Coronavirus In New Hampshire: 10 More Deaths; 354 New Infections

CONCORD, NH — Another 10 New Hampshire residents have died due to or related to COVID-19, according to health officials. Fatalities in the state stand at 1,076.

The deaths included a woman and man from Coos County, two women and a man from Hillsborough County, men from Merrimack and Strafford counties, a woman from Rockingham County, and two women from Strafford County. Six of the deaths were connected to long-term care settings while seven were 80 years of age or older, two were between 70- and 79-years-old, and one was between 60 and 69.

Only 1.6 percent of all infections have died due to the virus.

Editor's note: Fatality data from Feb. 2, which was not available at post time, included three connected to long-term care settings, five who were 80 years of age or older, one in the 60 to 69 age group, and one who was between 20- and 29-years-old. Only three people in New Hampshire have died in this age category.

The State Joint Information Center reported another 354 new infections for coronavirus in the state including 54 children. There were slightly more males than females in the latest round of testing. Most of the tests were from polymerase chain reaction tests with 155 from antigen tests. The daily positivity rate for PCR tests Wednesday was 2.7 percent with the seven-day rate was 4.6 percent.

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About 4,100 people are infected in New Hampshire.

Seventy-eight of Wednesday's positive test results came from tests collected Monday while 276 came from specimens submitted on Tuesday.

Most of the new positive infections live in Hillsborough County — 88, while 83 reside in Rockingham County, 32 live in Merrimack County, and 29 live in Nashua.

The state said new infections caught the virus due to being in close contact with a person who contracted the virus, traveling, or living in an associated care setting.

About 207 people are receiving hospital care. About 602,500 Granite Staters have been tested via PCR test while 36,631 have been tested with antibody lab tests. More than 1.42 million tests have been issued in New Hampshire with around 44.6 percent of all residents being tested.

Community Data

Current case counts continue to drop in communities across the Granite State.

Manchester, the state's largest city, still has the most active cases — 382, while Nashua has 306, Salem has 124, and Concord has 100. Merrimack has 93 active cases while Bedford has 69 infections, Londonderry has 67, Portsmouth has 61, and Hampton has 51 current cases. Every other Patch community has 50 cases or less — Windham has 48, Milford has 46, Exeter has 44, Amherst has 21, and North Hampton has 10.

School Case Information

Cases connected to K-12 school settings in New Hampshire are at 71.

Active infections connected to schools in Patch communities include one case at the Peter Woodbury School and the McKelvie Intermediate School in Bedford; two at the Memorial School in Bedford; one case at Windham High School and Windham Center School; three cases at Golden Brook Elementary School in Windham; St. Paul's School, Broken Ground Elementary School, and the Mill Brook Primary School in Concord; one case at Merrimack Valley High School in Penacook; two cases at Merrimack High School; one case at the Woodbury School, the Mary A. Fisk School, and William T. Barron Elementary School in Salem; one at the Amherst Middle School; one at the Main Street School in Exeter; one at Londonderry Senior High School and Matthew Thornton Elementary School in Londonderry; and one at the Portsmouth Middle School.

Colleges and universities have 16 cases: Six at UNH in Durham, four at St. Anselm College in Goffstown, three at Franklin Pierce University, two at Keene State College, and one at Dartmouth College in Hanover.

CDC Director: Schools Can Reopen Safely

Gov. Chris Sununu has been pushing to get schools in New Hampshire to reopened and now, President Joe Biden's new Centers for Disease Control director is also saying the same thing — while adding teachers do not need to be vaccinated before schools reopen.

Sununu issued a statement Wednesday after Dr. Rochelle Walensky told reporters at the White House that schools could reopen.

"There is increasing data to suggest that schools can safely reopen and that safe reopening does not suggest that teachers need to be vaccinated," she said. "Vaccinations of teachers is not a prerequisite for safely reopening schools."

Teachers in high-risk groups with pre-existing conditions and in certain age brackets have been able to get vaccinated in New Hampshire. But younger teachers, without comorbidities, who are not in danger of dying, will get vaccinated in later stages, according to the state's vaccination rollout.

"The CDC director's comments are consistent with the data and studies that show that with proper safety protocols in place, schools can be open safely for in-person learning," Sununu said. "I urge the union leadership in New Hampshire that have been resistant to follow the science to embrace the Biden Administration's call for schools to reopen for in-person learning. The will of the students is there, the will of the parents is there, and the science is there. It's time to get these kids back in the classroom."

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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 not go out to 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.
COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Schools, Employers, Employees and Businesses (Can your employer force you to get the vaccine? It depends).
COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Healthcare Providers and Public Health Partners

• Guidance to schools can be found here.
• Instructions for returning travelers to self-observe for symptoms of COVID-19 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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