Coronavirus In New Hampshire: 12 More Deaths Reported

CONCORD, NH — Another 12 New Hampshire residents have died due to or related to COVID-19, according to the State Joint Information Center.

The fatalities, announced Wednesday, included men in Coos and Strafford counties, a woman and three men in Hillsborough County, and three women and three men in Rockingham County. Five were connected to long-term care settings while four were 80 years of age or older, four were between 70 and 79, and four were between 60- and 69-years-old.

"We offer our sympathies to the family and friends," the state said.

There have been 1,148 fatalities in New Hampshire or about 2 percent of all cases.

Health officials also announced another 379 new positive test results including 58 children after more than 9,100 tests were administered on Tuesday. About two-thirds of the cases were found via polymerase chain reaction tests and about half were female and half were male. Most of the cases reside in Hillsborough County — 88, while 86 reside in Rockingham County, 35 live in Nashua, and 23 live in Merrimack County.

There have been 71,965 accumulative cases in New Hampshire. Those cases are 421 more than were identified previously and were found "during data quality assurance activities and are from November 2020 through January 2021," the state said. About 126 people are in the hospital while 46 percent of all New Hampshire residents have been tested via 1.55 million tests.

Explosion In Cases At UNH Worrisome

More than 1,000 students at the University of New Hampshire in Durham are either in isolation or quarantine after hundreds of new cases of coronavirus during the past three weeks.

According to Todd Seling, the town administrator of Durham, there are more than double the number of cases than at the height of the pandemic, around Halloween, when there were around 150. Cases began to climb sometime after the Super Bowl, he noted.

"Durham and UNH officials believe the cause of this increase has been Covid fatigue where UNH students have let down their guard, gathered in groups without masks, without adequate physical distance, and in areas with poor ventilation — not in groups of 50 or 100, but in smaller yet still problematic gatherings of 10 or fewer to socialize and party," Selig said Wednesday. "This behavior is unacceptable during the current pandemic. It places the entire Durham and UNH community at risk and jeopardizes the ability of UNH to continue to operate in-person courses as we would all prefer."

UNH, he said, was taking "firm action" to slow down cases.

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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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