks about House Speaker Dick Hinch on Dec. 10.

The governor also spoke about the outbreak in the New Hampshire Veterans' Home in Tilton which killed 27 people after more than eight months without a single case. He said there was a "multi-agency" response to the outbreak with an "all hands on deck approach" to assist them — as well as other nursing homes and facilities.

"Whatever folks need, we can make it available on a moment's notice," Sununu said.

While infections were not as high in New Hampshire as they were around the country, there was an employee crisis in some of the long-term care and other settings. Hospitalizations were also climbing, he said, and doubled in recent weeks, but hospitals still have plenty of capacity. The state, he said, could manage it, even with the high numbers, but state officials are staying on top of it.

Dr. Benjamin Chan gave a public health update — noting that 14 people had died in the state due to COVID-19 while Lori Shibinette, the commission of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services offered an outbreak setting update. While three institutions were out of the outbreak setting, 14 new ones were back on the list, for a total of 30 active outbreaks.

Expanding on the hospital capacity, Sununu said some were pulling back on elective procedures, as they did in the spring, which was a "tough decision." If the state needed to open surge facilities, five could be activated in about 48 hours. Sununu said it was not necessary to do that now — the state has about 3,500 beds.

"Luckily," Sununu said, "we are not there yet."

The state is also getting 12,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine "in the coming days … within the week, if not sooner," the governor said. Perry Plummer, the former assistant safety commissioner, has agreed to come back to work to help with logistics with getting the vaccine coordinated. Sununu called him, "an absolute genius" when it came to logistics and getting things done. The governor unveiled a new website, NHResponds.org, for volunteers to come forward to help with the vaccine rollout.

Questions And Answers

The governor was asked about whether there would be an outside review of the Veterans' Home outbreak or if he considered moving patients out of the home.

He said No to each question and explained there were outside people already at the facility working to contain the outbreak.

Another question concerned numbers at the home. Shibinette said there were 87 residents infected, 81 staffers sick, and 27 deaths. She did not know the exact number of recoveries or how many residents were in the home. She said the outbreak was very similar to other outbreak situations.

Shibinette was asked about other outbreaks in other facilities and why there was such an explosion of situations in the state. She said it was for several reasons including the virus still creeping into facilities even with all of the protections put into place including personal protection equipment and testing.

"Nothing is 100 percent all the time," she said.

Shibinette said state officials or long-term care setting facilities do not always know how the virus gets into the building, to begin with. It was next to impossible to track — and it spreads so fast, she said. But, back in March, Shibinette said stopping it at the front door was the most important strategy.

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Shibinette was asked about the delay on the expediency of reporting the daily case counts, to the point where it is taking multiple days to get final counts published. Is this a contact tracing issue, just the labor-intensive aspect of investigating hundreds of cases versus dozens of cases a day, or something else?

She said it was due to so many cases and officials were trying to break out the data to stem any confusion about how many cases were reported on each day. The numbers, she said, "ballooned very quickly," and to answer for it, the health department shifted employees to the data reporting processes. But, even on a slow day, there were more cases to catch up on, she said.

Shibinette was asked about the allegations by teachers, unions, and supporters who have claimed the state and school districts were spreading false information about coronavirus not being spread in school settings.

She said the state was being transparent with the information and the school setting data dashboard was accurate. Every day, the numbers were being updated, based on contact tracing.

"There is no fudging of the data," she said. "It is what it is."

Sununu agreed that the state's school data was "spot on" and while there might be some delay in the reporting of cases, and the community might find out about the cases before the state, the data was not false information.

Shibinette was asked about whether or not Hinch's death would be investigated and she said there would be a full contact tracing and case investigation, like anyone else. But the information would not be shared, due to the right to privacy, unless the public needed to know the infection information.

"It depends on what the case investigation leads to," she said.

When asked if there had been any other infections reported from the McIntyre Ski Club between Nov. 20, when the Republican leadership met with Hinch at a meeting where legislators ate from a buffet and many were maskless, and Dec. 9, Shibinette said, "No."

Sununu was asked if he was concerned about a potential spread through state government after a staffer in his office became infected and Hinch's death and he said the cases were "very separate incidents" but he was "always concerned" with the virus spreading in the workplace whether it was in government or a flower shop.

"Everyone should be concerned," he said.

If people were concerned that they were exposed to the virus, they should get tested. Everyone, he said, can get a test. Hinch's death "really was a warning sign" that the pandemic was "far from over."

Sununu was also critical of a Belknap County political meeting where attendees were reportedly not wearing masks.

The governor was asked about testing and he said the state was used UNH's capacity while students were away on holiday.

When asked if he thought the House of Representatives or state Senators should meet and he said, as long as they maintained protocols.

The governor was asked about staffing at the prison and he said the state was monitoring it daily and was working with corrections to assist the department with more resources.

Soon, it will be Town Meeting season, and Sununu was asked about that, too. He said the attorney general's office was working on policies, since dates will be set, soon. Some communities were considering changing locations and other provisions to make sure members and meetings were safe.

A question about strains in hospital staffing and whether the state needed to issue a similar situation that occurred in the spring was asked and Shibinette said hospitals made those decisions voluntarily. She said officials held "formal huddles" twice a week with hospitals in the state and the hospitals had "internal surge plans" to increase beds inside their own walls. Shibinette said she wanted hospitals to do as much as they could internally before the state acted externally.

Chan was asked about how and when the state would declare that the vaccine response was successful. He said he had "every confidence" in the process, that the vaccine was not unsafely rushed out, and was being released in record time because the federal government had funded the production while it was being studied and not because the FDA had cut corners. It will be safe and effective, Chan said.

Sununu was asked about a comment by state Rep. William Marsh (R-Wolfeboro), a retired doctor, who blamed other Republicans refusing to wear masks for Hinch's death.

The governor called the situation, "a little raw," and said Hinch was an incredibly positive guy. The entire situation, he added, was tragic but "a cautionary tale," too. But, Sununu said, all New Hampshire residents had "an important responsibility" and "role to play" in protecting others.

"You're always doing it for someone else," he said. "Please understand that (the virus) is real … it is still very serious and will be, for some time."

When asked about vaccine cards and whether or not they would be used for nefarious purposes like tracking people, Sununu said, No. The purpose of the cards was for people who received the first dose of the vaccine would be reminded to get the second dose three or four weeks later, depending on the brand of vaccine used. It will be used to monitor distribution not people. When asked if the vaccine information would be kept private, Sununu said, Yes.

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Stop 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.
• When you can't practice 6 feet of social distancing, wear a face covering.
• Anyone who is told to self-quarantine and stay at home due to exposure to a person with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19 needs to stay home and not go out into public places.
• If you are 60 years or older or have chronic and underlying health conditions, you need to stay home and not go out.
• Avoid gatherings of 10 people or more.
• Employers should work from home as much as possible.
• There is increasing evidence that the virus can survive for hours or possibly days on surfaces. 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.
• Wear a face covering.
• 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.
• To access the state's COVID-19 data dashboard, click on this link here.
• To access the state's COVID-19 Interactive Map Dashboard, click on this link here.

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