N.H Daily Coronavirus Update—November 2020

Monday, November 30

(Source: N.H. DHHS)

On Sunday, N.H. health officials announced 491 new COVID-19 cases and 3 additional deaths. Here is the other pandemic-related news you need to know to start your Monday.

1. State Continues to Play Catch Up with COVID Data Reporting, 5% Positivity Threshold Crossed on Friday. The 491 positive test results announced on Sunday included 259 positive test results from Friday, Nov. 27 that had not been previously reported. Had all of the cases for Friday been reported, it would have resulted in 544 total new cases. There are now 4,995 current COVID-19 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire and 146 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19–an increase of 13 over yesterday’s report. The state also announced three additional deaths related to COVID-19, a man from Belknap County, a woman from Coos County and a man from Rockingham County, all older than 60. (Source: InDepthNH) The communities with the most active cases are Manchester (973), Nashua (445), Derry (131), Concord (128), Salem (119), Merrimack (112), Londonderry (109), Bedford (108), Hudson (107), Hampton (92), Portsmouth (73). The 73 cases in Portsmouth represent a significant increase over the 50 that were being reported last week. (Source: N.H. DHHS) Friday's updated numbers also put the state's testing positivity rate for Friday at 5.2 percent, just over the threshold commonly cited by health organizations as “too high.” It was enough to earn the state a thumbs-down on the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center's website. (Source: Keene Sentinel) The 7-day N.H. positivity rate—which averages the daily rate for the past seven days—now stands at 4.6 percent. (Source: N.H. DHHS) Meanwhile, the number of hospitalizations nationwide from the coronavirus set yet another record on Saturday, as public health officials warn of a worsening outlook with the holiday season just weeks away. More than 91,500 people were hospitalized with the virus on Saturday, with 18,000 in intensive care units. That's according to data compiled by the COVID Tracking Project, which collects and analyzes data from across the United States. Over 6,000 patients were on ventilators. (Source: NPR)

2. COVID Tracker: The Bad News Gets Worse but Vaccines Hold Out Hope. According to the Concord Monitor’s weekly update of key N.H. coronavirus metrics, the average number of new cases each day in New Hampshire has tripled this month, from 133 on Nov. 1 to 400 on Thanksgiving. The number of people in the hospital with COVID-19 has also tripled, from 41 to 131, which is worse than the peak back in May. The positive rate of PCR tests has risen steadily and is almost at the 5% mark that often is used as a warning sign that community spread is getting out of control. Deaths are not increasing quickly, with about one person per day succumbing to COVID-19, almost always people over the age of 60. That’s a good sign but it’s common for increased hospitalizations to lead to increased deaths a few weeks down the road. And even if deaths don’t rise sharply, COVID-19 has already contributed to 17 times as many deaths as last year’s influenza season. (Source: Concord Monitor) Meanwhile, today biotech company Moderna followed Pfizer, becoming the second company to request emergency FDA authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Trials show the Moderna vaccine has a 94% effectiveness rate across age groups as well as race and ethnicity. Moderna’s vaccine will be manufactured by Lonza Biologics in Portsmouth. (Source: USA Today)

3. Post-Thanksgiving Surge Coming? N.H. Officials Say Next Two Weeks Will be Critical. State health officials are on alert as gatherings around the Thanksgiving holiday could further drive COVID-19 cases here in New Hampshire. Health officials say anyone can begin to experience symptoms of COVID-19 within two to 14 days after they've been exposed. Dr. Beth Daly, Chief of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control for New Hampshire says most people typically begin to experience symptoms of COVID-19 anywhere between five and seven days post-exposure. "So we'll really be looking for any increases from Thanksgiving about a week from now or so. That's typically when we saw outbreaks or clusters from Halloween parties, for example," she said. That means if you spent time with family on the holiday or this weekend, Daly says you should start monitoring your health for symptoms, including lack of taste, cough, fever or chills and shortness of breath. (Source: WMUR) Meanwhile at the national level, other public health officials say new case numbers may go down in the short-term because of data-reporting delays caused by the Thanksgiving holiday and long weekend. They warn it will be critical not to equate any immediate post-holiday spike, driven by data delays, with the rise in cases that could follow still later, driven by new infections incubated by holiday travel and gatherings. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security says a COVID-19 infection acquired over the long weekend could take more than a week to appear in a public-health dashboard. “I would expect to see increases in cases one to two weeks after Thanksgiving. I would expect to see a two-to-three-week lag for hospitalizations, and then another two to three weeks for mortality to increase,” Rasmussen says. (Source: The Atlantic)

4. Morse and Hinch Propose Moving Organization Day Outdoors at UNH. House and Senate Republican leaders have proposed moving Organization Day outdoors at the University of New Hampshire campus in Durham. In a news release issued shortly after 3 p.m. Sunday, the House Republican office said: “Out of an abundance of caution, House Republican Leader Dick Hinch, R-Merrimack, and Senate Republican Leader Chuck Morse, R-Salem, have proposed moving Organization Day on December 2nd outdoors.” State Rep. Marjorie Porter, D-Hillsborough, said, “I’m glad to see they are finally taking our health and safety into consideration.” She said it was hard to fathom how these last-minute accommodations will work exactly, adding it looks as if the weather will be cloudy and cold on Wednesday. “But I’m sure they’ve thought these things through. I did find it interesting to learn the original plan was to have the Governor and Executive Council meet in an adjacent room, and not in the hall with all the unmasked people,” Porter said. (Source: InDepthNH) Meanwhile, as veteran State House reporter Gary Rayno writes, exactly what lies ahead for the 167th Session is unknown. But with the coronavirus running rampant throughout the state with about 1,000 new cases every two days, but what is known is this will not be a normal session. Rayno questions whether the combination of safety precautions as well as some legislators opting out of in-person sessions and hearings to limit their risk of exposure will have an adverse impact on the ability of legislators to forge the relationships needed to get things done. (Source: InDepthNH)

5. Workers Test Positive at Senior Living Facilities in Hanover, White River Junction. An employee at Hanover Terrace Health and Rehabilitation tested positive last week for COVID-19, and patients are awaiting results after being tested for the coronavirus. The employee took a COVID-19 test on Tuesday and was outside the nursing home, doing “errands in other capacities,” not interacting with residents then, according to Terry-Ann Gainer, the administrator of the Lyme Road nursing home. Before test results came back, “he was in the building on Wednesday but had no exposure to residents,” she said. All 77 residents were tested on Friday, with results expected over the weekend. Meanwhile, officials at The Village at White River Junction say they believe a staff member who tested positive at the assisted living and memory care facility, also on Wednesday, is an isolated case. (Source:The Valley News)

6. As the Pandemic Puts Extra Chill in Winter, Seniors and Advocates Worry About Isolation. Winter has long been considered especially problematic for older adults coping with isolation. The weather can make it difficult to leave home, exercise and socialize. And this year, senior service providers are even more concerned as COVID-19 infection rates climb and older adults who are more at risk of developing complications from the disease are encouraged to stay home. “We’re very worried,” said Kathleen Vasconcelos, executive director of the Grafton County Senior Citizens Council. “We know that isolation is not only going to continue to be a problem, but become a great problem in the winter months.” The Lebanon-based nonprofit operates eight senior centers throughout Grafton County, which have remained closed since March. People who once ate lunch with friends at the senior centers now get food home-delivered or stop by outside for grab-and-go meals and a chance to briefly visit staff. “The meals that we provide take care of the physical, but the mental health aspect is a real concern for us,” Vasconcelos said. Community nurses are also paying close attention to residents who live alone in their communities, particularly in more rural areas, and are at risk of becoming more isolated. The majority of the people they serve live alone. “We’re very worried about what’s going to happen to many of these clients who we take care of on a regular basis,” said Laurie Harding, co-director of the Upper Valley Community Nursing Project. (Source: The Valley News)

7. Seacoast Nonprofits Need Help on Giving Tuesday. Giving Tuesday isn't as prominent as Black Friday, but it’s a vital event for many nonprofits and the communities they serve – this year more than ever. It’s an annual, 24-hour social media-based/crowdfunding event to benefit nonprofits, held the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, this year Dec. 1. This year’s event is of great importance for area nonprofits, which have been hard hit by the pandemic. Gather, the Portsmouth-based food pantry, exemplifies the increased pressure such organizations have faced since March when the pandemic hit. Since then, Gather's requests for aid have doubled, heavily taxing the pantry. Monte Bohanan, The Music Hall’s director of communications & community engagement, says donations received on Giving Tuesday are essential to the Music Hall's operating budget." At Haven, which provides violence prevention and support services with locations in Portsmouth and Rochester, supporters are generous, but new donors are needed. Haven Development Director Devin Oot said due to escalated violence, more complex cases are being seen. “More complex cases equals more resources needed.” Oot said. Select the links for more information on local organizations you can support on Giving Tuesday as a business or as an individual. (Source: Seacoast Online)

8. N.H. Ski Areas Try To Balance Pent-up Demand With COVID-19 Guidance, Social Distancing. Ski areas are readying for a winter season with renewed skier interest amid new COVID-19 precautions, including reduced lodge capacity and the potential for restricted lift ticket sales on busy days. The adaptations are designed to avoid crowd pinch points, says Kris Blomback, general manager of Pat’s Peak Ski Area in Henniker. “We all have this shared responsibility to try to do things to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” he says. “Patience and kindness are going to be the name of the game this year.” Skiers will be required to wear masks and observe social distancing. And the state guidance recommends pre-purchase of lift tickets - and many mountain resorts are requiring advance reservations and online sales. (Source: NHPR)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 29, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES (SOME WITH N.H. DATA)

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times Interactive Vaccine Tracker

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Sunday, November 29

U.S. Coronavirus Risk Level Map (Source: CovidActNow)

In its Saturday update, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services announced that during the two-day period from Thursday to Friday, 702 people tested positive for the coronavirus and 6 additional people died from the virus. Here is the rest of the pandemic-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Sunday.

1. 702 New Cases Announced As N.H. Surpasses 20,000 Cases for Pandemic. Of the 702 positive test results, 417 were reported for Thursday and 285 reported for Friday, bringing the total number of cases since the pandemic began in March to 20,002. Of those, 4,837 represent active cases where people are currently infected. Additionally, 133 residents are hospitalized due to the virus and another 6 passed away during the two-day period. All the new deaths were linked to long-term care facilities. The state’s death toll now stands at 523. (Source: NHPR) In its update, the state also announced that some of the test results received Friday are still being processed and are not complete. So expect Friday’s numbers to increase. Of the 702 new cases announced, 65 were confirmed in children under age 18. The new cases reside in Rockingham (177), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (104), Merrimack (73), Cheshire (48), Strafford (35), Belknap (27), Carroll (15), Grafton (15), Sullivan (12), and Coos (1) counties, and in the cities of Manchester (106) and Nashua (63). (Source: N.H. DHHS )

2. NH Sees Highest Number of COVID-19 Hospitalizations Since Pandemic Began. On Nov. 1, there were 41 people in the hospital with COVID-19 in the state. That number jumped to 73 patients by Nov. 15. Now it has nearly doubled again in less than 14 days to the 133 patients currently in the hospital as of Saturday. “Obviously, very concerned as those numbers continue to go up,” said Steve Ahnen, president and CEO of the New Hampshire Hospital Association. Ahnen noted that the latest surge of cases is widespread. “Unlike the spring surge when it was really focused more in the southern tier of the state, we're seeing community transmission really all across the state of New Hampshire,” he said. Health officials are keeping a close eye on all of this. “We're all certainly monitoring what's happening in our hospitals right now in terms of their capacity. We have not received and reports that hospitals are at capacity,” said Dr. Beth Daly, chief of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control at the state Department of Health and Human Services. (Source: WMUR) Meanwhile, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 nationwide topped 91,000 on Saturday—the highest level during the pandemic. (Source: CNN)

3. Local Businesses Get a Boost on Small Business Saturday. Falling between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday was a chance for people to support local shops during the holiday season. While there were no really big crowds, local business owners say customers came steadily, and they were buying. At Lizology in Portsmouth, owner Liz Rodgers said customers are telling her they came out specifically to support small, local businesses. “And I think Portsmouth is doing things to bring out people, like having the shops each host one of the gingerbread houses sponsored by the Historical Society,” Rodgers said. “People are coming to find them.” (Source: Seacoast Online) During the pandemic, many retailers across the seacoast have also invested in beefing up their online presence to make it possible for their customers to shop online or to buy gift cards. This should provide many with a second boost during tomorrow’s Cyber Monday—the online equivalent of Black Friday. (Source: Seacoast Online)

4. Hunt for Winter Housing Continues, as Unsheltered People Brace for Cold. Manchester’s homeless population hopes an emergency winter shelter will be found soon after a developer bought one site out from under the city last week, and another building offered was not up to code for use as a shelter. “It’s kind of infuriating,” said Kat, a Manchester native who is unsheltered. “But I’m sure they’ll figure it out.”She said she was pleased the issue of homelessness seemed to be receiving renewed attention from city officials and residents. She’s glad to see other people upset, especially as she’s seen the number of people staying in camps around the city grow this year. She’s nervous about the winter, she said.“We need more than one shelter in the city,” Kat said. The city needs extra shelter space this year after Manchester’s only homeless shelter, run by nonprofit Families in Transition-New Horizons, reduced its capacity to keep people spread out and safer from COVID-19. Meanwhile, the pandemic has pushed more people into homelessness. After the refusal of the state to make the Manchester Armory available and after an arrangement for another temporary site fell through, Manchester is now considering several city-owned buildings to serve as a winter shelter, including the JFK Coliseum and Central High School. (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

5. Signs Point to Mental Health Struggles for Youth. The number of children calling a state-wide crisis hotline has increased by nearly 20% since 2019, yet another indication that New Hampshire kids are struggling to adjust to the new realities of the pandemic. Last year, 341 children ages 12 to 17 called Headrest, the only 24-hour crisis hotline for all ages in New Hampshire. Already this year, 418 kids have called the hotline in crisis. Al Carbonneau, the Hotline Manager at Headrest, said virtual schooling has been tough on the school-aged kids he’s heard from. Many of them are struggling with social isolation and harbor fears that they’re failing at this new mode of learning. As challenging as online classes can be, Carbonneau said it seems to matter less whether the school is in-person or virtual and more about how often the school’s plans change. “It’s the uncertainty,” he said. “That’s where a lot of the fear comes from. They want to make a plan, have something set in place instead of guessing what’s going to happen next week.” (Source: Concord Monitor)

6. Experts Weigh In on What We’ve Learned So Far About COVID-19 in Schools. Early research on the coronavirus in schools and among young people suggests that with proper precautions, classrooms are not the superspreaders that many had feared. As in other parts of the country, transmission within school buildings in New Hampshire has been minimal. State officials say there have been less than 20 small clusters — three or more cases of COVID-19 — in schools so far, and no outbreaks. An outbreak is defined as three clusters within a school building. However, on Monday, officials from the Manchester School District announced that they had begun to see clusters in their building right before switching to remote learning. These were the first clusters in Manchester schools so far this year, and they came as the city saw a dramatics surge in community transmission. Dr. Steven Chapman, a pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, says as cases spike in towns across New Hampshire, schools will see more cases, but there’s little evidence those cases will fuel an outbreak within schools. Dr. Emily Oster, an economics professor at Brown University who studies nationwide data on the coronavirus in schools, says New Hampshire should not expect to see a drop in community transmission as more districts close school buildings. “We have this idea that…this will be an intervention that matters,” she says. “But it’s not clear that that’s true, in which case by closing schools, you have just made people worse off without having much in the way of a gain for for public health.” For schools rethinking their approach, Oster says it’s worth looking at states like North Dakota and Florida, where COVID-19 has devastated communities as many schools stayed open. Oster says early data shows little evidence that the hybrid model – with cohorts of students in school a few days a week, and working from home the rest – has been safer than a full return to school. (Source: Manchester Ink Link)

7. In a Challenging Year for Schools, Substitute Teachers in High Demand. Substitute teachers are in high demand this year during the pandemic, as school districts juggle staffing shortages, due to quarantine requirements or re-shuffling of student cohorts. “Keeping our schools open depends on having adequate staff and we absolutely could not be open without our substitute teachers,” said SAU 24 superintendent Jacqueline Coe. At Henniker Community School, students have been divided into 33 small cohorts to limit co-mingling and the school has barely enough staff to supervise all the groups. The school librarian and the math interventionist have both been reallocated to classroom teaching positions. Principal Matthew Colby sometimes steps in to supervise classes as well. “When you’ve got five regular substitutes, they’re in use almost every day,” Colby said. “If there is no substitute for, let’s say a classroom aide, those teachers aren’t even having a break for lunch. They’re taking their students out for recess. And I am going room to room to give them bathroom breaks.” Due to the need for additional substitutes, the SAU 24 district recently raised its pay for substitute teachers to a flat rate of $95 per day. Previously, pay ranged from $75 to $90 per day based on teacher certification status and number of days. (Source: Concord Monitor)

8. How UNH Clubs and Organizations Adapted to COVID-19. Few places have looked and felt as different during the pandemic as college campuses. From mandatory testing and mask wearing to tough restrictions on gatherings of all kinds, students have made sacrifices to to be able to do the one thing that’s the top priority for many—experiencing college life on-campus by avoiding mass outbreaks that could force a return to remote learning. At UNH, the pandemic forced clubs and organizations ranging from fraternities and sororities to outing and ski clubs to adapt to change this semester. the UNH Ski and Board Club is not hosting any in-person events this semester, according to Vice President Caroline Wilson. Instead, they hosted sign-ups and pass sales virtually. “We were going to run online events but … we really didn’t want to make people sit on their computers longer than necessary,” said Wilson. “We are trying to be more active on social media to still allow club interaction.” Wilson said some operations have been more challenging because of their role as a campus recreation organization. “There are more levels we have to go through to make an event happen rather than if we were a MUB club.” Ski and Board’s largest event, Get Out of Bed and Shred (GOBS), has been postponed until the spring. It is usually the highlight of Wilson’s fall semester. “That was something I was the most bummed about,” said Wilson. As a senior, this would have been the fourth and final GOBS that she helped organize. “I miss seeing other people and being able to get together to do something we all love” said Wilson.(Source: The New Hampshire)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 28, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES (SOME WITH N.H. DATA)

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times Interactive Vaccine Tracker

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Saturday, November 28

On Wednesday, state health officials announced 547 new COVID-19 cases and 3 additional deaths. Please note, due to the Thanksgiving holiday, this report reflects cases and lab test results received through Wednesday, 11/25. The update that will be released by DHHS later today update will include results for both Thursday and Friday. Here is the rest of the pandemic-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Saturday.

1. N.H. Sets Another New One-Day Record for New COVID-19 Cases. The N.H. Department of Health and Human Services announced 547 new positive test results for COVID-19. The new cases include 341 people who tested positive by PCR test and 206 who tested positive by antigen test. There are now 4,570 current COVID-19 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire. The new cases reside in Rockingham (125), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (102), Merrimack (46), Strafford (29), Carroll (19), Coos (19), Belknap (18), Cheshire (16), Grafton (12, and Sullivan (7) counties, and in the cities of Manchester (91) and Nashua (25). In addition to the 3 additional fatalities, 131 people are now hospitalized in the state with COVID-19–up a total of 6 from the previous report. (Sources: N.H. DHHS) The news comes amid renewed pleas from several state leaders for people to continue to wear masks when in public and to rigorously observe physical distancing and handwashing requirements. In an op-ed column in today’s Portsmouth Herald, State Senator Dr. Tom Sherman said that these steps, along with ensuring that indoor spaces are well-ventilated, will go a long way towards decreasing the chance of transmission of the virus. He also said that in the period between now and the time vaccines become widely available to the general public, these precautions are the most effective way to lower the risk additional restrictions that would be damaging to the state’s economy (Source: Seacoast Online)

2. Experts: Virus Numbers Could be Erratic After Thanksgiving. The coronavirus testing numbers that have guided much of the nation’s response to the pandemic are likely to be erratic over the next week or so, experts said Friday, as fewer people get tested during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and testing sites observe shorter hours. The result could be potential dips in reported infections that offer the illusion that the spread of the virus is easing when, in fact, the numbers say little about where the nation stands in fighting COVID-19. The number of Americans who have tested positive passed 13 million Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University. “I just hope that people don’t misinterpret the numbers and think that there wasn’t a major surge as a result of Thanksgiving, and then end up making Christmas and Hanukkah and other travel plans,” said Dr. Leana Wen, a professor at George Washington University and an emergency physician. (Source: Associated Press)

3. COVID and Massachusetts Travel Restrictions Not Stopping Holiday Shoppers. At the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua, it looked like almost any other Black Friday, with some parking lots nearly filled, and plenty of out-of-state license plates. Many shoppers crossed the border from Massachusetts, despite new travel restrictions. Massachusetts now considers New Hampshire a high-risk state, meaning anyone traveling from there needs to fill out a state travel form and quarantine for 14 days upon return, or present a negative COVID-19 test administered within 72 hours of arrival. (Source: NHPR) Meanwhile at Best Buy in Newington, many of the shoppers bought online and took advantage of curbside pickup. Customers waited with their cars in a couple of rows designated for the purpose. Others went inside, but in carefully monitored groups, so the store was never crowded. Inside or out, everyone wore masks, the customers and the store personnel assisting them. (Source: Seacoast Online)

4. Country Store, Tavern Fined for Violating N.H. COVID-19 Emergency Orders. A country store in Loudon and a tavern in Lincoln are the latest businesses to be penalized for violating emergency orders during the coronavirus pandemic. The New Hampshire Attorney General's office on Wednesday fined the Loudon Village Country Store $2,000 and the White Mountain Tavern $1,000. According to investigators, the store owner had been warned by local authorities more than 10 times that workers must wear masks. More recently, that requirement has been extended to include customers as well. But the store instead has refused and posted a sign explaining why: "Please refer to the Constitution of the United States!" the sign reads. "We know how to wash our hands, clean surfaces and NOT cough or sneeze on people. If you can do that and stay six feet away like someone tooted, please come in!!" The tavern was cited for a musical performance last weekend. Investigators said two guitarists were performing close together, customers were seated shoulder-to-shoulder at the bar and others were standing and mingling in the bar area. (Source: NHPR)

5. Portsmouth Company Looking for More Participants in COVID-19 Vaccine Trial. Trials for a COVID-19 vaccine candidate are currently being held in Portsmouth. ActivMed Research in Portsmouth currently has 500 volunteers who will get the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is being developed at Oxford University and was recently found to be 90 percent effective in late-stage trials. The study will be ongoing for two years and is looking for about 1,000 more healthy individuals between the ages of 18 and 85 to participate. (Source: NHPR) One early participant in the trials is Portsmouth State Representative Peter Somssich. Somssich said participants are compensated for their time and that it has been a simple process. “All of it takes about 2 hours because they do a COVID test. They do blood tests. And they go through a 21-page legal disclaimer.” Somssich said about 2/3 of participants get the vaccine and 1/3 get a placebo. “Nobody knows which one was which, including the doctors and everybody. Very few people have access to that data,” Somssich said. (Source: WMUR)

6. Manchester Winter Shelter Update: Prospective Auburn Street Location Not Viable, City Building May Be Next Option. An empty warehouse building at 21 West Auburn St. is the latest site considered as a potential temporary shelter for the city’s homeless. The site was proposed by real estate developer Ben Gamache, the same developer who pulled the rug out from under a plan by the city to use a different site after he purchased it from another party who had offered it to the city. However, after inspection, Mayor Joyce Craig, Fire Chief Dan Goonan and Families in Transition Executive Director Maria Devlin said in a joint statement the alternative building proposed by Gamache was not suitable because it had only one working bathroom and would require extensive renovations to bring it up to code for residential living space that would make it unavailable during much of cold weather season. The statement said Manchester officials are now setting their sights on finding a suitable building owned by the city. (Source: Manchester Ink Link) Meanwhile, young Democratic activists criticized Gov. Chris Sununu’s decision last week to evict the homeless from state courthouse property in Manchester, and called upon Sununu to more quickly come up with a comprehensive plan to help those who lack a permanent place to live. The group released a letter to Sununu signed by 77 elected officials and community activists including Rep. Renny Cushing of Hampton, the newly-chose leader of House Democrats for the next two years, along with Portsmouth state representatives Rebecca McBeath, Gerry Ward, Joan Hamblet, and David Meuse. The letter calls on Sununu to deploy a portion of remaining CARES Act funds to address homelessness, to expand shelters and pathways to housing stability to address houselessness, and to provide secure camping zones for people in the interim, including equipment needed for survival. “The state of New Hampshire has a responsibility to protect its vulnerable people, such as the houseless. Further displacement through eviction or additional encampment space is a temporary, insufficient, and inhumane response. Everyone in our state deserves a safe and stable place to live. Housing is a human right.” (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

7. COVID-19 Disparities Persist for New Hampshire's Latinx Communities. People of color have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic nationwide, and in recent months those disparities appear to have grown worse in New Hampshire. Hispanic and Latino residents represent 3.9 percent of New Hampshire's population, but they account for 11.6 percent of the state's total coronavirus infections with known racial information, according to the latest available data from state health officials. That's up from about 7 percent in April. Lisa Vasquez, who works in Nashua's COVID-19 testing clinics, says much of her city's Latinx population includes essential workers who are not able to work from home or take time off. Those individuals tend to be at higher risk of getting COVID-19 as cases surge. "I've heard from a lot of people that do maintenance or cleaning that the amount of work that theyre being asked to do is almost unmanageable," Vasquez said, "because they're having less staff but they're also having to do it much more extensively, which might put them at risk." (Source: NHPR)

8. Pandemic Prompts New Bills in N.H. House of Representatives. The coronavirus pandemic won’t just affect how New Hampshire lawmakers meet next year, but the legislation they will consider, as well. More than 700 requests for legislation have been filed by House lawmakers, and while only the titles are currently public, at least a dozen appear to have been inspired by the pandemic. Senators have until Dec. 15 to put in their drafting requests. The legislation includes bills to expand broadband access, a series of related bills that would restrict the governor’s emergency powers, and the creation of a study create a committee to look into appointing an inspector general for nursing homes, where more than 80% of the state’s COVID-19 deaths have occurred. (Source: Associated Press)

9. Portsmouth’s Traditional Christmas Stroll at Strawbery Banke Resumes—With Changes. For the past 40 years, the Strawbery Banke museum’s nighttime stroll has been the anchor to Portsmouth's vintage Christmas celebration and features horse-drawn carriages, role players and carolers. This year, because of COVID-19, the stroll is outdoors-only. Trees will be wrapped in lights in accordance with the theme: “Let the magic shine through.” Tickets are extremely limited, but there are other ways to enjoy the vintage spirit. The Labrie Family Skate at Puddle Dock Pond, the seasonal outdoor skating rink, opened Friday. When the museum is closed, the grounds will be open with COVID precautions in place. “The lights are still going to be on throughout all of December up until new years and so you can come and you can skate and really just walk the grounds and still have that holiday experience,” Amy Warnock, the special events manager at the Strawbery Banke Museum, said. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Times, tickets, and more information are available here. (Source: WMUR)

10. Portsmouth’s Annual Button Factory Sale to Go Virtual. For decades, the Button Factory’s Open Studios have marked the beginning of the holiday season, and holiday shopping. For 2020, the Open Studios will go "virtual" with a weekend event dubbed The Button Factory & Friends: Virtual Open Studios. Beginning Friday, Dec. 4 at 4 p.m., the virtual event site opens to the public, and will remain accessible through Sunday, Dec. 6. On Saturday, the “live studio” portion of the event takes place from noon to 4 p.m. Guests to the event will have the opportunity to visit and interact with studios that are open. To access the event, register for no charge here. (Source: Seacoast Online)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 26, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES (SOME WITH N.H. DATA)

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times Interactive Vaccine Tracker

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Thursday, November 26

On Wednesday, state health officials announced 402 new COVID-19 cases and one new death. Here is the pandemic-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Thursday.

1. Most Active COVID-19 Cases Wednesday: Manchester (809), Nashua (384), Salem (125). The new cases reside in Rockingham (105), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (53), Merrimack (45), Strafford (24), Belknap (22), Cheshire (14), Grafton (7), Carroll (6), Sullivan (6), and Coos (4) counties, and in the cities of Manchester (69) and Nashua (23). There are currently 125 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19. (Source: N.H. DHHS and InDepthNH) Note: The state has announced that no updated daily metrics will be provided for the Thanksgiving holiday. Reporting will resume on Friday.

2. Six Test Positive at N.H. State Prison. Corrections Commissioner Helen Hanks is blaming community transmission for “some staff and residents testing positive” for COVID-19. The state Department of Corrections website shows there are currently six active cases among inmates at the New Hampshire State Prison for Men in Concord, including one in the regular population and five at the Secure Psychiatric Unit/Residential Treatment Unit. These are the first COVID-19 cases to be reported in the state prison system since May. (Source: InDepthNH) The relative absence of cases in the N.H. state prison system as compared to other states has been one of the few bright spots in the state’s battle against the virus. By comparison, in Texas, at least 231 people died in corrections facilities and county jails between May and October. 80% had never even been convicted of a crime. (Source: Vox)

3. Don’t Have COVID-19 Symptoms? Be Prepared to Wait for a Test. As the holidays approach, many people are trying to take COVID-19 tests before traveling to see family. That increased demand at the same time as a new surge in cases has led to an unprecedented number of requests for tests. On a typical day, the state receives 350 test requests. On Monday of this week, the state-run testing sites received 1,500. To keep up with the mounting demand, Laura Montenegro, a spokesperson for the N.H Department of Health and Human Services, said the community COVID testing sites have started prioritizing requests from people who report having symptoms of the virus. Symptomatic individuals should still able to get their tests within 24 hours of their request, she said. Those without COVID symptoms, who typically get a testing slot within 2 or 3 days, can now expect a 3 to 4-day wait before they receive a slot – that doesn’t account for the time it takes to get test results back, which could take up to three days. Montenegro said asymptomatic teachers and students are prioritized over other asymptomatic requesters. Private testing providers are also seeing a new wave of patients. Over 7,000 COVID-19 tests are now being administered a day, more than 4,000 more per day than in early September. (Source: Concord Monitor)

4. Plans For Emergency Shelter In Manchester Scuttled, As Building Eyed For Use Is Sold. Less than a day after announcing it had found a suitable location for an emergency homeless shelter, the city of Manchester now says a private developer purchased the building overnight. City officials claim the buyer, local real estate developer Ben Gamache, didn’t want the space to be used as a shelter. In an email exchange Wednesday afternoon, Gamache, who owns buildings adjacent to the one eyed for a homeless shelter, said he had been interested in the property for a while and moved to buy it when, he said, he found it was on the market. That property, however, located on Pearl Street, does not appear to have been listed for sale, though it was listed for lease. The building’s most recent owner did not return requests for comment for this story. Gamache did not answer specific questions on whether he had purchased the Pearl Street building with the intent of preventing it from being used to house the homeless, as the city alleges. But city officials now say his purchase of that building means they have to go back to square one. A statement released Wednesday from the mayor’s office, Manchester Fire Chief Dan Goonan and Families in Transition President Maria Devlin read, in part, “We are appalled this happened the day before Thanksgiving, and at a time when people in our community are suffering and are in desperate need of emergency shelter.” Officials said they would resume the search for another suitable location. (Source: NHPR)

5. Two More NH Businesses Fined for COVID-19 Violations. More COVID-19 violations were announced on Wednesday by the Attorney General’s Office. They issued a $1,000 fine to White Mountain Tavern in Lincoln and a $2,000 fine to Loudon Country Village Store. The AG’s office said White Mountain Tavern had at least two performers indoors, they were not maintaining social distancing and staff were not wearing face coverings. Officials said the violations in Loudon centered on continued failure to wear masks. They said neither business is associated with a COVID-19 outbreak but that does not matter.“This isn’t about waiting until a business has an outbreak, this is about preventing outbreaks by having businesses comply with the governor’s emergency orders and all of the guidance and guidelines that have been put out,” NH Associate Attorney Anne Edwards said. (Source: WMUR)

6. N.H. Restaurant Industry Pushes Back After White House Suggests More Restrictions. As officials try to contain the spread of the virus, New Hampshire is now one of 16 states receiving White House guidance to limit indoor dining, but that industry is pushing back. The president and CEO of New Hampshire’s Lodging and Restaurant Association said he is frustrated and fed up by official guidance that targets restaurants without providing any proof that community transmission is happening in dining establishments. Mike Somers estimates at least 200 restaurants statewide have closed and is frustrated by health officials' focus on dining establishments. “The restaurant industry has just become an easy target and that is really quite unfortunate,” Somers said. He suggested restaurant dining might even be safer than a small gathering in your home. “You know, the ventilation in these restaurants with the hood systems that they have,” Somers said. “They replace the air in the building every 8 to 12 minutes. Because the average house is not circulation air not filter air with HEPA filters socially distancing is likely not happening, masks are likely not being worn.” (Source: WMUR)

7. Number Of Individuals Covered By Medicaid In New Hampshire Has Increased by 16.8%. Another sign of the economic toll of the coronavirus: The number of individuals on Medicaid in New Hampshire has increased by 16.8% since the beginning of the pandemic. Currently, there are a little over 207,000 people covered by Medicaid. There are two reasons for that increase. The first is financial: many people have lost employer-based health insurance in recent months, or just can’t afford to pay for insurance anymore because of the pandemic. But another reason, says Henry Lipman, New Hampshire’s state Medicaid director, is that states that receive federal relief money can’t discontinue coverage for people enrolled as of mid-March. Chris Santaniello, the director of the Division of Economic & Housing Stability, says she’s working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to create a transition plan for when the federal emergency ends. For her the priority is to make sure that people who are eligible continue to be eligible. So she and her office are reaching out to people to make sure they’re turning in their paperwork. (Source: NHPR)

8. Worrying Rise Reported in New Hampshire Jobless Numbers. A lot more people lost their jobs in New Hampshire last week, just as it looked as if the state’s economy was almost returning to normal when it comes to employment. Some 2,338 Granite Staters filed initial unemployment claims in the week ending Nov. 21, an increase of 519, or 28.5 percent, over the number the federal government previously reported. It is also up by 344 over the revised number. It’s an indication that the steady economic improvement the state has been experiencing might be coming to an end as the number of COVID cases climb. For those who have been out of work for an extended period, it has been 11 weeks since the federal enhancement of an extra weekly $300 in benefits ended. And for those who have been collecting since March, all unemployment benefits should cease shortly after Christmas, unless there is a new deal cut between a lame-duck Congress and President Trump, or perhaps something passed retroactively by the newly elected Congress and President Biden next year. (Source: NH Business Review)

9. What We've Learned So Far About COVID-19 in NH Schools. Early research on the coronavirus in schools and among young people suggests that with proper precautions, classrooms are not the superspreaders that many had feared. As in other parts of the country, transmission within school buildings in New Hampshire has been minimal. State officials say there have been less than 20 small clusters -- three or more cases of COVID-19 -- in schools so far, and no outbreaks. An outbreak is defined as three clusters within a school building. However, on Monday, officials from the Manchester School District announced that they had begun to see clusters in their building right before switching to remote learning. These were the first clusters in Manchester schools so far this year, and they came as the city saw a dramatics surge in community transmission. Dr. Steven Chapman, a pediatrician at the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, says as cases spike in towns across New Hampshire, schools will see more cases, but there's little evidence those cases will fuel an outbreak within schools. But even if schools are not fueling coronavirus transmission, some districts have a significant percentage of teachers at an age or with underlying conditions that make them higher risk for COVID-19 complications. Additionally, the growing number of active COVID-19 cases in New Hampshire means more and more people - including teachers - will be exposed and need to quarantine at home. (Source: NHPR)

10. Portsmouth State Rep. in COVID-19 Vaccine Trials, Urges More People to Join. State Representative Peter Somssich is participating in trials for a COVID-19 vaccine and is encouraging others to do the same. A Democrat from Portsmouth, Somssich received either the vaccine or a placebo last week and has committed to follow-up visits for the next two years. He reports no side effects, other than soreness at the injection site, is paid $100 for every visit and, most importantly, hopes the effort will help to find a way to stop the virus spreading throughout the world. "There's not much I can do about coronavirus, but I can help with the trials," Somssich said. The trials are being conducted by ActivMed, a clinical research center at 110 Corporate Drive at Pease International Tradeport, on a vaccine developed by Oxford University that will be manufactured by Astra Zeneca. It's one of three vaccines in late-stage trials being developed through the federal government's Operation Warp Speed. (Source: Seacoast Online)

11. How A Daily Zoom Call Became A Lifeline For COVID Response In N.H.'s North Country. The coronavirus pandemic has isolated a lot of us, but it’s also brought community institutions together in a new way. In New Hampshire's North Country, a daily zoom call has become essential for leaders managing the fallout of the pandemic. When the coronavirus shut down just about everything in March, including schools, Gorham Superintendent David Backler got on a call with his counterpart in Berlin, and staff from the hospital and local health centers. “We realized that we had so many different stakeholders and different perspectives in our community, and we needed to find a way to get everybody together to be on the same page,” Backler said. “At first, it was a symbiotic relationship where we were just looking for resources.” The 4 p.m. calls that started with school and medical leaders continued, and more and more people joined: The prison warden, the nursing home director, the fire chief, even the director of the Androscoggin Valley Chamber of Commerce, Paula Kinney. Participants say when the pandemic ends, they’ll have a big dinner together, and hopefully tackle the next public health problem together. (Source: NHPR)

12. Some Ski Areas Plan ‘Slow Roll’ Openings Due To COVID-19. New Hampshire ski areas, closed abruptly in March due the pandemic, are gearing up slowly with projected opening days now after Thanksgiving, due in large part to COVID-19. Massachusetts, which represents about 40 percent or more of all skier visits to this state, has essentially shut its door, requiring its residents to quarantine for 14 days after a ski trip to New Hampshire or Maine. That may change, but will likely discourage day-trippers. “While the new Massachusetts restrictions on people returning to the state from New Hampshire will no doubt make it more difficult for people to choose to come to ski here, we still feel that it won’t completely deter them altogether,” said Jessyca Keeler, president of Ski New Hampshire, the statewide organization representing 31 areas. “And because New Hampshire doesn’t have similar restrictions for people in other New England states heading here, as our neighboring states do, it still makes us the easiest choice for those south of the border who want to ski,” she said. Keeler said the only New Hampshire ski area that she heard may open this Thanksgiving weekend is Bretton Woods, “but if they do I think it will be for pass-holders only. Things keep changing so I’m not 100 percent sure where everyone is at, but most who would typically open this week we’re looking at next weekend instead,” she said, Tuesday. (Source: InDepthNH)

13. Seacoast Merchants Hoping for a Big Boost From Small Business Saturday. While Small Business Saturday always provides a shot in the arm to local businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, this year’s COVID-19 pandemic has made the stakes even higher. GoPortsmouthNH (www.facebook.com/goportsmouthnh) is offering a landing page where local retailers can list special deals and information about the store and hours that have changed in some cases due to COVID-19. “There are multiple ways to shop this season,” said Michelle Davis, destination experience consultant at the Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth. “They can shop in store, online, curbside and even by reservation in some locations. People can check the media accounts of the stores they are interested in shopping at.” (Source: Seacoast Online)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 25, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES (SOME WITH N.H. DATA)

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times Interactive Vaccine Tracker

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Wednesday, November 25

On Tuesday, N.H. health officials announced 362 new positive test results for COVID-19 and one additional death. Here is the rest of the coronavirus-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Wednesday.

1. Demand for COVID-19 Tests High, Locations Prioritizing Symptomatic Patients. The number of people trying to get COVID-19 tests is increasing the turnaround times to six or seven days. One urgent care has begun turning down testing requests for travel because symptomatic patients are the priority. Front line workers have seen a significant spike in symptomatic patients and those people understandably are a priority. “We are all trying to do the right thing, help as many people as we can,” Physician Assistant at ExpressMED in Salem Roderick Mao said. “There are days where we just want to go home and not come in the next day.” Exponential increase in testing demands has put a strain on urgent care offices. Before this week, 48 patients in one day at ExpressMED was an all-time high for Physician Assistant Kariann Place. “Yesterday, I think we saw 100 people in and out of our clinic,” Place said. The tipping point has forced policy changes. The office has stopped doing evaluations for simply traveling. Patients who had COVID-19 and want to retest are also being turned down. (Source: WMUR)

2. If You Test Positive in NH: 1) Get Well Soon and 2) Notify Any People You May Have Exposed. With the recent influx of new cases, state health officials say it is important for people who are diagnosed with the virus to notify their own close contacts while the state focuses on certain populations. “All cases of COVID-19, that at least get diagnosed, are still reported to us,” said Dr. Beth Daly, Chief of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control. “We are still monitoring where those cases are occurring. We are prioritizing contact tracing around certain individuals. These individuals who are particularly at risk for transmitting due to a congregate setting.” Daly says the state continues to have about 150 people working on investigations and tracing, but with the level of transmission the state is now seeing it becomes less effective. (Source: WMUR) Note: With the state reprioritizing how it redeploys its relatively small number of contact tracers as a resource, it is now critical for people who test positive to notify others they may have had contact with as quickly as possible—especially those they may have exposed at a small gathering—so they can self-isolate, get tested, and minimize the risk of further community spread. If you are contacted by a contact tracer or by a person who has tested positive, here are the steps you should take.

3. Doctors Report Increase in Child COVID-19 Cases. New numbers released by the American Academy of Pediatrics show that in the last two weeks, there has been a 28% increase in child COVID-19 cases across the country. Granite State doctors said they have seen a similar pattern in the state. According to state records, there have been nearly 2,500 COVID-19 cases in people 19 or younger since the start of the pandemic. Ten have been hospitalized. Dr. Keith Loud, physician-in-chief for Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock said those numbers run parallel to what other states are seeing. “In New Hampshire, it’s about 13% of all cases are among children,” Loud said. “So, children are less-proportionately affected than adults.” “The virus has still fortunately spared children,” he said. “Many of the infections are asymptomatic or very, very mildly asymptomatic.” State health officials said there have not been any major outbreaks in schools. They believe children are mostly picking up the virus through household contacts, sports events, play dates, and sleepovers. As well as some people continuing to host play dates and sleepovers. “Those types of activities seem benign, but in reality, we have seen transmission,” said Beth Daly, Chief of the N.H. Bureau of Infectious Disease Control. (Source: WMUR) Meanwhile, a study released Tuesday by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found only 4% of children tested were infected with the new coronavirus, and the vast majority of those cases were mild or asymptomatic. The study quantifies and confirms — but doesn’t explain — one of the biggest mysteries of the pandemic: Why an infection that has so far killed more than 1.3 million people worldwide is uncommon and mostly harmless in children. Of the 5,374 children and adolescents in the study who tested positive, less than 7% developed severe illness that required hospitalization. Eight of them, most with complex preexisting medical problems, died, for a fatality rate of 0.15%. Infection was more common, and more likely to be severe, among Black, Hispanic and Asian patients, adolescents ages 12 to 17, those with public health insurance, and those with certain chronic medical conditions. (Source: Philadelphia Enquirer) Worth noting is that while children are less likely to be adversely affected by the virus themselves, once infected they can pass it on to others who may be more vulnerable.

4. COVID Clusters Identified at 3 Manchester Schools. The Manchester Health Department notified the Manchester School District that it has identified clusters of COVID-19 cases in city schools for the first time. A cluster is defined as three or more cases in the same classroom or group during the same timeframe. The clusters were identified at three different schools: Parker Varney Elementary School, Central High School and Manchester School of Technology. All cases considered part of the school clusters were reported over the past two weeks and the school community was notified of each positive case as they occurred. (Source: Manchester Ink Link) Note: a cluster and an outbreak are not the same thing. A “cluster” refers to a collection of multiple cases that may be linked in space and time. An outbreak refers to an increase, often sudden, in the number of cases of a disease above what is normally expected in the population in that area.

5. Some NH Schools Gear Up for Post-Holiday Transition to Full Remote Learning. While several N.H. school districts recently chose to switch to remote learning through the holidays amid a spike in area COVID-19 cases, the ConVal district (Antrim, Bennington, Dublin, Francestown, Greenfield, Hancock, Peterborough, Sharon and Temple), has been planning for the transition to virtual classes since the summer. Tuesday marked the final day of in-person classes until Jan. 19 in ConVal schools, according to the calendar written into the district’s reopening plan, which ConVal officials began drafting in June and the school board approved unanimously in early August. “Our plan has included a transition to remote learning over the holiday season because we anticipated that there would be a second wave of COVID-19,” Superintendent Kimberly Rizzo Saunders said in a news release from the district last week. “We also knew that holiday travel could increase our risks. We wanted to first and foremost mitigate the chances of COVID-19 spreading during in-person learning as well as provide this opportunity for people to quarantine and travel safely.” (Source: Keene Sentinel)

6. A Travel Reminder for Portsmouth Parents. In its most recent newsletter, the Portsmouth School District reminded parents that the travel policy for Portsmouth Schools has a mandatory quarantine in place for any individual traveling outside of New England. The quarantine requires students to remain at home for 14 days after their return from outside of New England. There is no option for a student to "test out" of their quarantine with a negative test for COVID-19. Parents are advised to contact their school(s) if they plan on family travel subject to the quarantine. Source: Portsmouth School District)

7. NHGOP Chair Condemns 'Talk of Impeachment' By Some Reps Upset With Mask Mandate. The chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party is condemning an effort by a handful of GOP lawmakers to launch impeachment proceedings against Gov. Chris Sununu. Backers of the probe say Sununu, who ordered a mask mandate last week, has overused his emergency powers during the coronavirus pandemic. State GOP Chairman Steve Stepanek wrote in a statement: “The NHGOP has always and will continue to stand with Governor Sununu and his team as he fights for Granite Staters during this global pandemic.” He predicted the lawmakers pushing the effort will end up looking foolish. The lawmakers eyeing impeaching Sununu, five House back-benchers and two incoming members, say Sununu has gone too far, most recently by requiring people wear masks anytime they can’t keep social distance in public. Republicans will regain the majority in both the New Hampshire House and Senate when the 2021-22 session begins. (Sources: NHPR and Concord Monitor) Meanwhile, Democratic State Representative Marjorie Porter is questioning the decision by the leaders of the new Republican House majority to not take advantage of a recent state Supreme Court ruling allowing virtual attendance when the House meets next week. Porter called their decision requiring legislators to attend the December 2 Organization Day session in-person “foolish and short-sighted.” She said Speaker Shurtleff’s office worked out plans that would allow a hybrid version of Organization Day to occur—in person and remotely, so all could attend. “Systems are already in place that, with a little tweaking, would allow for swearing in and voting even by remote attendees,” she said. (Source: InDepthNH)

8. Plan to Use JFK Coliseum as Homeless Shelter Iced After Alternative Site Offered. The Manchester Board of Aldermen decided Tuesday evening to scrap a plan to use the JFK Memorial Coliseum as a temporary emergency homeless shelter after an unnamed property owner stepped in and offered an alternative site at an undisclosed location. Aldermen approved more than $1 million of federal funds to get the temporary emergency homeless shelter up and running. Once the location is open, the city will be able to offer roughly 200 beds in three different shelters until the end of the winter. City officials said two other locations will also be used when the temperature falls below zero to make sure people living on the streets are able to get inside. (Source: WMUR)

9. Nashua's Soup Kitchen, Shelter Reports Staffing Shortage Ahead of Thanksgiving. Organizations providing food for the needy at Thanksgiving say they're operating with fewer volunteers now than before the pandemic. Michael Reinke, the director of Nashua’s Soup Kitchen and Shelter, says his staffing has fallen by more than half. This year, he says there are only a handful of volunteers distributing food. “People have been rightly conscious about coming into volunteer and quite honestly most of our volunteers are over the age of 70,” Reinke said. “We encourage them not to do volunteering which means that we’re having to do an awful lot with a very skeleton staff.” (Source: NHPR)

10. AG Fines Plaistow Restaurant for COVID Violations. The owner of a Plaistow restaurant-bar fined $1,500 for violations of COVID-19 related precautions said his place was inundated after Massachusetts banned late night hours for bars and restaurants and they weren’t ready for the crowds. Meanwhile, customers were complaining about masks and other precautions, said Grumpy’s Bar & Grill owner Rich LeClaire. “We weren’t ready. No one knew what to do,” LeClaire said, adding that Grumpy’s is now following state guidelines for keeping tables 6 feet apart, mask wearing and other precautions. In a four-page letter, Associate Attorney General Anne Edwards said a town police officer visited Grumpy’s on Nov. 14 and noted that only the bartender was wearing a face mask. She also provided a Nov. 13 photograph that showed numerous young adults crowded into the bar. No one whose face was visible was wearing a mask. LeClaire said the crowds followed the Nov. 6 action in Massachusetts to close bars and restaurants at 9:30 p.m. (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

11. Portsmouth Brewery Closes Temporarily Due to COVID Case. The Portsmouth Brewery will be closed until Dec. 3 following a staff member testing positive for COVID-19, President Peter Egelston announced Tuesday. It was supposed to be a big week at the brewery, according to a post on the business's Facebook page – including a new menu release, being open again on Tuesdays, and for the first time in 30 years, limited service on Thanksgiving. "But it was not to be, as this week suddenly became notable for an entirely different reason – the news that a member of our team had tested positive for COVID-19," the brewery wrote. The brewery will remain closed for two weeks while staff self-isolates and is tested. (Source: Seacoast Online)

12. UNH Survives Semester of COVID-19. What's Next? The University of New Hampshire has survived a semester of on-campus learning where the university conducted 297,676 COVID-19 tests throughout the fall. 537 positive cases were detected across the 18,042 students, faculty, staff and community members regularly tested, a 0.18% positivity rate. As of Friday, UNH reported 145 active cases of coronavirus, 134 of which belonged to students. Graduate business student Chad Supranowicz said he was relieved the in-person portion of the semester was coming to a close. “I was having a lot of fun hanging (out) in small groups but my mom has an (auto)immune issue, so with the spike in cases, I haven’t been doing anything but going to class and to get food,” he said. Senior marketing major Meghan Sweatt said she feels blessed for the first three years she had on campus before the time of coronavirus. Now, due to limitations of the pandemic, “people walk around like zombies.” “The college experience isn’t the same,” she said. “The people on campus aren’t the same.” Students are slated to begin spring semester classes Feb. 1, and UNH Provost Wayne Jones hopes to see student engagement opportunities increase.“The university is kind of designed around, ‘How do you bring large groups together and let them engage in learning?’” he said. “We need to kind of pivot a little bit and help them find small clusters of five or eight that can come together and learn and socialize and enjoy that time of discovery that is the undergraduate experience.” Recent developments in the effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine by drugmaker companies Pfizer and Moderna expand the bounds of how UNH can prepare for more in-person social opportunities, Jones said. It is not yet known when the vaccines will be available for students. (Source: Seacoast Online)

13. Black Friday Will Look Different on the Seacoast. For the store-shy, many large national and small local retailers have devised ways to make your at-home shopping as easy and thrifty as possible, making sure those hourly "Doorbuster Deals" that drew stampeding crowds are just as available from your own couch and not for just one day. In some cases, the deals started in early November and extend well into December. Also gone is the Black Friday creep into Thanksgiving Day when major retailers started opening their doors on the holiday even before the turkey was done. Virtually all retail stores are closed this Thanksgiving. Shoppers in downtown Portsmouth may also encounter lines outside their favorite stores. With capacity limited due to COVID-19 social distancing requirements, many shops can only have 6 or 8 shoppers at a time inside. Kenzie Dube, owner of Off Piste at 37 Congress St., said she’ll extend her store hours until 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday this weekend, and open early at 9 a.m. on Saturday to accommodate more holiday shoppers. Despite all the precautions and protocols, “It’s so nice to have people come in and laugh at our stuff,” Dube said. “It gives everyone some hope.” (Source: Seacoast Online)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 24, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES (SOME WITH N.H. DATA)

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times Interactive Vaccine Tracker

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Tuesday, November 24

Source: N.H. DHHS

On Monday, state health officials announced 445 new COVID-19 cases and no additional deaths. Here is the rest of the pandemic-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Tuesday.

1. 445 New Cases, Hospitalizations Up to 121. Monday’s new cases reside in Rockingham (105), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (70), Merrimack (49), Strafford (33), Belknap (28), Carroll (11), Cheshire (11), and Grafton (11) counties, and in the cities of Manchester (82) and Nashua (22). Manchester (587), Nashua (394) and Salem (127) had the highest number of active cases. (You can see the active case total for other communities here. There are now 4,304 current COVID-19 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire and 121 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19, up from 116 reported on Sunday. (Source: InDepthNH)

2. So Far, New Hampshire Hospitals and ICU’s Aren’t Overcrowded. From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a major concern has been that hospitals would get overwhelmed, causing a ripple effect throughout the health care system. Portions of the Midwest seem to be on the verge of that right now as the long-feared winter surge hits them. But by comparison, New Hampshire hospitals are doing OK, with one cautionary note. The percentage of New Hampshire hospital beds taken up by COVID-19 patients remains one of the lowest in the country, according to Healthdata.gov, the site maintained by the federal Department of Health and Human Services. In fact, all of Northern New England is doing comparatively well: Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, in that order, are the best states in this category. However, the figure has been steadily rising. The percentage of staffed New Hampshire hospital beds taken up by COVID-19 patients was between 1.5% and 2% for the last half of October but in the past week has been between 4% and 4.8%. If that growth continues it could become a problem because, hospitals have not cut back on voluntary surgeries like they did in the spring. This means fewer beds are sitting empty to take on any sudden COVID surge. (Source: Concord Monitor)

3. Providers Struggling to Meet Demand for COVID-19 Testing Ahead of Thanksgiving. In the last week, over 50,000 Granite Staters have been tested for COVID-19 according to the DHHS dashboard. Turnaround times have been creeping up in recent days, some people have waited a week or longer. Health officials have said the increasing turnaround times comes down to staff and testing supplies, and both are stretched thin right now. Over the weekend, the Elliot central testing site performed 550 tests. But, Dr. Holly Mintz urged people to recognize that a negative test result means you are negative that day and is not an insurance policy for people who want to gather for Thanksgiving. (Source: WMUR) Another consequence of the rush on testing is that wait times for test results are also increasing. Due to the higher demand, wait times for results now range from three to four days and some people reporting up to a 7-day wait to get their results. (Source: NHPR)

4. York Hospital Sees Demand for COVID-19 Tests Surge Ahead of Thanksgiving. A long line of cars idled in the rain Monday outside York Hospital's dedicated COVID-19 testing spot on U.S. Route 1 just over the Maine/N.H. border, where tests were being performed in record numbers ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. The site completed about 1,800 tests last week, surpassing the previous weekly record by 400 tests, according to Erich Fogg, PA-C, the hospital's director of walk-in care. As of mid-day, the site was on track to perform another 400 tests Monday, Fogg said. Fogg attributed the influx to two key factors. First, as the number of COVID-19 cases in the immediate area continues to grow, more locals are seeking tests because they have been identified as close contacts of positive cases or because they have begun to show symptoms themselves, he said. Second, college students returning home for the holiday and other travelers coming into Maine ahead of Thanksgiving are contributing to the demand as well. (Source: Seacoast Online) Meanwhile, the surge of coronavirus cases in Maine has led to changes to the state’s contact tracing protocols. Although it will continue to conduct contact tracing investigations, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer keep in touch with individuals who test positive for the coronavirus over the course of their illness, said Dr. Nirav Shah, the agency’s executive director. There will instead be only one point of contact with infected individuals, he said. Shah said the Maine CDC will continue to make sure infected individuals have the tools to isolate safely. He also repeated a call from state health authorities to keep Thanksgiving gatherings small, local and socially distanced this fall. (Source: NECN) Maine’s move to shift resources to ensure that contact tracing for all cases can continue stands in sharp contrast to New Hampshire, which failed to hire and train an adequate number of contact tracers and announced earlier in the month it would only perform contact tracing under certain circumstances.

5. Health Professionals Urge N.H. Residents to Wear Masks to Blunt Surge in Cases. As the number of COVID-19 climbs to record levels across New Hampshire, officials with major health organizations in the state issued statements Monday urging residents to wear masks to slow the spread of the deadly disease. “The Governor’s most recent Executive Order requiring Granite State residents to wear a mask when they are unable to maintain social distance is very important and a signal of just how serious this situation is as we seek to slow the spread of COVID-19 and prevent our health care system from being overwhelmed,” a joint statement from the New Hampshire Hospital Association, New Hampshire Medical Society and New Hampshire Nurses Association issued Monday reads. “We are not powerless in the battle against COVID-19. We can make a difference by following these simple, commonsense measures. We can get through this together. But we have to act now. New Hampshire is counting on you to do your part.” Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health (D-HH) has launched two major new public advocacy campaigns — one regional, and one national — to promote mask wearing. On Nov. 18, D-HH launched “Stay Strong. Masks On” through public service announcements, advertising, and digital messaging throughout the region, focusing on the importance of mask wearing and resilience in facing down the pandemic. And on Nov. 19, D-HH joined nearly 100 of the nation’s largest and best known health systems in “Mask Up,” an urgent call to all Americans to work to slow the current surge of COVID-19. (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

6. Three SAU 21 Schools Go Remote Due to Positive COVID-19 Cases. According to SAU 21 Superintendent Bill Lupini, positive COVID-19 diagnoses among students or staff in Hampton Falls’ Lincoln Akerman School, North Hampton School and Seabrook Elementary School is resulting in classes changing from in-person to remote learning for some or all students in those schools. Although SAU 21 is working with the state Department of Health and Human Services, according to Lupini, school officials are doing their own investigations to ensure public safety. “DHHS has been somewhat helpful,” Lupini said. “But we have terrific, terrific school nurses who have taken a course on contact tracing from Johns Hopkins (University). They’ve been amazing and they’ve put up with a lot.” (Source: Seacoast Online)

7. Public School Enrollment in N.H. Drops During Pandemic. Fewer students in New Hampshire are attending their neighborhood public school this year, according to new data from the state Department of Education. The state typically sees a one percent drop in public school enrollment each year, due to aging demographics, but this fall’s decline is far more significant: about four percent statewide. In some cities, like Manchester and Nashua, that decline was slightly higher. School district officials are attributing this shift to the number of families who, amidst the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic, opted to homeschool or send their kids to private schools offering full in-school education. (Source: NHPR)

8. Special Meeting Called in Manchester to Discuss Using JFK Coliseum as Winter Homeless Shelter. City aldermen will consider leasing out the JFK Memorial Coliseum ice arena on Beech Street for use as a homeless shelter during the winter months at a special meeting tonight. The proposed lease would allow Families in Transition/New Horizons to house unsheltered people in the 29,512-square foot arena from Dec. 7 through March 31, 2021. The proposal comes after state officials late last week removed dozens of homeless people living in tents on state property outside the Hillsborough County Superior Courthouse and erected fencing around the grounds. “FIT and the fire department have been working to identify locations around the city for a possible shelter,” Craig said. “This isn’t an easy decision, but there really isn’t any other option.” The state has rejected requests from Manchester officials to house homeless inside the National Guard Armory, in the armory parking lot and space at the Sununu Youth Services Center. According to Craig, if the proposal is approved, the city would need about seven days to remove the ice from JFK Arena ahead of FIT/New Horizons setting up what is anticipated to be a 24/7 shelter. Homelessness has emerged as a hot-button issue between the state’s 13 mayors and Gov. Chris Sununu, with the sides trading strongly worded letters about who should be responsible for helping homeless people across New Hampshire. Craig has said the state should coordinate a statewide push to help homeless people, who move between cities and towns, while Sununu has countered by saying the state has already given cities millions of dollars to address homelessness. (Source: Manchester Union Leader) Of those living on the courthouse grounds, 22 were transported by the state to “respite beds” the day before state police moved in to carry out the eviction. The beds were provided through a contract with Granite Recovery Centers, a deal brokered by Governor Sununu. Of those who left, several were transferred to treatment, freeing up some of the 22 beds which were again offered on Friday to those at the encampment. It was a partial solution for a fraction of those in need, but for those fortunate to have the chance, things seem to be going well, says Eric Spofford, founder and CEO of the recovery network. When Spofford opened New Hampshire’s first sober house in 2009 in Derry it was met with a lot of NIMBY backlash and resistance. But times and minds changed, as more people were affected and afflicted and the dire need for resources became clear. Six years later, Granite House was named NH Business of the Year by the Greater Derry Londonderry Chamber of Commerce. And in 2018, Spofford was honored by the U.S. Small Business Administration as Young Entrepreneur of the Year for New Hampshire and New England. “I feel I’m serving out a lifelong indebtedness because I didn’t die with a needle in my arm like I was supposed to,” Spofford says. “There isn’t anybody who can’t do something. You don’t need to be in recovery or have a degree. The information is out there and there’s work to be done.” (Source: Manchester Ink Link)

9. Less Than $1M Left of CARES Act’s $1.25B, None for Food Stamps. The state has $991,120 left of its $1.25 billion CARES Act funds and is “squarely on track to spend these dollars down to the penny” by the end of the calendar year, Taylor Caswell, head of the Governor’s Office for Emergency Relief and Recovery, told the Legislative Advisory Board on Monday. “We are all running out of resources,” Caswell said, without a new stimulus package from Washington. While that may come in the next year, the advisory committee was told that there is no time left to make more allocations. Several legislative members were pushing to have the remaining fund balance used to help people with food stamps. Any money left over from the CARES Act will go into employment security, the governor said, but state Sen. Donna Soucy, D-Manchester, asked for it instead to go into the SNAP for families in need of food in December. The vote failed on partisan lines with four Republicans voting no and three Democrats voting yes. (Source: InDepthNH)

10. Advocates for Poor, Disabled Rally for COVID Relief, Support. As a few dozen advocates honked their car and truck horns in support of battling COVID-19 Monday afternoon, New Hampshire Poor People’s Campaign Co-Chairman Deborah Opramolla of Rindge kept her focus on her disabled son and the need for health care providers to make standards of care more transparent and accountable. “Our care shouldn’t be about the level of challenges we have in life or about the wealth of our lives,” Opramolla said during an interview. “We are saying enough is enough. Everyone deserves to survive COVID.” The caravan for half an hour made its way along the streets encircling the State House complex, marking a day of action event also taking place in 25 other capital cities across the country. “The message is really to demand some action on a COVID relief package; it’s long past overdue,” said Rev. Jason Wells, executive director of the New Hampshire Council of Churches. Advocates also called the Sununu administration to seek more direct involvement from families in creating or amending services offered to low-income people. The group is also very concerned that standards-of-care rules dealing with the potential rationing of care should the pandemic outstrip the health care system may work to the disadvantage of people on the lower end of the economic spectrum. “You change the narrative if you change the narrator. If you hear from families that are actually out there struggling, you’re more likely to come up with standards that benefit everyone,” Wells said. (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

11. Hampton Official Blasted for Mask Mandate 'Gas Chambers' Tweet. Hampton Selectman Regina Barnes is under fire for comparing mask mandates and similar restrictions to “gas chambers” used in Nazi Germany. Barnes retweeted a post last week by U.S Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, in which he stated the state of Pennsylvania is “making people wear masks inside their homes,” Ohio is “making people be home by 10 p.m.,” and Vermont “won’t even let you have friends over.” “What’s next?” Jordan asked at the end of his Nov. 18 tweet. Barnes retweeted with the reply, “Gas chambers.” The comment led to a letter to Barnes, Selectmen Chairmen Jim Waddell, town Manager Jamie Sullivan and the rest of the Board of Selectmen from Hampton resident Matthew Siden, who had ancestors “wiped out by the Nazis, most likely in gas chambers.” Barnes defended her statement, saying the tweet falls in line with other statements she has made on social media in which she equates executive orders to tyranny. She also said she recently served a notice of trespass to Gov. Chris Sununu that states she is “exempt from wearing a mask” as a citizen of New Hampshire under the state’s constitution, referring to the governor’s mask mandate order enacted last week statewide. (Source: Seacoast Online)

12. Seacoast Shop Owners: Spend Locally, Save Our Businesses. If shoppers don't support their favorite local businesses this holiday season, they may cease to exist this time next year. That was the message from several small business owners and advocates during a joint Seacoast and Manchester roundtable conversation with Congressman Chris Pappas, D-N.H., Monday. "The phrase for consumers, 'Vote with your dollar,' in the current climate is more true than ever before," said John Desmond, manager of Kilwins Chocolates, Fudge and Ice Cream Shoppe in downtown Portsmouth. If customers aren't comfortable shopping in-person this year, "Shop online," said Valerie Rochon, president of the Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth, "but shop your local stores." Pappas' Monday Zoom video conference focused on the upcoming Small Business Saturday shopping holiday and its importance for the local economy this year. Participants also discussed the "critical" need for additional relief funding. Pappas said he's "holding out hope" that some additional help will be on the way before Congress adjourns for the year. (Source: Seacoast Online)

13. Hampton Company’s Innovative N95 Masks Get National Attention. A small Hampton company that manufacturers masks for sleep apnea patients and construction workers may hold the key to the ideal mask for protection against COVID-19. Tom Moulton, owner of Sleepnet Corporation, says his business has doubled since February. The adjustable masks are made of plastic—not cloth—with replaceable filters that snap into the facemask. The mask forms a tight seal and won’t fog up eyeglasses. New Hampshire state Sen. Dr. Tom Sherman, D-Rye is a fan. “I have been using them since May,” Sherman said. “My wife, who is at Exeter Hospital, can wear hers for hours, all day, and she says she is hardly aware of wearing it. I think it is a phenomenal product and more people should know about it.” (Source: Seacoast Online)

14. Small Ski Areas Hope Pandemic Provides Opportunity. New Hampshire and Vermont’s destination ski resorts may be fretting about how COVID-19 might impact their seasons, but the Upper Valley’s smaller areas sense opportunity. If the snow falls soon, the weather stays cold and visitors adhere to the rules, they believe good things await. “I really do think we’re going to see a lot more traffic,” said Cory Grant of Storrs Hill Ski Area, whose organization partners with the Lebanon Recreation and Parks Department. “It’s weird to plan a huge, successful season in a pandemic, but we have a great plan to move forward with, and we’re going to give it a go.” (Source: Concord Monitor)

15. Snowmobiles: The Next Pandemic Toy. In the spring it was bicycles. In the summer it was pools and every type of watercraft. In the winter of the year of Covid-19, the must-have item is proving to be snowmobiles. As with the other products that proved to be pandemic popular, the spike in demand for snow machines seems to be driven by the realities of life during the time of coronavirus and social distancing, including the desire to make some good memories in a difficult time. More often than not, that means outdoor recreation. “Overall, it’s been great,” said Lisa Whalley, general manager of HK Powersports in Laconia. She said that 2020 has been a blockbuster year for her business in every season, whether customers are looking for dirt bikes, ATVs or watercraft. “Sales have been up because everyone can enjoy the outdoors with their families,” she said. That wave is going to carry through to snowmobile season, Whalley said. She won’t have to wait for the snow to arrive, because customers are already coming in to her showroom ready to buy. She says some are looking to upgrade, but many of them are new to the sport. (Source: NH Business Review)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 23, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES (SOME WITH N.H. DATA)

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times Interactive Vaccine Tracker

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Monday, November 23

Posted on a bulletin board at the Starbucks in Portsmouth’s Market Square.

New Hampshire health officials announced 322 new COVID-19 cases Sunday and four new deaths. Here is the rest of the coronavirus-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Monday.

1. NH COVID-19 Hospitalizations Increase 60% in 9 Days. On Sunday, November 22, 2020, DHHS announced 322 new positive test results for COVID-19, for a daily PCR test positivity rate of 2.3%. The new cases reside in Rockingham (81), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (38), Merrimack (32), Belknap (22), Cheshire (12), Grafton (12), Strafford (10), Carroll (8), Coos (4), and Sullivan (3) counties, and in the cities of Manchester (57) and Nashua (20). Community-based transmission continues to occur in the State and has been identified in all counties. There are currently 117 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19. In New Hampshire since the start of the pandemic, there have been a total of 17,598 cases of COVID-19 diagnosed with 830 (5%) of those having been hospitalized. The state no longer reports the new number of patients hospitalized in their daily news release, just the total number in the hospital for COVID-19. (Sources: InDepthNH and N.H. DHHS)

2. Rising Case Numbers and Upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday Drive Up Demand for COVID-19 Testing. Hospitals and urgent care offices have seen a jump in test requests in the last week. But Dr. James Martin of St. Joseph Hospital’s urgent care clinic in Milford says if you are planning to get a test so you can be with your family on Thanksgiving, having one done now doesn't necessarily mean you’re safe to gather with people on Thursday. "So there's two things there,” Martin said. “One is that you may not be exhibiting symptoms at that time when you get tested, but maybe have been exposed. So there may not be enough virus in your system to cause symptoms or for us to detect either through PCR testing or antigen testing. “Or if you're not isolating or quarantining,” he added, “then you could potentially be exposed between the time you had that test performed and when you actually meet up with your family on Thanksgiving Day.” Martin said Monday or Tuesday are probably people’s last chances to be tested and get the results back in time for Thanksgiving. (Source: WMUR) As of today, the Testing page of the state COVID-19 Dashboard shows that a number equivalent to more than a quarter of the state’s population has been tested over the course of the pandemic. Average wait times for results are listed as 2 days for PCR tests and 1 day for antibody tests. The N.H. DHHS website also includes a list of testing options. (Source: N.H. DHHS)

3. Wentworth-Douglass Hospital Expands COVID-19 Testing, Evaluation. Wentworth-Douglass Hospital has expanded the hours of our Drive-Thru Testing Facility to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The Drive-Thru COVID-19 testing facility recently relocated to the lower parking lot of Wentworth-Douglass Hospital (789 Central Ave., Dover). The hospital has also opened a Respiratory Illness Clinic for current Wentworth Health Partners patients at 10 Members Way in Dover. Established patients who are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms or irregular respiratory symptoms such as labored breathing, coughing, sore throat, or fever (above 100.4), should call their Wentworth Health Partners provider to be triaged to the Respiratory Illness Clinic for evaluation. Respiratory Illness Clinic staff will evaluate patients and will test patients for COVID-19, influenza, and strep throat, if needed. The Respiratory Illness Clinic is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Source: Seacoast Online)

4. Protesters Bash NH Mask Mandate Outside Gov. Sununu's Home. At least 100 protesters expressed their displeasure with Republican Gov. Chris Sununu's new statewide mask mandate Sunday, holding a protest outside his private residence. Asked why the group chose to protest outside Sununu's home rather than at the Statehouse, Frank Staples of the group Absolute Defiance said, “He has shut everything down and is running the government from his house, so right now this is the Statehouse. We will be here every weekend till he ends his executive orders and the state of emergency." Anne Copp, a Republican state representative-elect from Derry, called the governor's task force on reopening the state "a joke." She said, "They didn't take into consideration any input from people who called into the task force," claiming businesses received no guidance on how to operate.” Brennan Robinson of Alton said the mask mandate was not necessary. "I thought people were complying just fine without a mandate," he said. "Now the governor, on his own, without the legislature, is trying to create new law. He knows that half the Republican Party in the Statehouse is against this. So why is the governor suddenly playing dictator? I have severe asthma and nobody in any business is honoring me when I tell them I have a medical exception." (Source: Seacoast Online)

5. Rayno: Mask Mandate Helps, But More Needed. In this analysis, veteran state house reporter Gary Rayno says that of the three northern New England states, the Granite State faces the biggest challenge when it comes to containing COVID-19. Rayno writes that the number of cases, percentage of the population infected, hospitalizations and fatalities have been much higher in N.H. than in Vermont or Maine and continues to be. He points out that while the five other New England states instituted restrictions as cases exploded beginning in late September and October, Gov. Chris Sununu did not. Instead, he made it easier to opt out of the state’s two-week quarantine requirement for out-of-state visitors with a negative test after seven days. He also points out that state health officials stopped listing the number of new hospitalizations each day in the daily updates last week as the numbers grew substantially. While the total number is buried in the information, you have to compare it day to day to see how hospitalizations spiked. Last week the “data” looked sufficiently awful for the governor to institute a mask mandate and that is a good thing. Rayno also says Sununu set the tone for enforcement of pandemic restrictions when he said at a press conference just before July 4 that he doesn’t like “snitches” just as the Attorney General’s Office was inundated with complaints. Little was done to enforce the guidelines until last month when a dozen or more restaurants had to close due to COVID-19 exposures. But with the holidays and a second surge upon us, Rayno says regardless of what the governor does or doesn’t do, it’s time for everyone to wear masks in public. “That is the first step and more needs to be done to slow the spread this winter or New Hampshire could face another lockdown like last spring. It is not rocket science,” he writes. (Source: InDepthNH)

6. As the Pandemic Rages, More are Flying Despite CDC Pleas Not to Travel for Thanksgiving. Americans are flocking to airports for travel ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, even as the COVID-19 pandemic rages across the country and after the Centers for Disease Control pleaded with Americans not to travel. More than 1 million air travelers passed through security checkpoints at U..S airports on Friday for only the second time since the pandemic began, according to the TSA. On Saturday, the travel numbers neared one million, bringing the two-day total to more than two million passengers. The flock of Friday travelers came a day after the CDC issued its warning against holiday traveling. During a news briefing Thursday, Dr. Henry Walke, the CDC’s COVID-19 incident manager, said the agency recommended "against travel during the Thanksgiving period." (Source: USA Today)

7. What’s the Probability of Inviting a COVID-Positive Person to Your Thanksgiving Dinner? For weeks, health officials have been warning Granite Staters not to travel for the holidays. The risk of contracting COVID from the holidays has still remained abstract, though. An interactive map created by two researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, attempts to answer a deceptively complex question in tangible terms: what is the likelihood one of your holiday guests will have COVID-19? The map uses daily county COVID-19 data compiled by the New York Times along with an estimate of the unidentified asymptomatic spreaders to spit out the probability that one person at your gathering will have the virus. At a 10-person gathering in Merrimack County, there is a 12% chance one person will show up infected. As you increase the number of people at the hypothetical gathering, you can watch the color of the county turn from a pale orange to a blood red. In other parts of the state, the risk is much higher – the probability of a COVID positive guest at a 15-person event in Coos County is more than 1 in 3. Travel outside of New Hampshire for Thanksgiving and the risk gets even higher. In some parts of the Midwest, the risk of one person attending a gathering with COVID is nearly 90%, even for a 10-person event. Visit the map here. (Source: Concord Monitor)

8. Thanksgiving Week Has Arrived in New England. Here Are the COVID-19 Restrictions in Effect. In New England, state officials have implemented new COVID-19 restrictions meant to slow the spread of the virus and issued advisories for the Thanksgiving holiday. This article has the information you need to need to know if you are planning on traveling out-of-state for the holiday. (Source: NECN) USA Today has a similar but larger list of restrictions for all 50 states. (Source: USA Today)

9. Advocates Seek Doubling of Food Stamp Help in December. Families on food stamps could receive twice as much money for December under a proposal for federal COVID-19 relief funds made by a coalition of advocates for the poor. The NH Hunger Solutions and its 11 partners came up with the concept of using some of the remaining federal CARES Act dollars to provide an “emergency” allotment to people on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). An estimated 70,000 New Hampshire residents receive SNAP services. “This would provide direct aid to hungry families and is a proven stimulus for local economies. In fact, for every $1 in SNAP benefits $1.74 is generated in economic stimulus,” the group wrote in a joint letter to Gov. Chris Sununu. House and Senate Democratic leaders hope to discuss the proposal when the Legislative Advisory Board meets Monday. Their request is to use $11.9 million of remaining CARES Act money to increase the aid, providing each individual of a family receiving SNAP benefits an additional $169 in December. If approved, the increase would also come as the moratorium on evictions ends in December. (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

10. Where Free Thanksgiving Dinners Will Be Available on the Seacoast. The pandemic has limited many of the traditional options for feeding people in need on Thanksgiving day. But with job loss, evictions, and homelessness increasingly common as the coronavirus continues to surge, several local organizations and restaurants are looking to help—and some could use your help too. This article lists places where free meals will be available on Thursday. (Source: Seacoast Online)

11. Nashua Makerspace Creates Sign Language-Friendly Masks. American Sign Language isn’t just a language of hand movements. Facial expressions are part of the language, and for some deaf or hard of hearing people, lip reading is fundamental for how they communicate. So how can they communicate with people wearing masks? It was an issue that the United Way and Southern New Hampshire Health asked MakeIt Labs, a makerspace based in Nashua, to help solve. Makerspace president Bill Schongar of Mason said the usual activities at the creative co-working space have been disrupted by the COVID-19 virus, but its 210 members have turned their design skills to making an ASL-friendly mask, using a plastic barrier at the center so people can still see expressions and lips. The makerspace created their own design that allows the plastic barrier to be removed from its cloth base, so the rest of the mask can be washed and the plastic sterilized between uses. If you are interested in contributing to the project, the full instructions and patterns are here. To donate sewn masks, or to find out more information about the ASL-friendly mask or other MakeIt Labs projects, email info@makeit labs.com. (Source: Concord Monitor)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 22, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES (SOME WITH N.H. DATA)

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times Interactive Vaccine Tracker

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Sunday, November 22

Source: CovidActNow

On Saturday, state health officials announced 493 new COVID-19 cases and one additional death. Here is the rest of the pandemic-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Sunday.

1. Avalanche of New Cases Continues Across State. Of the 493 new COVID-19 cases reported on Saturday, 52 were in residents under 18 years old. Since March, New Hampshire has confirmed 17,281 cases, with 829 hospitalizations. On Saturday, there were 116 people in the hospital due to the virus. Hillsborough County is home to almost half of the new cases, with Manchester reporting 120 and Nashua 43. Other cases by county: Rockingham County, 105; Merrimack County, 37; Strafford County, 27; Belknap County, 22; Cheshire County, 16; Grafton County, 11, Carrol and Sullivan counties, six each; and Coos County, three. There are 4,174 active cases statewide. The state also announced one new death, a man from Hillsborough County older than age 60. This brings N.H.’s death toll from COVID-19 up to 508 people. (Source: N.H. DHHS) Meanwhile, the number of U.S. coronavirus cases surpassed 12 million Saturday, an increase of more than 1 million cases in less than a week, according to Johns Hopkins University data. On Friday, more than 195,500 new infections were reported — a number many considered unheard of just weeks ago. The highest number of single-day cases during the country's summer surge was a little more than 77,100 in July. (Source: WMUR and CNN)

2. NH Hospitals Brace for Second Surge. Within a month, New Hampshire hospitals’ bed capacity could be maxed out if the rate of new COVID-19 infections doesn’t recede. As the disease’s second wave hits, administrators, clinicians and public health officials said lessons learned from the first COVID-19 spike make them confident they can maintain care in all areas. But this is 2020. Things could change. In the space of a month, COVID-19 hospitalizations have increased sixfold from 17 on Oct. 17 to 108 on Nov. 20 [and 116 as of Saturday]. The state has roughly 2,350 inpatient hospital beds, an unspecified number of which are already occupied by non-COVID patients. Hospital administrators tell state officials they can “flex up” that number by 10% if necessary. Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette has, among her many jobs, been keeping a “bed check” on New Hampshire hospitals’ capacity. Her worry is what happens if the trend of hospitalizations doubling and redoubling continues, as in other states experiencing COVID-19 spikes. “Then we are talking about another 250 to 300 beds. That’s a 2,600 number, and that’s where people will need to scale back the services they provide inpatient and outpatient,” Shibinette said. The health of staff members also remains a major concern. During the first surge, Guard troops led the effort to create a statewide network of alternative care and surge hospitals that were on standby in case hospitals were overrun with COVID-19 patients. They weren’t needed the first time, but plans call for recreating them if necessary. “We have some of our surge facilities that were set up in the spring ready and able. There are two big ones that can be stood up in 24 hours and several others in another 48 to 72 hours,” Shibinette said. “We are ready to go. The goal is to manage it all internally at first.” (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

3. Some Like NH’s New Mask Mandate; Others Question It. Many people seem pleased with New Hampshire’s new mask mandate, while others say it’s too little, too late, and that it likely won’t change much. The mask mandate went into effect Friday, ordered by Gov. Chris Sununu a day earlier. It requires masks indoors in public places and outdoors where social distancing of at least six feet is not possible. Jodie Breneman, co-owner of G.Willikers! toy store in Portsmouth, said she supports the mandate. “We reopened on June 22, 100 days after we closed for COVID-19,” Breneman said. “We have required our staff and patrons to wear a mask since then. We were grateful to be able to order free masks through the state and we are almost out of them. I need to see if the state is still offering that. We have capacity limits and a hand sanitizer station in the store.” Breneman said most people coming into the store now are used to the mask policy. “Most of them now have their own masks,” she said. “We do not need to remind people very often anymore. Still, I am relieved by the mandate because some parents have had a hard time teaching their children about wearing masks when they see other people walking around without them. Some, like Andrea Huff feels it’s an empty gesture. “It doesn't change anything, so I'm indifferent about it,” Huff said. “If you can maintain six feet indoors or out, no mask needed. If you can't, wear a mask.” (Source: Seacoast Online)

4. Potential Community Exposure at Plaistow Bar and Grill. The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office is investigating multiple violations of New Hampshire Food Service guidance at Grumpy’s Bar & Grill in Plaistow. New Hampshire's Department of Health and Human Services is notifying the public of multiple confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the establishment and the risk that customers may have been exposed to the virus in the bar and pool table areas on the evenings of Tuesday, Nov. 10 and Saturday, Nov. 14. (Source: WMUR)

5. COVID-19 Vaccines Won't Shut Off the Pandemic Like a Lightswitch. According to Dr. Ben Locwin, a Portsmouth healthcare executive who has worked on vaccinology and virology advisory boards, the results of test trials for vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna are encouraging. But we have a long way to go before we’ve seen the last of COVID-19. Assuming the vaccines are effective, the distribution and supply chain will be the next challenge in order to get them out to the public. Moderna’s vaccine has an advantage because it requires less restrictive shipping and storage conditions than Pfizer’s vaccine (which is required to be kept at -70C). Both Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna are likely to be applying for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to the FDA within days. While an EUA is not the same as a full approval, it allows a more rapid use of a therapeutic intervention in dire situations whilst the full review and approval process is ongoing. But Locwin says once vaccine doses begin to be administered, the COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t simply end. In some cases, people confirmed to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 and recovered can be reinfected. This will mean that, unlike a vaccine for polio, for example, COVID-19 vaccines will likely need to be readministered on an annual basis to keep protection current while there are still cases of COVID-19 in the population. As vaccine production gears up, different populations will be vaccinated over time based on the their level of vulnerability to the virus or their level of exposure because of their profession. Meanwhile, Locwin urges people to reduce their risk by remaining distanced from others outside their household, with as much ventilation as possible, and with proper mask use. (Source: Seacoast Online)

6. Homeless Move Across Street After Court House Lawn Eviction. The day after the state removed dozens of people from the Hillsborough County courthouse lawn and put up fences around the grounds, almost 20 people were camped nearby, with nowhere else to go. In tents around the edges of Manchester’s Veterans Park, across a parking lot from the now-fenced courthouse lawn, those remaining said they were glad some people found a place to stay. The state said 33 people from the lawns “accepted services,” including beds at a Derry recovery center. (Source: Manchester Union Leader) The city of Manchester had nothing to do with the dismantling of the camp, which was coordinated late last week by state police and the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. Two weeks ago, the state Attorney General’s office posted signs informing the homeless of what was to come. The city had asked the state to open the armory to temporarily house the residents through winter or to allow the use of the former teen treatment center, abutting the John H. Sununu Youth Services Center but the state said no. At the present time, New Hampshire is negotiating with the state of Vermont to provide treatment at the center for Vermont’s youth. (Source: Manchester Ink Link) The two states are currently in negotiations, but Vermont children are not currently being housed at the center. (Source: InDepthNH)

7. N.H. Legislature’s Meeting Plans for 2021 Unclear as COVID Cases Rise. As the New Hampshire House prepares a transition in control from Democrats to Republicans, one major logistical question looms: Where do 400 lawmakers meet during a pandemic? For now, that’s still being decided. The incoming Republican leadership – a caucus that took power after the GOP flipped dozens of Democratic-held seats Nov. 3 – is sifting through options, looking at venues both inside state buildings and beyond. On the list of potentials is Representatives Hall itself, whose tightly packed seats hold all 400 members, but at close quarters. But as the state weathers a new wave of the coronavirus, driving up case counts and hospitalization numbers, opposition to the use of “Reps Hall” has swiftly grown. The New Hampshire Legislature, a volunteer body, is largely comprised of retirees, and some members serve in their 70s, 80s and 90s. “That would be a really bad idea, to have 400 representatives in the State House with what, the average age in their 60s?” Republican Gov. Chris Sununu said at a press conference Thursday. “That is exactly what we don’t want to have happen.” Democratic leadership is also strongly opposed, favoring remote session meetings instead. On Tuesday, the state Supreme Court ruled 4-0 that it is not a violation of the state Constitution to hold its session using video conferencing technology, responding to a question sent by the House. But many Republican representatives have rejected the idea of not meeting in person, and several former Republican lawmakers had argued against the proposal in court. Fortunately the House calendar offers some breathing room as few sessions are typically scheduled in the first two months of the year. (Source: Concord Monitor) Anti-mask GOP lawmakers in New Hampshire are not alone. Republican lawmakers in states other where coronavirus cases and hospitalizations have surged are also resisting rules requiring them to wear masks in their own capitols. Even in statehouses that have seen outbreaks of the virus or where Republican governors have issued statewide mandates, efforts to require lawmakers and staff to wear masks have received a cool reception. It's echoing a partisan divide nationwide over a simple step that health experts say is proven to help keep others safe. (Source: WMUR)

8. 1,900 NH Businesses Share $95 Million in Second Round of Main Street Assistance Fund. Some 1,900 New Hampshire businesses – a little less than half of the number that applied – will be getting an average of $50,000 through the second round of the state’s Main Street Fund. As of Nov. 13, according to the latest GOFERR report, $874.5 million of the $1.26 billion has been allocated and $374 million has been spent (that unspent money includes the Main Street money that is just going out the door now). So there is a good chance that another chunk of change would need to be distributed in the next month if the state is to avoid the need to return money not spent by Dec. 31 to the U.S. Treasury. (Source: NH Business Review)

9. NH Holiday Travel: Use Common Sense and Know the Rules. Travel is a balance of risks when celebrating Thanksgiving this year and there are some mandatory rules people need to follow, according to Trish Tilley, deputy director for the state Division of Public Health. “This is not the year to squeeze everyone you know around the same table,” said Tilley, updating the Governor’s Economic Reopening Task Force Thursday. Close contact with someone infected in 10 minutes can cause the spread of COVID-19 and or prompt a 14-day quarantine, she said. The state is not going to mandate how people spend their Thanksgiving, but she urged all to use common sense, keep gatherings small and pay attention to the travel guidance. What has not changed since the start of the pandemic is that anyone involved in non-essential travel outside the six states must self-quarantine for 14 days after travel, regardless of the mode of transportation. “What has changed is the opportunity to test-out after seven days,” of quarantine, Tilley said. Travelers should check the restrictions of places they are traveling to and keep abreast of any changes. Check New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services Business Travel Guidance for a list of all restrictions. (Source: InDepthNH)

10. Thanksgiving During a Pandemic: What to Expect on Grocery Store Shelves. Retailers began planning back in March for traditional large-sized turkeys for the holiday. But with the pandemic still ongoing, families are downsizing their dinners, which means smaller birds are in high demand. "They have enough of the small ones available in most cases. If they really run out short, then the answer to that is to ask the meat cutter to cut a large bird in half, freeze half and then cook one half of it now,” said John Dumais, President of the New Hampshire Grocers Association. The pandemic has also created an aluminum can shortage. That has led to less of a variety for certain drinks and other Thanksgiving staples. Dumais also said that sanitation products, disinfectants, and hand wipes may also be in short supply. He noted people should only buy products they need right now to ease the burden on local grocery stores and supermarkets. (Source: WMUR)

11. Thanksgiving During a Pandemic: How to Make the Most of Zoom for Virtual Get-Togethers. With many people preparing for scaled-down dinners without friends and extended family because of pandemic safety concerns, 2020 will be the year of the Zoom Thanksgiving. For once, electronic devices at the table are something to celebrate. Think about how you will position your laptop or other device so those dining with you remotely can see as many people at your table as possible. This may involve changing up the seating arrangements, putting more people on one side of the table than usual. Maryanne Sullivan of Jersey City, New Jersey, plans to leave the head of the table empty and put her laptop there, while her Massachusetts-based brother does the same at his family's table. The effect, she says, will "be a continuation of one long table." See other tips, including ideas for getting food to family members unable to cook for themselves, here. (Source: USA Today)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 21, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES (SOME WITH N.H. DATA)

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times Interactive Vaccine Tracker

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Saturday, November 21

A creatively decorated trash can in downtown Portsmouth.

On Friday, state health officials announced 527 new COVID-19 cases and one additional death from the virus. Here is the rest of the pandemic-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Saturday.

1. State Tops 4,000 Total Active Cases and 100 Hospitalizations. After 527 new cases were recorded on Friday, the Granite State also reached—and then blew by—the 4,000 mark in total active cases. There are now 4,089 active COVID-19 cases diagnosed statewide. The new cases reside in Rockingham (96), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (76), Strafford (72), Merrimack (56), Cheshire (28), Belknap (25), Carroll (24), Grafton (8), Sullivan (3), and Coos (2) counties, and in the cities of Manchester (80) and Nashua (31). The county of residence is still being determined for twenty-six new cases. Manchester leads the state with 557 active cases followed by Nashua (391), Salem (133), Durham (129), Derry (100), Hudson (94), and Concord (93). Portsmouth has 59 active cases. Hospitalizations also crested the 100 mark and reached 108 on Friday. Another person also succumbing to the virus brings the state’s pandemic death toll up to 507. Of the 16,797 people who have tested positive in N.H., 73% have recovered with the remainder consisting of fatalities and cases that are currently active. (Source: N.H. DHHS)

2. Massachusetts Imposes Travel Restrictions on New Hampshire, Maine. Massachusetts has added New Hampshire and Maine to its list of higher-risk states, imposing restrictions on anyone traveling from those states. Effective Saturday, anyone who travels from New Hampshire or Maine to Massachusetts must quarantine for 14 days or get a negative COVID-19 test within three days of arriving in Massachusetts. There are exceptions for people commuting to work and school, those getting medical treatment and military personnel. You can read the full order here. In response, N.H. Gov. Chris Sununu issued a statement acknowledging that each state is free to set its own guidelines, but that “New Hampshire is not considering further travel restrictions from other New England state’s at this time.” (Source: WMUR)

3. More NH Schools Switch to Remote Learning. More New Hampshire schools are switching to remote learning either as a precaution or because of positive cases of COVID-19. The Merrimack School District decided Thursday to transition to remote learning the Monday after Thanksgiving. Students will learn remotely until the day after Martin Luther King Jr. weekend in January. All Rundlett Middle School students in Concord will learn online Friday after a staff member at the school tested positive for the coronavirus. Remote learning will take place online Monday and Tuesday, as well. The announcement comes after the superintendent announced that both the middle school and Concord High School will move to remote learning after the Thanksgiving break through Jan. 19. New Hampton Community School has also switched to remote learning after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19. (Source: WMUR)

4. Evictions Remain Steady in N.H., But Housing Advocates Worry About 2021. Evictions in New Hampshire have been steady and relatively low since the state and federal moratorium on evictions ended this summer. In the past month, there’s been a weekly average of about 50 evictions. That’s about a third lower than the weekly number of evictions happening prior to the pandemic, according to Elliott Berry, an attorney with New Hampshire Legal Assistance. He says that's because rental assistance programs, unemployment benefits and a moratorium from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which started at the beginning of September, have helped people during this crisis. “I think that was a big help. I think landlords were also more willing to work with their tenants than a lot of us expected,” he said. But Berry says he's worried about what will happen next year, since the federal CARES act money -- and the CDC moratorium-- expires at the end of the year. "Unless somebody steps in, the governor, the CDC, or Congress extending the period of time in which the community action agencies can spend the CARES money, if that doesn’t happen, I can’t imagine there won’t be a huge spike in evictions,” he said. (Source: NHPR)

5. 2 Arrested, 4 Summonsed as Troopers Clear Court Homeless Camp in Manchester. Two people who refused to leave the homeless encampment on the lawn of Hillsborough County Superior Court Friday were arrested and charged with trespassing, one of whom was rushed to the hospital. Three others were issued summonses for illegal camping and a fourth person who was summonsed left the property, according to a news release issued jointly by the state departments of Health and Human Services, Justice and Safety at about noon. About 30 troopers helped clear the site, which is on state property. Mayor Craig release a statement Friday saying she had contacted local outreach teams, including the Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester, Families in Transition – New Horizons and the City Welfare Department who quickly mobilized teams to assist individuals. “As a result, Families in Transition – New Horizons already filled all of their available beds with people being forcibly removed from the courthouse lawn, and we’re working to find any other options available,” Craig said. “This eviction, uncoordinated with any local non-profit agencies or the City, will disconnect individuals from services they’ve been receiving for months. In the midst of a pandemic, when community spread is at an all-time high, the State is forcing people to move throughout the city with no place to go — putting the health and safety of those living unsheltered and all Manchester residents at risk. This action from the State is inhumane, causing trauma to individuals with nowhere else to go,” Craig said. (Source: InDepthNH)

6. Leaky Vials Necessitate Redo on COVID Tests. Twenty people who were tested last Saturday for COVID-19 at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene need to be retested, after the samples leaked in transport, according to a hospital spokesman. The vials were being delivered to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center’s laboratory in Lebanon when the incident occurred, spokesman Matthew Barone said. About 700 tests are transported there weekly, he noted. “Our process calls for multiple cap checks to ensure a tight fit,” he said in an email. “However, leaks can occur occasionally.” (Source: Concord Monitor)

7. VA Officials Say Veterans Suffering Mentally from Ongoing Pandemic. In a visit to New Hampshire on Friday, the U.S. secretary of veterans affairs said veterans may be suffering more mentally than physically because of the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie was at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport to welcome a large shipment of personal protective equipment that will be going to VA health care facilities. Wilkie said the pandemic has forced a national discussion about veterans' mental health issues. He said the expansion of telehealth services shows the growing need for counseling. "In a normal month, we do 40,000 mental health appointments a month through telehealth," he said. "We're now doing over 900,000." Local VA officials said isolation is a critical issue for veterans. Many used to view visits to the VA as a chance to meet and talk with other veterans and share experiences. "Unfortunately, with all the restrictions on access to campus, we're asking people to only come right before your appointment and leave immediately thereafter, so they've lost out on that camaraderie," said Ryan Lilly, of the VA New England Health Care System. (Source: WMUR)

8. Granite Staters Consider Changes to Holiday Plans Amid COVID-19 Concerns. People in New Hampshire are trying to find a balance between celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday while remaining safe as COVID-19 cases continue to climb. Options range from Zoom dinners to meal drop-offs to simple dinners with immediate households. Lacey Kostis, of Dover, usually hosts 20 people at her home for Thanksgiving, but this year she's downsizing to four. "And then we're doing a meal swap," she said. "Like, we're doing the turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy and dropping some of it off at my in-laws. They're cooking a couple of things and giving us a little bit of it." After announcing a statewide mask mandate Thursday, Gov. Chris Sununu said his office is not going to tell people what they can and cannot do within their own homes. "We continue to caution, though, against large gatherings and encourage good COVID practices, such as masks and social distancing, even in familiar settings, even amongst family members," Sununu said. (Source: WMUR)

9. To Gather for the Holidays or Not to Gather? Americans Have Been Here Before. 2020 is not the first year Americans have been advised to curtail their their Thanksgiving plans. During the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, some cities imposed mask ordinances and closed restaurants and dance halls, while others created alternate outdoor activities and urged residents to avoid large gatherings. But results turned out to be mixed. Back then, there was less scientific knowledge of how flu viruses spread. Pandemic fatigue—which is not a modern invention—was also a factor.. So while some people took the advice to limit contact with people outside their households, others used the holiday as a social release valve to vent “anti-mask” frustrations (yes, this was also a thing in 1918), or to simply to “give thanks” with other members of their spiritual communities, flooding newly reopened churches happy to accommodate them. The mixed level of caution—with some cities taking precautions as others tossed caution to the wind—resulted in many more people contracting the virus. After Thanksgiving in 1918, a catastrophic third wave of the Spanish flu burned through many areas the country just in time for Christmas and peaked in January 1919. It continued to spread throughout the winter and spring, killing thousands more. The Spanish flu would ultimately infect one-third of the world's population and kill approximately 675,000 Americans before subsiding in the summer of 1919. Howard Markel, a professor of the history of medicine at the University of Michigan and co-editor-in chief of The American Influenza Epidemic of 1918-1919, says if history tells us anything, it's that "the risk of contracting the virus or spreading the virus by congregating in groups or even traditional holiday parties is right now too great. "It is disappointing, but let’s get through this so we can celebrate many, many more Thanksgivings," he said. "The better part of valor is to stay home and stay safe." (Source: USA Today)

10. Portsmouth Health Officer Urges Residents to Rethink Holiday Plans. In a guest opinion published in the Portsmouth Herald, City Health Officer Kim McNamara appealed to residents of the greater Portsmouth area to do everything in their power to slow the spread of COVID-19, including changing their Thanksgiving plans. With the AAA estimating only a 10% reduction in travel despite the recent surge in cases and 14 day quarantine restrictions in many states, McNamara says the idea isn’t to cancel Thanksgiving or Christmas, but instead to celebrate thoughtfully. “Send your love for Thanksgiving, not the virus,” she wrote. You can read her entire column here. (Source: Seacoast Online)

11. UNH Hockey Coming Back - With Cardboard Cutout Fans. The University of New Hampshire men’s hockey team practices without fans in the stands all the time. Playing games without them is uncharted territory. That’s part of the new normal brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Already, the start of the season has been disrupted. The Wildcats were scheduled to take on No. 2 Boston College this weekend in a home-and-home series, but Friday's night game at BC has been postponed. The Wildcats' home opener is slated for Saturday night at an empty Whittemore Center, if the teams are cleared to play. UNH has initiated a fundraising campaign called Support the Roar. The new "‘Cats Cutout" promotion asks fans to virtually place themselves in the seats at the Whitt in cardboard-cutout form for men’s and women’s hockey games during the 2020-21 season. The cost is $50. Fans who take part will be helping UNH athletics deal with a $6 million annual loss in revenue, according to Marty Scarano, the school's athletic director. (Source: Seacoast Online)

12. Animal Shelters See Flood of Applications for Pet Adoptions. Dogs, cats, and other pets are not vulnerable to coronavirus, but the current public health crisis has created challenges for animal shelters here in central New Hampshire. Since the pandemic hit six months ago the New Hampshire Humane Society has been forced to reduce its capacity as it operates with a smaller workforce which needs to follow social distancing restrictions and other protocols as staff members go about their daily routine that seems anything but routine. But while shelters have had to scale back and modify their routines, the interest in adopting animals has remained strong. Megan Williams, who heads the Lakes Region Humane Society in Ossipee, said there is more demand than supply. “Animals fly out of here pretty quickly.” Because the Ossipee shelter is closed to the public, video “chats” are arranged for those interested in adopting a cat. For dogs, the shelter uses curbside adoption where a worker brings the dog out to the prospective owner. (Source: Laconia Daily Sun)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 20, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES (SOME WITH N.H. DATA)

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times Interactive Vaccine Tracker

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Friday, November 20

Gov. Sununu announces a statewide mask mandate on Thursday.

On Thursday, state health officials announced a record 529 new COVID-19 cases, 7 new hospitalizations, and 2 additional deaths. Here is the rest of the coronavirus-related NH news you need to know to start your Friday.

1. Sununu Imposes Statewide Mask Mandate Through Jan. 15. After resisting the idea of a state-wide mask mandate as recently as last week, Governor Chris Sununu has finally relented. With cases rising, substantial statewide community transmission, and a two-week doubling of hospitalizations, on Thursday, as cases rose to 529 — the state’s highest daily total to date — Sununu signed an Emergency Order instituting a statewide mask mandate in New Hampshire. The order takes effect at 12:01 AM on Friday, November 20, 2020, and will remain in effect through January 15, 2021. It requires all persons over the age of 5 to wear mask or cloth face coverings over their noses and mouths any time they are in public spaces, indoors or outdoors, where they are unable maintain a physical distance of at least six feet from persons outside their own households. However, those with a medical condition or difficulty breathing are exempt. Schools, restaurants, and other settings that already have prescribed mask requirements will continue using their existing mask guidelines. The new mandate includes no penalties for non-compliance. But Sununu noted that while the primary focus is to educate people on the importance of wearing masks, the Attorney General's Office has general enforcement authority that includes the ability to levy fines for violations of emergency orders. "It works, the data shows that. It has been proven," Sununu said of masks. Sununu’s statement represents a reversal from last Thursday’s press conference where he said, “If the idea is that if we just do a mask mandate our numbers will go down, that’s not true at all.” While the new order will apply statewide, Sununu also said that municipalities remain free to enact and enforce their own mandates with stricter guidelines and penalties. When asked if he was considering imposing curfews and restrictions on bars, as other nearby states have done, he said that any additional measures restricting business were not being considered at this time. Sununu was the last governor in New England and the northeast to issue a statewide mask mandate. (Sources: NHPR, InDepthNH, and Concord Monitor) Meanwhile, amid a rise in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in Maine, Gov. Janet Mills has announced that some businesses will temporarily close by 9 p.m. The curfew to help control the spread of the virus will begin on Friday and last until Dec. 6, Mills said in a statement Thursday. During that timeframe, all outdoor and indoor amusement venues, movie theaters, performing arts venues, casinos, and businesses that provide seated food and drink service will have to abide by the early closure time. (Source: NECN)

2. 529 New Cases Sets N.H. Daily Record for COVID-19. Thursday’s 529 positive test results include 327 people who tested positive by PCR test and 202 who tested positive by antigen test. There are now 4,006 current COVID-19 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire. Manchester (507), Nashua (413) and Salem (135) had the highest active numbers on Thursday. There are currently 98 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19–double the number that were hospitalized just two weeks ago. The state is also monitoring hospital bed availability. Officials said there is still enough capacity, but if the state sees again doubling the number of hospitalizations in another two weeks, it might look to closing down elective surgeries, phasing beds to COVID-19 wards and the state may move to stand up temporary hospitals across the state. (Source: InDepthNH and N.H. DHHS) Meanwhile, more than 2,000 American deaths were recorded by Johns Hopkins University on Thursday -- the highest number since early May.  (Source: CNN). Also on Thursday, CovidActNow, a consortium of universities and data experts that monitors COVID-19 in all 50 states, elevated N.H.’s risk level to its highest level—“active or imminent outbreak”—for the first time during the pandemic.

3. State Announces 5 More Nursing Home Outbreaks Bringing Active Outbreak Total to 12. At Thursday’s press update, DHHS Commissioner Lori Shibinette announced outbreaks at 5 additional nursing homes along with a plan to begin weekly testing of all nursing home staff. The new outbreaks are at Colonial Poplin Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Fremont (6 resident cases), Maple Leaf Health Care Center in Manchester (25 resident cases, 11 staff), Oceanside Center—Genesis in Hampton (35 resident, 12 staff), Ridgewood Genesis in Bedford (3 resident, 2 staff), and Studley Home Assisted Living Facility in Rochester (19 resident cases, 2 staff). (Source: NH DHHS) Shibinette also announced that there will be $6 million more available for nursing home testing and the state is recommending 100 percent of all staff at these facilities be tested on a weekly basis. She also told reporters that the state will also offer BiNaxNow cards for testing, voluntarily to visitors of long-term care facilities. “It’s an extra layer of protection we hope the facilities will use,” she said, noting guidance on that will be released on Friday. The inexpensive BiNaxNOW test from Abbott Laboratories uses a nasal swab to determine within 15 minutes if someone is infected with COVID-19. (Source: InDepthNH)

4. The Message for North Country Nursing Home Dealing with Staffing Crisis During Major Outbreak? “Expect a Rough Couple of Weeks”. The Coos County Nursing Hospital in West Stewartstown is seeing more cases of COVID-19 as the facility continues to deal with an outbreak of the virus. Staff told News 9 they are taking this one day at a time, but need more personal protective equipment and more nurses to deal with this outbreak. Currently, there are 37 residents with COVID-19, roughly half the people there. Three have recovered and three have died. Thirty-eight nurses have also tested positive which is a quarter of their staff, 27 of them are not working. On Thursday, the commissioner of the Department of Public Health Lori Shibinette says personal protective equipment is being sent but acquiring staff is a current problem. “We are doing all we can to find additional staff for Coos County, but I think they are going to have a real rough couple of weeks,” Shibinette said. (Source: WMUR)

5. N.H’s Nursing Homes Are Among the Hardest Hit in U.S., But Received Little Federal Aid. Nursing homes have accounted for nearly 82% of New Hampshire’s total COVID-19 deaths, the highest rate in the county. Yet, in the most recent round of funding, they have received the third-lowest amount of funding per home, only behind Maine and Vermont. The most recent round of nursing home grants, announced in late October, were distributed to nursing homes that kept “new COVID-19 infection and mortality rates among residents lower than the communities they serve.” The distribution strategy was intended to incentivize nursing homes to stay vigilant with infection control by rewarding those who keep their infection rate lower than that of their county. However, in states with low rates of community transmission, like New Hampshire, nursing homes struggled to keep their numbers under infection rates that were already low – between August and September, the window of time HHS used to make their allocations, some counties in the state had just a handful of positive cases. This allocation strategy, New Hampshire’s congressional delegation argued, inherently disadvantages states with overall low rates of COVID-19 in the community. Nationally, nursing homes received an average of $24,777 from the most recent round of funding. New Hampshire homes received an average of $4,909, about five times lower. “Why should we be punished because we’re not seeing a high level of community transmission?” asked Brendan Williams, the president of the New Hampshire Health Care Association. “Shouldn’t that be a good thing?” (Source: Concord Monitor)

6. Hospital Nurses on the Front Lines Against As Pandemic Surges and Hospital Admissions Increase. The 9-month-old coronavirus pandemic has been tiring for people in all walks of life, but especially for nurses who have been saddled with additional responsibilities, cumbersome protective garb and nagging worries about bringing the disease home. When caring for a patient with COVID-19, nurses also wear a full gown and an N95 face mask. They try to get a lot accomplished in one visit. They don’t want to have to go into and out of a room multiple times if they can avoid it. “It does take a little thought before you go in a room,” said Beth Simpson, a nurse at Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth. “We also ask the patients to wear a mask while we’re in the room.” COVID-19 patients can’t receive visitors, so the nurses end up being the main people they see on a daily basis. “That is really hard,” Simpson said. “We purchased iPads specifically for patients to do Zoom calls or FaceTime. We try to encourage that, so they can see their families.” After a full day at the hospital wearing protective garb, and sometimes caring for people who have the disease, it can be shocking to go into the community and see people unmasked and not socially distanced. “It’s frustrating,” Simpson said. “We’ve seen that masking does work. I wear one everywhere, except if I’m in my own office, behind a closed door, or at home. I think we should all be paying attention.” Health care workers account for 2,311, or about 15 percent, of the COVID-19 cases that have been diagnosed in New Hampshire. A total of 62 health care workers have been hospitalized and eight have died. (Source: Laconia Daily Sun)

7. Sununu Touts State Position Heading into Next Budget Season. Opening the initial hearings on the 2022-2023 biennial budget Thursday, Gov. Chris Sununu said the state is in a far better position than envisioned last spring in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The combination of state agency reductions and efficiencies, with the Governor’s Office for Relief and Recover which oversaw the distribution of $1.25 billion in federal CARES Act funds, was able to bring the state’s economy back in a sound way, Sununu said. He said it is unclear if more help from the federal government is on the way or when but assumes additional help will be forthcoming at some point. “But we can’t count on it, and we don’t know when,” Sununu said, “so we have to build a budget as we always do for the state of New Hampshire and on the revenue stream we have.” He said the state needs to develop a “a very different looking budget,” noting he asked agencies to look for long-term efficiencies within their departments, not just cutting staff, but better use of technology. (Source: InDepthNH)

8. First Night Portsmouth Cancelled. Pro Portsmouth, producers of large downtown events since 1978, announced First Night Portsmouth will not take place this year. First Night Portsmouth was set for Dec. 31, but due to the ongoing spikes in, and concern with, COVID-19, the fireworks, ice sculpture, street dance and indoor performances will not take place. With fundraising opportunities limited, the organization is looking to the community to support its ongoing efforts. To make an online donation, or for more information about how to help, visit www.proportsmouth.org/donate.cfm. (Source: Seacoast Online)

9. Homeless Start Departing Courthouse Lawn in Manchester as Political Acrimony Builds. More than two dozen homeless people camped at the Hillsborough County courthouse in Manchester traded their tents for warm beds on Thursday, with most of them headed to a Derry recovery center, state officials said. According to a statement from the state Department of Health and Human Services, 27 people accepted offers of supportive housing. Meanwhile, Republican Gov. Chris Sununu said protesters at the site have urged some there to refuse housing. “I can’t tell you how dangerous and frustrating that is,” said Sununu, noting the overnight low temperature was 15 degrees. He said Manchester city officials have not offered any assistance to the state. “They’ve been very brazen and vocal about that,” Sununu said. Manchester Fire Chief Dan Goonan has a very different take on the situation. Goonan said Sununu is lying and that Manchester firefighters are at the courthouse encampment as well as camps throughout the city every day. Most of their work involves addressing immediate needs such as physical injuries or illness or mental illness. He said they line up people for housing when beds are available. When he approaches state officials, “they’re constantly angry that we’ve come to them to ask for help,” Goonan said. “The politics of this is absolutely nauseating.” (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

10. Don't Travel For Thanksgiving, CDC Warns. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is strongly recommending that people stay home for Thanksgiving to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. With the holiday one week away, the agency issued a statement that taking a trip to see loved ones is simply inadvisable right now. "Travel may increase your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19," the CDC explained in an advisory released Thursday. "Postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others this year." The CDC is advising people instead to spend Thanksgiving with the folks with whom they have been living for the two weeks leading up to the holiday. "If people have not been actively living with you for the 14 days before you're celebrating, they're not considered a member of your household," Erin Sauber-Schatz of the CDC said at a news briefing Thursday. "And therefore you need to take those extra precautions, even wearing masks within your own home." (Source: NHPR)

11. Seacoast Restaurant Owners Get Creative to Keep Diners Safe. The Old Salt restaurant in Hampton is down in revenue by about 25% due to the pandemic, but managed to keep afloat over the summer with a robust takeout operation and outdoor dining that capitalized on mostly sunny weather. After deciding to cancel Thanksgiving reservations for 700 people because of concerns over safety and the likelihood of many last-minute cancellations because of the recent surge in new COVID-19 cases, owner Joe Higgins has decided to open up some of the rooms in the Inn to private dining. Higgins that says for some diners, smaller, more isolated dining rooms will be more appealing than a large dining room. Higgins is one of many seacoast restaurant owners trying new ways to make their restaurants safer for patrons while COVID-19 numbers grow. The Galley Hatch put up two heated plastic igloos in its parking lot for dinner parties of up to six to sit outdoors during the winter. It and others have invested in HVAC improvements like ultra-violet lights that kill viruses and bacteria as the air circulates, a purchase Higgins said he also is considering. (Source: Seacoast Online)

12. Ski Season Expected to Be Different But Busy. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic – or maybe because of it – the New Hampshire ski industry could be in store for a busy season. At Piche’s Ski & Sports Shop on Tuesday, co-owner Pat Bolduc said there seems to be a lot of people who want to get outdoors and participate in a healthy activity. “Since April it has been off the charts,” Bolduc said. “If we can get the equipment, we can sell it. We ran out of bike products. Some companies are having a hard time with supplies and freight, but our winter inventory is looking fantastic.” At Gunstock Mountain Resort, President and General Manager Tom Day has put in place various restrictions to limit the potential for spreading COVID-19. People are being encouraged to get into their ski boots in the parking lot and tromp to the lift. A pandemic is not the time for piling into the lodge and getting into and out of gear. In fact, many people might want to return to their cars to eat. Ski tailgating may become a thing. “We assume there will be some of that,” Day said. “We’re certainly encouraging people to use their car as their base lodge, their boot-up area, their locker and their lunch area.” (Source: Laconia Daily Sun)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 19, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES (SOME WITH N.H. DATA)

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times Interactive Vaccine Tracker

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level
  

Thursday, November 19

With more than 250,000 U.S. fatalities, COVID-19 is now the third leading cause of death in the United States.

447 new coronavirus cases were announced in New Hampshire on Wednesday along with 14 new hospitalizations and 2 additional deaths. Here is the rest of the pandemic-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Thursday.

1. New COVID-19 Cases and Hospitalizations Surge Across N.H. and U.S. The 447 new cases announced in New Hampshire on Wednesday were spread across all 10 New Hampshire counties with the highest numbers in population centers in the southern part of the state. The new cases reside in Rockingham (117), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (53), Strafford (34), Coos (26), Belknap (24), Merrimack (21), Cheshire (15), Grafton (11), Carroll (4), and Sullivan (3) counties, and in the cities of Manchester (50) and Nashua (43). The 14 new hospitalizations ties for the second highest daily total of new admissions the state has seen since 19 people were hospitalized at the peak of the first wave on April 24. (Source: N.H. DHHS) Since January, the illness has spread over every U.S. state and territory, infecting 11.5 million people and killing over 250,000. In less than 10 months, COVID-19 has killed more people than strokes, suicides and car crashes typically do in a full year -- combined. The coronavirus has also proven itself to be far deadlier than the flu. Each year from 2014 through 2018, an average of 42,200 people died from the flu, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In less than 10 months, COVID-19 deaths have reached more than five times the average number of annual flu deaths. The coronavirus isn't just deadlier than the flu -- it has also proven itself to be much more contagious than the flu. COVID-19 now the 3rd leading cause of death in the U.S., trailing only cancer and heart disease. (Source: CNN)

2. Are We Headed for a Second Shutdown? The answers you get from New England governors and big city mayors are very different. While politicians have mostly avoided the subject when asked, some are much more blunt. When asked about the possibility on Tuesday, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said that if the current trend doesn't turn around, another shutdown may be necessary. “We're not at a point now yet, but we could be there in a week" the mayor said. "We're not at a point yet where we have to shut everything down. The last resort would be to shut things down right now, and we're headed toward that last resort." Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker implemented an expanded mask mandate, a restaurant curfew and a stay-at-home advisory earlier this month, but says he doesn't think the state is in the same dire straits it was last spring. Connecticut and Rhode Island have also imposed curfews and curtailed restaurant hours and capacity. Maine and New Hampshire, which have lower case numbers, have yet to take similar action, but Vermont Gov. Phil Scott recently issued a ban on multi-household gatherings, tightened travel restrictions and is forcing bars and social clubs to close earlier. On Tuesday, Scott defended the guidelines he's put in place and criticized those who have chosen to flaunt them. "The skeptics are right: they can do what they want. But please don't call it patriotic," Scott said. "Don't pretend it's about freedom. Because real patriots serve and sacrifice for all, whether they agree with that or not. Real patriots stand up and fight when our nation's health and security is threatened.” (Source: NECN)

3. Group Files Right to Know Request Seeking Information on How $61 Million in Federal Money Allocated for Contact Tracing Was Spent. A New Hampshire citizens group made up of scientists, physicians, and former public health officials has filed a request under the state’s Right to Know law asking for a full accounting of the expenditures of $61M of CARES Act Funds that were received by the state and earmarked for contact tracing and testing. The N.H. Science and Public Health Task Force is questioning Gov. Sununu’s decision to sharply curtail contract tracing as the pandemic surges across the state. “We would like to know what happened to that money,” said Mindi Messmer, an environmental consultant who was the Democratic nominee for the Executive Council seat that Rye Republican Janet Stevens won Nov. 3. The group also called on Sununu to enact a statewide mask mandate, to limit gatherings to 10 people, and ask people to avoid bars and restaurants for two weeks. “I am really depressed and shocked that the government in the state of New Hampshire has not taken every means possible to prevent death, destruction and sickness in their state which is so, so easily done,” said Dr. Alain Ades of New Castle. Last week, Sununu administration officials said the state was narrowing the focus of its contact tracing program to focus on higher-risk groups as a spike in positive cases continues. The contact-tracing team’s priorities are people over 60 or under 18 and all health-care workers, officials said. Dr. Rich DiPentima, a former state epidemiologist, said the state should do more, but it’s got a lot of ground to cover. “It is almost impossible to do catch-up when you have 200 cases a day and there are four or five contacts. That’s 1,000 people that have to be followed up,” DiPentima said. “So every day you are adding on another 1,000. The cumulative numbers become so overwhelming that it is beyond the capability of the state, so they have thrown up their hands.” (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

4. How Much of $1.25B CARES Act Money Is Left and Who Will Get It Amid Much Need? With only 45 days left before all $1.25 billion in CARES Act funding to New Hampshire must be spent by Gov. Chris Sununu or returned to Washington, D.C., the Legislative Advisory Board making recommendations canceled its scheduled meeting Tuesday. State Sen. Lou D’Allesandro, D-Manchester, a member of the board, said the delay was caused because they are waiting for “factual data on what is left,” in the CARES Act fund. Sununu was criticized Tuesday by state Senate Majority Leader Dan Feltes for not being transparent with CARES Act spending or with information on how he would handle a second wave of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities, which have seen the most deaths from the virus. The Legislative Advisory Board was told, and Sununu has said about $38 million is unspent, but D’Allesandro said he believes more than that is not yet spoken for. To get the exact number, the board will wait and meet Monday at 4 p.m., D’Allesandro said. D’Allesandro said an accurate accounting of what is left in the CARES Act account should be known by Monday following several deadlines on appeals of programs created by Sununu to spend the money where it is needed most. Sununu has vowed that the money will be spent rather than returned. (Source: InDepthNH)

5. Sununu Urges Local Schools to Resist Return to All-Remote Learning. Local school boards should “dig deep” and keep buildings open for classes through the holiday season despite rising cases of COVID-19 in New Hampshire, Gov. Chris Sununu said. On Tuesday, Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut and Sununu reacted to the Manchester school board’s decision to return to all-remote classes starting next Monday and continuing until Jan. 19. Sununu said “about a dozen” clusters of COVID-19 cases have been reported in the state’s public schools. On Monday, Concord schools announced three cases involving one employee and two students. “We don’t have any official outbreaks in schools,” Sununu said on the Good Morning New Hampshire radio program with Jack Heath. “That is a success story, an amazing success story for public schools in New Hampshire.” The state education chief said he sees no scenario in which all-remote learning would be necessary again. “We want to continue to support our communities to be successful. There is not a lot of transmission coming into the school,” Edelblut said. (Source: Manchester Union Leader) Meanwhile, the state’s COVID-19 Schools Dashboard shows the level of community transmission at the highest level (“substantial”) statewide and close to 70 N.H. K-12 schools and universities were reporting at least one active case on Wednesday.

6. State’s Response To Crisis at Coos County Nursing Hospital Angers Berlin Mayor. The Coos County Nursing Hospital has gone from crisis to chaos with more than half of its residents and nearly half the staff testing positive for COVID-19 and four patients having died – with no help from the state beyond sending PPE, an angry Berlin Mayor Paul Grenier charged on Wednesday. The nursing home’s business office is closed due to COVID. Phone calls can’t get through and families aren’t allowed to visit loved ones because of the outbreak, Grenier said. It has been going on for 10 days despite calls for help and complaints to Gov. Chris Sununu’s chief of staff, D.J. Bettencourt, and the state Department of Health and Human Services, he said. Grenier is livid. “We’re beyond crisis,” Grenier said. “I’m angry…Other than ‘you are in our thoughts and prayers,’ there has been little to no help from the state.” Sununu didn’t immediately respond to Grenier’s complaints, but his spokesman Ben Vihstadt did ask for further details about the mayor’s concerns. (Source: InDepthNH)

7. COVID-19 Strikes New Hampshire Veterans Home. Two residents of the New Hampshire Veterans Home in Tipton have died of COVID-19, and 19 other residents and 17 staff members have become infected. “We mourn their loss and it’s very difficult for our staff because we do love them like family,” Commandant Margaret Labreque said, adding that the deaths were even more tragic because the Veterans Home is closed to visitors “and we know it’s been very trying” to the residents and their families not to be with each other. LaBrecque, commandant since 2012, said she has “quite a few vacancies” on what should be a staff of 280. Some of those vacancies exist because of concern among medical professionals about working in a place where COVID-19 cases have been reported. LaBrecque said Gov. Chris Sununu and the state’s congressional delegation have done much to help the Veterans Home, including helping to obtain federal funds that can be used to hire licensed nursing assistants and registered nurses. (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

8. 12 More Infected at Keene State. Keene State College recorded 12 more positive COVID-19 tests this past week. This represents a significant increase in the college's case totals, although a Keene State spokeswoman noted that the incidence rate for the viral disease remains low. According to a COVID-19 monitoring report the college issued Wednesday, nine students and three employees tested positive for the virus between Nov. 11 and 17. This is up from the three positives the college found during the week before. "We expected an increase, as case rates are rising around us, and throughout the United States," Kelly Ricaurte, college spokeswoman, said in an email Wednesday afternoon. "The College’s COVID-19 incidence rate is 0.35%, which remains low. We are closely monitoring the changes in our community, the city, and the county and the state." (Source: Keene Sentinel)

9. Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid Vaccine Shows Robust Immune Response Among Older Adults. The coronavirus vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca is safe and triggers a similar immune response among all adults, according to the preliminary findings of a peer-reviewed phase two trial. The promising early-stage results were published Thursday in The Lancet, one of the world's top medical journals. The study of 560 healthy adults, including 240 over age 70, found the vaccine to be safe and produced a similar immune response among people age over 56 and those ages 18 to 55. Older people face a "significant risk" of developing severe illness on contracting Covid-19, the WHO has said, citing decreased immune function and potential underlying health conditions. People of all ages are at risk of contracting the virus, however. The news comes a week after promising results were announced for vaccines created by Pfizer and Moderna. (Source: NECN)

10. State Vaccine Distribution Plan Prioritizes Long-Term Care Residents and Facility Workers, Residents. As the makers of COVID-19 vaccines move closer to approval, New Hampshire health officials are grappling with the logistics of vaccine distribution, including the ethics of who will receive the vaccine as it arrives. State health officials said the H1N1 pandemic prepared them for how to do a large-scale vaccine distribution. A 40-page plan is in place aside from two major exceptions: how much vaccine New Hampshire will receive and how soon. Health officials said it could be April before there is a vaccine available for the public. Phase 1 of the plan prioritizes distribution first responders, high-risk health workers, people with underlying health conditions and older adults living in congregate settings. DHHS will mostly follow the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control on these priorities with one significant exception. “Here in New Hampshire we would also like to vaccinate the residents of long-term care facilities up front in Phase 1-A,” said Dr. Beth Daly from DHHS. The health departments in Nashua and Manchester will have a large role in the Phase 1 rollout, because population is another factor in the prioritization of where the vaccines go first. (Source: WMUR)

11. Vaccine Trials Bring Hope for Some, Concerns for Others. Lori Tyler Gula is so supportive of the vaccination effort that she volunteered to participate in clinical trials for an AstraZeneca vaccine. Gula said she agreed to enroll in the study to do her part, especially as her parents are in their 70s and her father suffers from COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. “I know that for them, if they were to get COVID, that it would probably be a death sentence just because of my father. If there’s anything I can do on my part to get a vaccine into the market to help people, I’m going to do it,” she said. Gula, one of approximately 30,000 participants in the study, received her first injection on Tuesday as part of the double-blind trial. Gula doesn’t know if she received the investigational vaccine or a placebo, but she said she felt similar to the way she reacts when she receives a flu shot. Gula said she had chills, felt achy and had a headache in the hours after receiving the shot. By Wednesday morning she was feeling much better. But some other New Hampshire residents are content to take a wait-and-see approach. “It’s being pushed through too fast,” said Margaret Demopoulos, 56, of Durham. Lisa Nigl, 56, of Raymond, also isn’t ready to jump on board. “Side effects concern me. I have health issues, so that definitely concerns me,” she said. (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

12. Sununu Seeks 900 National Guardsmen To Fight COVID-19 and Distribute Vaccine. Gov. Chris Sununu has sought authorization for 900 National Guardsmen through March 31, 2021 to help fight the pandemic and support immunization when COVID-19 vaccines become available. In a letter to President Donald Trump, Sununu asked that the guardsmen be maintained in a Title 32 status. That means federal funds would pay for troops to complete missions approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency while remaining under Sununu’s control. Sununu also requested reinstating 100% federal cost share for this request. “Approving the 100% cost share will make a game-changing impact in our ability to provide for the security and safety of New Hampshire’s citizens,” Sununu wrote. He also thanked Trump for his previous approval to maintain up to 400 New Hampshire National Guard personnel in a Title 32 status through the end of the year. (Source: InDepthNH)

13. Three More N.H. Businesses Fined For Violating Emergency COVID Orders. The state Attorney General's office has fined three New Hampshire food establishments for violating coronavirus emergency orders. The businesses – What a Bagel in Nashua, Simply Delicious Baking Co in Bedford, and Checkmate Pizza in Concord – will each have to pay $500 for allegedly violating mask requirements put in place through executive orders in response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to violation letters sent by the attorney general this week. (Source: NHPR)

14. 3-Way Stalemate Continue Between State, City of Manchester, and Homeless People Camped Outside Manchester Court House. On Wednesday, the Attorney General’s Office said there is no deadline to clear a homeless encampment on the lawn of the Superior Courthouse in Manchester amid ongoing tensions between state officials and the city. State officials said their goal is to help people transition off the property. Whether that be into a shelter or another encampment. The AG’s office said the lawn outside the courthouse is state owned and it is their responsibility to clear the encampment that formed. City officials in Manchester said they do not feel the state has been communicating their plan and feel left in the dark. “I don’t know what is going on, nothing has been communicated to me nor my team,” Manchester Fire Department Chief Dan Goonan said. “We are just pretty much going on rumors.” In the meantime, Goonan said they continue to help in any way they can. “We are trying to look at people individually to see if we can get people into beds if there are any, if not, see if we can meet their needs and quite frankly keep them alive in the cold weather,” Goonan said. (Source: WMUR)

15. Capitol Center for the Arts Cancels All Live Performances Until Next Year. The Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord has decided to suspend all live performances out of concerns over COVID-19. Officials with the performance center said the concerns weren't just with the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in New Hampshire. The center also draws patrons from surrounding states, and officials felt it was no longer safe to hold performances. (Source: WMUR)

16. As Forms Go Unfilled By Parents, Schools Could Lose Millions of Dollars in State Aid. The coronavirus pandemic has led to a nationwide expansion of the free and reduced lunch program for K-12 students, but unfilled paperwork could mean districts miss out on millions of dollars for low-income students next year. The glitch is an unintended consequence of the country’s meals expansion efforts, which in previous years required parents to complete forms to qualify. School districts say with fewer interactions due to remote learning, they are struggling to notify parents of the need to complete the forms. Before this year, families were required to fill out applications to determine if their income qualified them for free or reduced-price lunch at school. This application served another key purpose: state and federal governments use the percentage of students on free or reduced lunch to measure school-level poverty and allocate funding. That process was disrupted this year, as districts across New Hampshire took advantage of a federal initiative to offer free meals to all students, regardless of income, through curbside pick-up, delivery, or in school. Families who normally filled out forms no longer needed to in order to access meals. But with fewer complete free and reduced applications, districts are now looking at millions of dollars less in poverty-based state aid. Manchester, for example, saw its free or reduced lunch numbers decline by 30 percent. That translates to $4 million less in state aid. (Source: NHPR)

17. N.H. Child Advocate: 'Historic' Number of Children Awaiting Psychiatric Care. A record number of children in New Hampshire are on waitlists for acute psychiatric services during the coronavirus pandemic. In an annual report released last week, Moira O’Neill, director of the Office of the Child Advocate, says more kids than ever are in emergency rooms awaiting care for a mental health crisis. In early 2020, less than 15 people under the age of 18 were in emergency rooms on waiting lists for acute psychiatric care; last month, the daily count exceeded 30 for the first time in five years, according to O’Neill. The increase in children’s mental health emergencies in New Hampshire mirrors a national trend during the pandemic. The CDC recently found that emergency department visits among teenagers had increased by 31 percent, compared to 2019. (Source: NHPR)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 18, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES (SOME WITH N.H. DATA)

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times Interactive Vaccine Tracker

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Wednesday, November 18

Pandemic precautions in downtown Portsmouth.

On Tuesday, state health officials reported 279 new COVID-19 cases, 3 new hospitalizations, and two additional deaths. Here is the rest of the pandemic-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Wednesday.

1. New Cases Dip Below 300 for the First Time in a Week. The 279 new cases reside in Rockingham (69), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (36), Merrimack (26), Strafford (23), Belknap (16), Cheshire (16), Grafton (12), Carroll (10), Sullivan (4), and Coos (1) counties, and in the cities of Manchester (39) and Nashua (20). Hotspots with the highest number of total active COVID-19 cases on Tuesday were Manchester (413), Nashua (372), and Durham (133). There are currently 77 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19. In New Hampshire since the start of the pandemic, there have been a total of 15,303 cases of COVID-19 diagnosed with 817 (5%) of those having been hospitalized. The state’s COVID-19 Schools Dashboard shows the risk for community transmission remains at the highest level with close to 70 New Hampshire schools and universities reporting at least one active case. The largest active school outbreaks outside a university setting are at the Mount Prospect Academy with 31 active cases and the Nashua Children’s Home with 7. (Source: N.H. DHHS)

2. Long Waits for Testing at COVID Testing Sites in NH. With every available test appointment at the Department of Health in Manchester taken this week and long waits at many urgent care testing sites across New Hampshire, state health officials are warning that a COVID test is not a free pass to travel. With many people either needing a test because they have been exposed to someone with the virus or wanting a test to be “in the clear” to gather with family and friends for Thanksgiving, health officials caution that the incubation time of the virus makes it impossible to predict. “There is a fairly wide time period where the virus could be replicating in your body and the test may not pick it up,” said Phil Alexakos from the Manchester Health Department. Health officials say testing, mask wearing, and social distancing is about protecting those you love, the transmission is silent and invisible. “We have to be mindful that not all of our relatives have a very robust immune system,” Alexakos said. (Source: WMUR)

3. Possible COVID-19 Exposures at Wolfeboro Church, Salem Casino. Officials with the Department of Health and Human Services said 25 COVID-19 cases have been linked to Calvary Wolfeboro Church at 43 Mill St. in Wolfeboro. Officials said people who attended the 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. services on Nov. 1 might have been exposed. They also issued a warning to people who visited Chasers Poker Room and Casino in Salem from Nov. 4 through Nov. 7 and Nov. 9 through Nov. 12. DHHS reported that known close contacts have been notified directly. But they said there might have been other people exposed who can't be identified. (Source: WMUR)

4. Second Maplewood Nursing Home Employee Tests Positive for COVID-19. A direct-care worker at Maplewood Nursing Home in Westmoreland has been diagnosed with COVID-19 as cases in the Monadnock Region continue to surge. This is the second infection this month among employees at the county-owned facility, which suspended guest visits last week after a part-time staff member tested positive for the novel coronavirus. (Source: Keene Sentinel)

5. NH and Vermont Schools Left to Do Their Own Contact Tracing. As COVID-19 case numbers increase in both Vermont and New Hampshire, public health officials are handing over contact tracing responsibilities to school officials, health care providers and, in some cases, to individuals who have tested positive themselves. Though both states are shifting how they are doing contact tracing, only New Hampshire officials have said they will no longer be conducting contact tracing for everyone who tests positive for COVID-19. “Due to the rapid pandemic surge and widespread community transmission, containment is no longer possible,” New Hampshire State Epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan wrote last Friday in an update to health care providers. Going forward, New Hampshire’s 140 contact tracers will focus their efforts on people under age 18; people over 65; people of racial and ethnic minorities who have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19; people tied to an outbreak; people in congregate care settings; and health care workers. Doctors and other health care providers have been instructed to ask patients to notify any people who have been within 6 feet of them for at least 10 minutes during their infectious period and ask them to quarantine for 14 days and get tested. Since containing the virus is no longer possible in New Hampshire, Chan said, “it will take strict adherence to the community mitigation interventions (i.e., avoiding social gatherings, physical distancing, cloth face mask use, etc.) to reduce community transmission.” (Source: The Valley News)

6. State Issues Lengthy Statement, but Still No Plan for Homeless Outside Manchester Courthouse. On Tuesday afternoon the state issued a 1,100-word statement regarding the ongoing issue of homeless encampments on state-owned property outside the Hillsborough County Courthouse. One thing was missing: A plan. The posted eviction day came and went on Monday with no action by state police. In the statement released jointly by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General’s Office (see full statement in article) there are references to the state’s active and ongoing involvement with outreach, and they pointed to the Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester as their “contracted outreach partner.” Manchester Mental Health considers itself part of the city’s outreach team says Rik Cornell, not the eyes of the state. Cornell, who has been in the trenches of mental health and counseling for more than 47 years, said he is as confused by the state’s contention that they have actual boots on the ground as anyone. “We’re one of 10 mental health services for state, we’re a vendor for the state. We see people through Medicaid dollars allocated, but we don’t work for the state,” Cornell said as a point of clarification. Cornell also questioned the state’s contention that there are 6 to 8 beds available daily at New Horizons. Although the state didn’t specify where those five beds were that were offered to courthouse campers, on Monday Families in Transition confirmed that they had to turn away 10 people between Friday and Sunday who had come for shelter. Also on Monday, Patrick Tufts, President and CEO of Granite United Way, said that he knew of nine open beds in the entire state that were open as of Monday morning, but they were in Plymouth, Laconia and Keene, and they were expected to all be spoken for by the end of day Monday. Meanwhile, in a response to the state’s letter, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig said the city has identified 364 people living in sheltered in the city, up from 74 in 2019. She said the city would welcome more help with sheltering and housing from the state, but that she doesn’t support temporarily, intermittently, or involuntarily relocating people from one outdoor encampment to another as the cold weather arrives. (Source: Manchester Ink Link)

7. Supreme Court: NH House Meeting Remotely Wouldn’t Violate NH Constitution. The N.H. State Supreme Court ruled in an advisory opinion Tuesday that the House of Representatives could meet in session remotely without violating Part 2, Article 20 of the New Hampshire Constitution which says members must be “present.” The justices wrote: “As long as the requisite number of representatives is ‘present’ either in person or virtually, meaning that the requisite number is ‘at hand’ and ‘not absent’ Part 2 Article 20 is satisfied.” House Speaker Stephen J. Shurtleff called it a victory. “Today’s Court ruling is a victory for common sense and safety for staff and members of the General Court and for all Granite Staters, which has been our priority since the beginning of this pandemic,” Shurtleff said. (Source: InDepthNH) The ruling allows the House to meet and vote virtually but doesn’t require it. The final decision will be up to the new Republican majority in the House, which has been largely hostile to mask-wearing and other public health precautions. When in the minority, Republican members overwhelmingly opposed a rules change that would have allowed the House to vote on a constitutional amendment that would have allowed legislators to participate in sessions remotely. This prompted House leadership to change strategy and ask the Supreme Court to rule instead on whether the existing language of the state constitution could be interpreted to allow for virtual sessions and voting. Yesterday’s ruling affirmed that when it comes to the legislature, being “present” remotely is the same as being present in-person under the law.

8. Portsmouth Firefighters Train to Be Vaccinators. While the number of positive COVID-19 cases continues to surge, amid promising news of vaccines, the city's Fire Department is planning ahead by certifying 48 emergency medical technicians to become vaccinators. Fire Chief Todd Germain said he had been discussing vaccine distribution with McNamara and City Manager Karen Conard, which led to the plan to get the 48 firefighters, who are EMTs and paramedics, certified as vaccinators. Germain said the city fire and health departments conducted a drill in 2005 at Portsmouth High School, where influenza vaccines were administered. He said with COVID-19 vaccines sounding promising, he thought about that drill and how it could apply to vaccinating residents against the current pandemic. (Source: Seacoast Online)

9. New Hampshire Volunteers Sought for Trial of Another COVID-19 Vaccine. Hundreds of New Hampshire residents are being sought to participate in a trial of a COVID-19 vaccine as reports spread of great success with other vaccines. ActivMed’s Portsmouth office is seeking 1,500 people in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts to participate in the final step before the release of a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca. It is one of 100 sites in the U.S. running what is known as Phase 3 clinical trials. Participants will get two shots about 30 days apart and must keep track of their health over the following two years. One-third of the volunteers get a placebo, a shot that has no active medical effect, and two-thirds get the vaccine. (Source: Concord Monitor)

10. ‘Don't Call It Patriotic': Vt. Gov. Has Message for Those Who Defy Coronavirus Restrictions. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott defended strict coronavirus restrictions put in place by his administration, Tuesday, saying those who choose to flaunt guidelines should not call themselves patriotic. "The skeptics are right: they can do what they want. But please don't call it patriotic," Scott said. "Don't pretend it's about freedom. Because real patriots serve and sacrifice for all, whether they agree with that or not. Real patriots stand up and fight when our nation's health and security is threatened. "And right now, our country and way of life are being attacked by this virus, not the protections we've put in place," he said. (Source: NECN)

11. Dover Considers Emergency Mask Mandate. The Dover City Council is slated to discuss an emergency ordinance Wednesday night requiring the wearing of face coverings in Dover. City Manager Michael Joyal announced the news Tuesday, stating the council may vote on the ordinance during its Wednesday night meeting. If approved, it would go into effect immediately. Anyone in violation of the ordinance, which will be enforced by city police, could be fined up to $1,000, according to Joyal. The City Council in August voted to adopt a resolution — but not an ordinance —requesting but not requiring the use of face coverings in public. Dover has been hard hit in recent weeks by the second surge of the pandemic and has 82 active cases as of Monday. (Source: Seacoast Online)

12. Berlin City Council Approves Face Covering Ordinance. Masks are now required in Berlin after the city approved a mask ordinance effective immediately for anyone in public areas. Berlin’s Mayor Paul Grenier said sitting back and doing nothing was not an option. The city currently has 21 active cases of the virus. The city councilors voted to join several other New Hampshire cities by passing the ordinance. The mayor said it is designed to be educational, with no penalty for non-compliance during the first 30 days. A month from now, officials will reassess the ordinance. (Source: WMUR) With Berlin joining the list, the number of N.H. communities with mask ordinances is now up to 15. (Source: NHPR) Note: Local mask ordinances continue to be debated in N.H. because, unlike every other governor in the northeast, N.H. Gov. Chris Sununu has yet to issue a statewide emergency order requiring the wearing of masks in public.

13. Portsmouth Looks to Extend Mask Mandate. The Portsmouth City Council took steps Monday night toward extending the city mask mandate ordinance indefinitely, or until councilors vote to revoke it. Councilors unanimously passed the first reading of an ordinance amendment stating that the mask mandate be extended beyond the current expiration date of Jan. 4, but with no explicit new expiration. Per the amendment brought forth by Councilor Cliff Lazenby and Assistant Mayor Jim Splaine, the City Council would have to vote to end the mandate. City Health Officer Kim McNamara said she "very much supports" the language of the proposed ordinance amendment. McNamara said she's heard quite a bit from city businesses and restaurants that "they really appreciate the mask mandate." It's "a tool they need," she said. Interim Police Chief Mark Newport said the mask ordinance has not been a burden to the Police Department. “I would agree that it should stand," he said. (Source: Seacoast Online)

14. Long-Term Care Facilities Stay Cautious, Find Ways to Lift Residents' Spirits. This has been a long, emotional nine-month period for long-term care facilities. From the staff to the residents and their families, the lessons they have learned are helping guide them as community transmission spikes. Mt. Carmel Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Manchester had a COVID-19 outbreak in May. Administrators said COVID fatigue among staff is one of their biggest concerns as the second wave hits. “Supplies in the beginning were short, but we’re feeling better now today than we did back then,” Administrator Joe Bohunicky said. “Are we 100% confident? No, because we don’t know about staffing if an outbreak occurred. That was a big thing that hurt us when the people left.” As time wears on, keeping spirits up has been key. “Staff are taking the time to sit with the residents and provide that extra attention because families can’t, because they’re not allowed in the building,” St. Vincent de Paul Rehab administrator Jeff LaCroix said. “That’s the kind of stuff that really pulls on your heartstrings.”During the upcoming holidays, facilities will restrictions in place, so not every family that wants to will be able to visit their loved one. (Source: WMUR)

15. COVID Prompts a Shift in Free Thanksgiving Meal Plans Around New Hampshire. The traditional Thanksgiving gathering, whether at a shelter, soup kitchen, local church, restaurant or grandma’s house, is among the long list of casualties of the Covid-19 pandemic. Travel is expected to be sharply curtailed and those big gatherings of extended family are on the endangered list this year. With cases surging in New Hampshire and elsewhere, those who offer a free meal won’t be serving sit-down dinners. “Our board of directors decided to do takeout only,” said Cindy Stevens, executive director of the Claremont Soup Kitchen where between 150 and 200 are usually served each year at the sit-down affair. “I don’t think we can properly social distance with that number. So takeout is the safest and best way to do it.” One exception is the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter, where Executive Director Michael Reinke said they plan to accommodate some who prefer a sit-down meal. “We are going to do a mix,” Reinke said. “Most will probably be takeout but we will let people come in who need to be at the soup kitchen. Thanksgiving is usually not a big day for us because most people go with family. But this year could be different. We will be prepared.” (Source: NH Business Review)

16. Portsmouth Posts New “Daily Life During COVID-19” FAQs from Citizens Response Task Force. When the Citizen Response Task Force (CRTF) was formed in early June, its members from all aspects of the Portsmouth economy was to help Portsmouth find its way through the pandemic. Keeping the public informed was, and remains, key to that mission. The CRTF has just released a “Daily Life During the COVID-19 Pandemic Frequently Asked Questions” document that covers a wide range of topics that residents face such as what to do if someone you know receives a positive test, the protocols covering travel outside the state, and how to be prepared. These FAQs joins three other sets of FAQs produced by the CRTF that began as initiatives from the Health Subcommittee, working closely with the Health Department. All are available here. (Source: City of Portsmouth)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 17, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES (SOME WITH N.H. DATA)

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times Interactive Vaccine Tracker

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Tuesday, November 17

Source: N.H. Department of Health and Human Services

New Hampshire health officials recorded 358 new COVID-19 cases, 5 new hospitalizations, and one death on Monday. Here is the rest of the pandemic-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Tuesday.

1. N.H. COVID-19 Death Toll Hits 500. The state reached a sad milestone on Monday as the 500th death attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic took place in Coos County. (Source: N.H. DHHS https://www.nh.gov/covid19/documents/case-summary.pdf ) 407 of the deaths—81.4%—have occurred in residents of long-term care facilities. The elderly have accounted for most of the deaths during the pandemic. Those age 80 and over have accounted for a staggering 65.4% of all deaths. Only 4% of the state’s COVID-19 fatalities have occurred in people under the age of 60. 328 of the state’s COVID-19 fatalities have taken place in Hillsborough County alone. (Source: N.H. DHHS)

2. Second COVID-19 Vaccine Coming Amid Hope and Anger. Moderna’s announcement Monday that their COVID-19 vaccine candidate is 94.5 percent effective is raising hope in New Hampshire as the number of confirmed cases across the state continues to skyrocket. It’s the second very promising vaccine to come forward after drug-maker Pfizer announced last week its vaccine candidate is 90 percent effective. And while many are thrilled at the prospect of a vaccine by late December, others are angry that Gov. Chris Sununu continues to refuse issuing a statewide mask mandate and is now limiting contact tracing. Rich DiPentima, a former acting state epidemiologist, said he is excited about the news of a second vaccine, but has run out of negative adjectives for how Sununu is handling the pandemic without a mandatory mask order and now limiting contact tracing. “He has thrown up his hands and given into the virus completely,” DiPentima said of Sununu. On Friday, Vermont announced that it was closing bars, banning multi-household social gatherings and recreational sports. Sununu hasn’t immediately responded to questions about Vermont’s new orders or criticism about mask orders or limiting contact tracing. DiPentima said after the election, he expected Sununu to at least issue a mandatory mask order, but was further upset by his actions to limit contact tracing. “I am beside myself. He has thrown up his hands,” DiPentima said. “We need a mask order and to expand not shrink contact tracing.” (Source: InDepthNH)

3. Sununu Holds Off On Restoring COVID Restrictions But Loosens Quarantine Requirements As Cases Rise. As COVID-19 cases surge to new records in New Hampshire, Gov. Chris Sununu is standing by one clear position: No new state-ordered lockdowns. At a press conference last week, Sununu stressed that the state did not need to return to the stay-at-home order issued in late March, when restaurants and stores were shut to in-person traffic and only “essential” businesses were allowed to continue operating. “We’re not looking at additional aggressive restrictions right now,” Sununu said, citing “the negative impacts of that kind of lockdown.” For Sununu, the current situation is much different from the one that prompted the first lockdown, “which we absolutely had to do in the spring...because we didn’t have testing and contact tracing and all these other things and everything was just so different back then,” he said Thursday. But despite his own prediction that case levels could reach over a thousand per day in the next two weeks, he remains opposed to additional restrictions or shutdown measures because he believes the economic impacts would be graver now than back in spring, when many businesses had reserves of cash. (Source: Concord Monitor) At the same press briefing, Sununu also announced residents who travel outside the state for leisure will no longer be required to quarantine for 14 days when they return. A negative COVID-19 test can now be used in place of the second week of quarantine, he announced last week. Sununu said the 14-day requirement has caused problems for schools that have had to quarantine large groups as a result of a couple of a few positive COVID-19 tests. “It's one thing when a few folks get COVID,” he said. “It's another thing when 40-or-more people have to be quarantined because of that. It can shut down classrooms. It has caused a lot of schools to go temporarily remote.” (Source: Concord Monitor)

4. NH Trying to Collect Nearly $25 Million in Jobless "Overpayments". The state of New Hampshire is seeking nearly $25 million in “overpayments” from more than 10,000 people who received unemployment payments this year. “Our phones are blowing off the walls,” said Stephanie Bray, managing attorney at the Claremont office of New Hampshire Legal Assistance. The emotional state of the callers? “Terrified mostly,” she said. Since the pandemic and its economic repercussions struck in March, 165,711 people have collected jobless benefits from New Hampshire, including 10,773 classified as having been overpaid. “Neither the crisis itself nor the volume of claims we were handling allowed for a perfect process,” Lavers, deputy commissioner at Employment SecurityLavers in an email. “The overpayment becomes a reality later when we are then provided with information from an employer or from the individual themselves that shows they were not eligible or they were eligible but for a lesser amount of benefits.” The state has paid out more than $1.4 billion in unemployment during the eight months of the pandemic — more than it paid during the prior 10 years combined. People can challenge New Hampshire Employment Security’s findings. “If they receive an overpayment determination that they disagree with, then they should file an appeal,” Lavers said. If the appeal is denied, then they should request a waiver, he said. “If they are not at fault in causing the overpayment, then they will not be required to repay the benefits,” he said. “However, if they misstated the circumstances of their separation to make themselves eligible or overstated their earnings from self-employment and were paid at a higher benefit amount than is supported by the information in their federal tax return, then they will and should be expected to repay those benefits.” (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

5. Community Spread Impacting Workforce, Including Hospital Staffs. Evidence that community spread is impacting hospital staff is now being seen in New Hampshire. Portsmouth Regional Hospital has seen a spike in employee COVID-19 cases between this month and last. CEO of the hospital Dean Carucci said all but one of the positive cases were from activities outside of work. 15 employees are now isolating plus those in quarantine because of family members with positive cases. “We still believe the health care setting, hospitals, doctors offices can and continue to operate safely,” said state epidemiologist Benjamin Chan. “But, anybody can pick up COVID-19 in the community especially as transmission increases, so that is going to increase the risk to hospitals, provider offices, long-term care facilities.” (Source: WMUR)

6. Rising COVID-19 Cases In N.H. Exacerbate Healthcare Workforce Shortages. New Hampshire hospitals and health care facilities have long struggled to recruit and retain workers, especially licensed nursing assistants. Recent data from the New Hampshire Board of Nursing shows the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the shortage of health care workers in the state. Roxie Severance is a health care advisor working with the state to recruit more health care workers to New Hampshire. She says much of the problem comes down to low wages that are a consequences of N.H.’s low reimbursement rates for Medicaid services. “I also think that in hospitals and long term care, that nurses aid is a very hard job,” she said. “You know, you're working a lot of long hours, and particularly now with COVID-19, people are working a lot of overtime. It's just is really a hard job to recruit people to.” Because many Licensed Nursing Assistants left their positions when COVID struck and have yet to be replaces, Severance also believes the quality of care has suffered. “When there's not enough staff and you're also working people a lot of overtime, tired staff means that people aren't doing the quality care work that they were trained to do,” she said. (Source: NHPR)

7. Sununu Restarts $300-a-Week Stipends for Some Long-Term Care Workers. On Monday, Gov. Chris Sununu reactivated New Hampshire’s Long-Term Care Stabilization Program, which will offer temporary stipends to frontline health-care workers at Medicaid facilities until Dec. 31. It will be the same as the program that ended in July – a $300 per week stipend for full-time workers and a $150 stipend per week for part-time workers. Reactivating the stipends was on the list of 15 recommendations made by the Committee to Study the Safety of Residents and Employees in Long-Term Care Facilities, which reported to Sununu earlier this month. Their list included five items addressing staffing issues, another four grouped under wages, and another six recommendations the committee decided to group under operational changes. (Source: InDepthNH)

8. Pandemic Fatigue Hitting at the Worst Time as COVID-19 Cases Shoot Upward. As the months wear on, many people feel the worsening stress or exhaustion that comes with constantly following safety guidelines, wearing masks and especially distancing from friends and family members, sometimes growing lax in their efforts. “Pandemic fatigue” refers to the emotional and mental toll that COVID-19 has taken over the last nine months, even for people whose physical health has not been affected. It’s unsurprising, said Jay Buckey, a professor at Geisel School of Medicine who leads a research program focusing on people struggling with confinement, that in the face of that isolation, some people have recently chosen to rebel and abandon safety precautions in order to get back to pre-pandemic normality. “People feel like this is never going to end.” Some say the next steps require more than just cracking down on safety regulations and holding each other accountable; the specific ways that officials communicate with the public could help reduce pandemic fatigue. E.J. Powers, executive vice president of Manchester-based communications firm Montagne Communications said in order for messages to cut through feelings of fatigue or disillusion associated with a seemingly unyielding pandemic, officials must start share personal stories. By hearing about real people affected by the virus and real families who have had to quarantine or have lost a loved one, the gravity of the situation may set in for a lot of people, he said. “Provide examples of how easily the virus spreads. … I still don’t think the public grasps how easily it can happen,” he said, suggesting officials even discuss how the virus has affected their own lives. “To be able to have that sort of understanding and empathy could be quite valuable.” (Source: Keene Sentinel)

9. New Hampshire House Republicans Push Return to In-Person Hearings and Sessions As Dems Push Back. House Republican leader and candidate for speaker Dick Hinch told WMUR he wants to get back to as much in-person work as possible, but only when it is safe. “We are evaluating the HVAC system and we have someone that is going to help us navigate through that,” Hinch said. “So, we can reoccupy the Legislative Office Building.” But Democratic leaders are wondering how that can be done safely in a system designed with no outside air circulation. Former Speaker Steven Shurtleff also says having 400 representatives with an average age of 63 sit shoulder-to-shoulder in sessions at Representatives Hall would put their health at risk because of the lack of physical distancing and how easily the virus is spread. “Our staff has done a study of Reps Hall,” Rep. Steve Shurtleff, Democratic House Speaker said. “The most people we could put in Reps Hall would be 88 people with appropriate spacing and everything else.” Meanwhile, the House Freedom Caucus, which appears to have grown its ranks in the last election. Many of those members chose not to wear masks at the Whittemore Center and they are unlikely to budge on that position moving forward, making a return to the State House more complicated. (Source: WMUR) House leaders in both parties are still waiting word from the N.H. Supreme Court on whether legislators attending a virtual session remotely are considered to be “present” as required by the state constitution.

10. Local Officials Plead for Direct Federal COVID-19 Aid. City, county and law enforcement officials urged Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-NH, to make sure the next COVID-19 relief package includes direct aid to local governments. Berlin Mayor Paul Grenier also used an online dialogue session with Hassan Monday to call upon Gov. Chris Sununu to order a mask mandate for all of New Hampshire. “It would really be simplified if the governor would just come out and support it. He made daily press conferences or weekly press conferences when he had $1.25 billion to spread the money around,” Grenier said. “The governor is invisible; he needs to get up in front of the room and swallow the same pills that local people are swallowing.” Hassan agreed with Grenier about masks and said the next relief package should provide this direct aid and give states “more flexibility” in how governors and state lawmakers decide money should be spent. “I am hopeful we can break this logjam and get a compromise offer of some sort from Senator (Mitch) McConnell,” Hassan said referring to the Senate majority leader. Strafford County Sheriff David Dubois said he had to lay off 10 of his staff after court administrators for months suspended in-person court sessions. He and Sheriff-Elect Mark Brave said they fear additional layoffs could be necessary early in 2021. (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

11. Spike in Cases, Worries About Lockdowns Renew Fears of Rise in Domestic Violence. As COVID-19 case numbers once again tick upward in the Twin States, advocates are concerned that victims and their children could once again be required to shelter in place with their abusers, potentially escalating violence. “We’re really nervous about the winter,” said Peggy O’Neil, executive director of WISE, in an interview via Zoom. The Lebanon-based organization supports survivors in 21 towns in the core of the Upper Valley, where WISE saw a nearly 30% reduction in people seeking support during the months of April and May, O’Neil said. While WISE staff members continue to support survivors remotely, they no longer welcome drop-ins. Calls to police to respond to family fights are on the rise, according to local officials. Even still, as many as 80% of survivors may never interact with the police, which means calls to law enforcement can’t capture how pervasive the problem is. (Source: The Valley News)

12. Manchester Schools to Go Full Remote Through Holiday Period Until mid-January. On Monday night, the Manchester Board of School Committee (BOSC) voted by a 10-5 vote to put almost all students at Manchester’s public schools into remote learning status from Nov. 23 to Jan. 19, with remote learning status potentially going even longer if needed. The move came from a request by Manchester School District Superintendent Dr. John Goldhardt after learning last week from a survey about staff members’ holiday travel plans. In that survey, Goldhardt discovered that enough staff are expecting to travel outside New England that it would be impossible to return to a partial in-person learning model after the Thanksgiving break without violating the required two-week quarantine protocol for anyone traveling outside of New England. Goldhardt said that the quarantine could be waived for staff members traveling outside of New England since they are considered as essential workers, but did not feel comfortable doing so for safety reasons. (Source: Manchester Ink Link)

13. New Hampshire College Enrollments Down. According to data provided by the University System of New Hampshire and community college officials, Granite State community colleges and four-year institutions are seeing a drop in enrollment this fall, including the state’s public institutions. The trajectory follows a national trend in higher education amid a public health crisis that has forced colleges and universities to quickly rethink the student experience. A review of 629 schools by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center found that as of Sept. 10, undergraduate enrollment had fallen 2.5% across all types of higher education institutions, while total enrollment had dropped 1.8%. And though community colleges have historically fared well during economic downturns, this period of financial uncertainty appears to be hitting the industry differently. “Based on national trends, we are expecting that enrollment will be down somewhat this fall due to continued financial disruption facing many families, to the fact that many of our students are also front-line workers with a new set of job-related demands,” said Shannon Reid, spokesperson for the Community College System of New Hampshire, “and also on the fact that many of our students are also parents who face unknowns with respect to their children’s K-12 situation.” (Source: NH Business Review)

14. Some Families Delaying Pregnancy During Pandemic. For families around the country and through the state, the pandemic is throwing family planning into question. A national survey of 2,000 women ages 18-48 conducted in early May by the Guttmacher Institute found that more than 40 percent of them had changed their plans about whether to have children, or how many children to have. One third of women said that the pandemic made them want to delay pregnancy or have fewer children. Dr. Amy Paris, an OB/GYN and director of Family Planning at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, said that the pandemic is on patients’ minds as they consider trying to conceive. “Patients have been talking about the impact of the pandemic on their plans for pregnancy,” she said. “Especially at the beginning of the pandemic, when we knew much less about COVID-19 and especially risks to pregnant women and babies, many patients were talking about whether and how to postpone getting pregnant.” Paris saw some patients delaying assisted reproduction, while others opted to stay on birth control like IUDs for longer than they initially anticipated. Derek Edry, spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, said that the pandemic has made access to family planning options more important than ever, especially since pregnant people are classified as having increased risk for severe symptoms of COVID. (Source: Manchester Ink Link)

15. Your FAQs Answered: What You Need To Know About Coronavirus In New Hampshire. NHPR has put together a comprehensive set of answers to frequently asked questions about the coronavirus in New Hampshire. There are many useful links and topics range from who pays for testing to how emergency orders are being enforced to nursing home visits. You can access the FAQs here. (Source: NHPR)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 16, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES (SOME WITH N.H. DATA)

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times Interactive Vaccine Tracker

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Monday, November 16

Posted on the bulletin board of Starbucks in Portsmouth’s Market Square.

On Sunday, N.H. health officials announced 361 new COVID-19 cases and one new hospitalization. No new deaths or hospitalizations were announced. Here is the rest of the pandemic-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Monday.

1. Third Stage Test Results Show Moderna's Coronavirus Vaccine is 94.5% Effective. According to early data released Monday by Moderna, the company’s vaccine is 94.5% effective against coronavirus, making it the second vaccine in the United States to have a stunningly high success rate. "These are obviously very exciting results," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease doctor. "It's just as good as it gets -- 94.5% is truly outstanding.” Moderna heard its results on a call Sunday afternoon with members of the Data Safety and Monitoring Board, an independent panel analyzing Moderna's clinical trial data. In Moderna's trial, 15,000 study participants were given a placebo, which is a shot of saline that has no effect. Over several months, 90 of them developed Covid-19, with 11 developing severe forms of the disease. Another 15,000 participants were given the vaccine, and only five of them developed Covid-19. None of the five became severely ill. The company also reported that its vaccine did not have any serious side effects. The Moderna vaccine will be produced and manufactured by Lonza Biologics in Portsmouth. The good news follows test results released earlier in the month from Pfizer that showed its vaccine, which uses a new technology similar to Moderna’s, is 90% effective. However, Pfizer’s vaccine must be stored at significantly colder temperatures which may present logistical challenges for distribution. (Source: CNN)

2. Lonza Set to Produce 400 Million Does of Moderna Vaccine. Lonza Biologics, with locations in Portsmouth at Pease International Tradeport and in in Switzerland, expects to manufacture enough of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine to create 400 million doses per year. Moderna, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company, announced early Monday that its candidate vaccine, mRNA-1273, developed in collaboration with the U.S. government, appears to be 94.5% effective against the coronavirus. “We congratulate Moderna on this important milestone, which represents a significant scientific achievement and serves as a testament to Moderna’s commitment to controlling the COVID-19 pandemic," Lonza Chief Executive Officer Pierre-Alain Ruffieux said in a statement released Monday morning. (Source: Seacoast Online)

3. COVID-19 Surge Continues Across N.H. A total of 745 new COVID-19 cases were announced over the weekend, including 361 on Sunday . The cases announced yesterday reside in Rockingham (76), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (46), Merrimack (40), Strafford (36), Belknap (33), Grafton (14), Carroll (6), Cheshire (6), Coos (5), and Sullivan (3) counties, and in the cities of Manchester (49) and Nashua (27). There are now 3,306 current COVID-19 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire with over 100 categorized as “under investigation” by the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services. Results included 241 people who testing positive by PCR test (for a 2.2% positivity rate) and 120 who tested positive by antigen test. (Note: no positivity information is provided by the state for antigen tests). (Source: N.H. DHHS and InDepthNH) It should also be noted that data from the the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services as aggregated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services shows the state’s positivity rate at 5.8%—more than double the rate the state is currently reporting. (Source: CovidActNow)

4. COVID Tracker: “We don’t need to warn individuals about the disease any more because all of us are at risk”. In its weekly analysis of key COVID-19, the Concord Monitor regurgitates the reasoning of state officials who after weeks of promoting contact tracing as a lynchpin in the state’s strategy to forestall another surge in COVID-19 announced last week they would be paring back contact tracing in the state. Contact tracing is the process of alerting people who have been in contact with somebody who tested positive for COVID-19. But according N.H. state health officials, once the infection is circulating widely tracing the contact of each positive case doesn’t accomplish much because everybody who has been in contact with anybody else is already in danger of infection. So (the reasoning goes) there’s no point in finding them and telling them except for certain extreme situations, such as in nursing homes. “As community transmission increases, it becomes a less effective strategy of identifying and breaking the chains of transmission,” is how State Epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan put it in the weekly briefing. (Source: Concord Monitor) Note: I try to avoid inserting my own thoughts into these updates. However, this reasoning misses the point that to individuals trying to survive a pandemic without infecting those they care about, contact tracing is often the ONLY way they would know they have been in close contact with a person infected with the virus. By definition, “close contact” from an epidemiological perspective leads to a heightened risk. People who interact closely with others who are infected are more likely to contract the virus themselves. When people who have been in close contact understand that they may now have the virus themselves, they can make plans to isolate and get tested immediately. But without notification from contact tracing, people who become infected but don’t display symptoms (about 20%)—or who only have mild symptoms easily mistaken for a cold or allergies (another 60%) are in prime position to pass the illness on to friends, family members, customers, and coworkers who may be much more vulnerable to the ravages of the virus (about 20% of the population). By waving the white flag on contact tracing and cherry-picking the situations where it will be continued, the state is creating uncertainty around a public health process that builds trust in public health itself. It also shifts responsibility—and the cost—for contacting people who may have been infected to the communities, businesses, universities, and other organizations who see value in continuing to contact those who may have been exposed. Worth noting is that even before the state’s announcement, several school districts had already started to perform their own contact tracing out of necessity to ensure parents were contacted quickly and children and staff members exposed to those with COVID could be isolated and tested. Because the state never invested in hiring and training adequate numbers of tracers in the first place, CovidActNow estimates N.H., with a weekly average of 296 cases per day has only 7% of the contract tracers it needs to contact people who may have been infected within 48 hours of exposure. By essentially giving up on contact tracing, the responsibility also falls squarely on us as individuals to contact the people we interacted with and the businesses we visited should we test positive—a responsibility all of us should take very seriously. To be clear, what we’re seeing here isn’t the failure of contact tracing. It is the failure to properly plan for a second surge that was predicted as far back as June. The bottom line is the implications of the state’s decision are much more sobering than any metrics or news articles I can share with you.

5. Vermont Teachers, School Staff Set for Regular COVID Testing. Vermont will start testing K-12 teachers and staff for COVID-19 starting next week as a strategy that health officials hope will help to track the spread of the coronavirus in communities. Teachers and school staff are not at a higher risk of contracting the illness caused by the virus but they “represent a large group of individuals in an organized setting” and could help the state better identify cases before an outbreak, Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine said this week. The tests will be given voluntarily starting next week and resume monthly after the Thanksgiving holiday break, the Burlington Free Press reported. Those who are tested will not be required to quarantine while awaiting their results. “Testing of school personnel is a public health surveillance strategy,” Levine said. “Surveillance testing is done in a population to assess how much virus is present in people who are otherwise feeling quite well and don’t know that they may be.” (Source: NECN) Note: While the University of New Hampshire performs weekly surveillance testing of students and staff, there is no surveillance testing program currently offered by the state of New Hampshire for K-12 public school students and staff.

6. DCYF Facilities Have Nowhere to Quarantine COVID-Exposed Children. The COVID-19 pandemic upended the state’s Division for Children Youth and Families, according to a report from the division’s overseer, with remote-learning making it harder to detect abuse and institutions struggling to quarantine children. In its annual report released last week, the Office of the Child Advocate — the state body that has oversight authority over the Division for Children Youth and Families and other state programs for children — said the pandemic brought to the surface other concerns for children already in state care. Of the children in residential facilities around the state, state child advocate Moira O’Neill said 29 have had COVID-19. When residents of larger long-term care facilities have become infected, O’Neill said, the infected people can be separated. The state’s residential facilities for children do not have enough space to quarantine children and the state still has not found a place to quarantine sick children in its care. Residential facilities have shut their doors to visitors, O’Neill said, in an effort to keep children and the staff who care for them safer. But O’Neill pointed out this can slow down the process of placing a child with a family. Children in residential facilities get to know potential foster families through visits and by spending time in their homes. When visits are cut off, those visits are not possible. (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

7. Eviction Day Comes for Manchester Courthouse Campers. For the first time since the start of the pandemic, police are scheduled to break up an encampment of homeless people in the city who had expected state government to provide some solid ground beneath them, literally, as they faced winter’s cold. But as of today, people who had been camping on the lawn of the Hillsborough County courthouse will be evicted by N.H. State Police after having been given a 10-day notice to vacate the courthouse grounds of Nov. 6. They face fines if they remain. The evictions come as the only emergency shelter in the city — Families in Transition’s New Horizons shelter — is at or near its 107-bed capacity most nights. “It’s a much bigger problem than the courthouse lawn,” said Rik Cornell, a vice president and spokesman for the Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester. “We have a crisis with our homeless problem in Manchester.” Cornell blames the economic fallout of COVID-19 for the increase in homelessness. Many fear shelters because they have underlying health problems that make them susceptible to the coronavirus, Cornell said. Fire Chief Dan Goonan believes mental illness is the single biggest problem among the campers, and that is often coupled with drug abuse. He estimates that his crews answer about one overdose a day at the camps. “I think they are underestimating this population,” said Goonan, who also visits camps regularly. “They need to take a good hard look at this population before they move them.” The ACLU-New Hampshire is watching the situation closely and believes removing the camp would be cruel and inhumane, Legal Director Gilles Bissonnette said last week. “While we are not currently in a position to file an immediate lawsuit (last) week, we do not believe that this clearing is constitutional given that shelters are near capacity,” he wrote in an email last Thursday. (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

8. NH Hospitals Say They Are Prepared to Handle a Spike in COVID Patients. Despite the financial challenges of 2020, hospital officials said they are better prepared for an increase of cases because of the availability of testing and PPE. That will allow routine procedures to continue. “If there was any benefit at all to the first surge of COVID-19, it’s that we learned what works well and doesn’t work well,” Catholic Medical Center Spokesperson Lauren Collins Cline said. Cline says that this time the hospital is seeing more younger and healthier people coming down with the virus who aren’t requiring hospitalization. (Source: WMUR)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 15, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES (SOME WITH N.H. DATA)

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times Interactive Vaccine Tracker

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Sunday, November 15

On Saturday, N.H. health officials announced 384 new COVID-19, one death, and no new hospitalizations. Here is the rest of the pandemic-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Sunday.

1. 384 New COVID-19 Cases As Surge Continues Unabated. The new cases reside in Rockingham (76), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (58), Strafford (50), Belknap (21), Merrimack (20), Cheshire (15), Grafton (15), Sullivan (8), Coos (6), and Carroll (1) counties, and in the cities of Manchester (48) and Nashua (38). There are currently 68 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 and the state’s pandemic death toll now stands at 499. Nashua (291), Manchester (271) and Durham (128) had the highest number of active cases Saturday. On the seacoast, Dover has 75 active cases and Portsmouth has 63. (Source: N.H. DHHS and InDepthNH)

2. Changing Contact Tracing Policies Indicate a New Phase of New Hampshire’s Virus Plan. Instead of launching investigations into every Granite Stater who tests positive for COVID-19, the state’s contact tracers will now prioritize calling those who are especially vulnerable to the virus, including children, older adults, racial minorities, and healthcare workers. This shift marks a new phase of New Hampshire’s response to the virus – from containing the spread of COVID-19 to lessening the impact of the virus on the community. Transmission within the community is so high, it’s no longer effective to track every single positive case, said Beth Daly, chief of the N.H Bureau of Infectious Disease Control. The state will instead shift its efforts towards encouraging the public to social distance, wear masks, and avoid gatherings. “Contact tracing is part of the containment strategy to stop the spread of COVID-19, but it is one and only one layer or intervention for helping to prevent the spread,” Ben Chan, the state epidemiologist, said at a press conference Thursday. “As community transmission increases, it becomes a less effective strategy.” James Potter, executive vice president of the New Hampshire Medical Society, said it will be challenging for physicians to add an additional responsibility onto their heavy workload. “The absence of that is not doing the contact tracing at all,” he said. “I think every hospital and physician office will look at the new guidance and the protocols and try to figure out how they can make that work. In a crisis situation, you have to act as a team.” (Source: Concord Monitor)

3. People at Highest Levels of Risk Will Be First to Receive Coming COVID Vaccine. More than 60,000 health-care workers, 15,000 residents of nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, and 13,000 first responders will be among the first Granite Staters to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, according to state plans. New Hampshire officials say the first vaccines could arrive as soon as next month. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Coronavirus Disease Vaccination Plan outlines a phased approach to distributing vaccines to state residents, with the most vulnerable and those who care for them at the top of the list. Once COVID-19 vaccines are available to the general public, most people will get them from their health-care providers or local pharmacies, according to Elizabeth Daly, chief of the infectious disease control bureau at DHHS, who is overseeing vaccination preparations for the agency. The vaccines are expected to be available at no cost. (Source: Manchester Union Leader) You can track the progress of most of the vaccines now in development here. While vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna have gotten the most attention from the media because of their rapid development and promising early results (and the resulting impact on their stock prices and the bank accounts of their key executives), there are 54 vaccine candidates now in various phases of clinical trials and 87 under active investigation in animals. While not as far along, some of the other vaccines candidates hold promise not only because of their potential effectiveness, but also because they may be easier to deliver in places where there isn’t a CVS on every corner and where vaccines requiring a second booster injection may be impractical. For example, in July Indian vaccine-maker Zydus Cadila began testing a DNA-based vaccine delivered by a skin patch. (Source: New York Times )

4. Pinkerton Academy Latest N.H. School to Decide to Go Full Remote After Thanksgiving. Pinkerton Academy in Derry is joining a growing list of schools that plan to switch to remote learning following the Thanksgiving break. "Nov. 30 until Dec. 23 we'll be in a fully remote setting for that time period," said Pinkerton Academy Headmaster Dr. Timothy Powers. Powers says a couple of different factors played a role in making that decision, including traveling for the holiday. "Obviously we have what's going on in the community with the community spread there and looking at the needs of our students and making sure it's the best way of meeting those. Staffing, looking at our concerns and needs there to make sure we have staff in the building," Powers said. (Source: WMUR)

5. Calls to 911 Related to Suicide Increasing in Pandemic. As the number of coronavirus cases rises in New Hampshire, so do the number of calls to 911 related to suicide. There has been a lot of increased reports of stress, anxiety and depression related to the impact of the COVID pandemic,” said Ken Norton of the National Alliance on Mental Illness-NH. History suggests the stress of the holiday season won’t slow things down. “It doesn’t mean that you’re crazy if you’re having these thoughts,” Norton said. “But it is something that you should share with somebody, and if you’re thinking about the thoughts moving into action, then you should reach out and get help.” If you or someone you know is struggling, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifetime at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org. (Source: WMUR)

6. During This Wave of COVID, Hospitals Don’t Plan on Pausing Elective Procedures Again. In mid-March, as coronavirus spread through the state, New Hampshire hospitals paused all non-essential procedures to preserve inpatient beds and their limited amounts of personal protective equipment. Some of the most profitable services for hospitals, like surgeries and cardiac care, were not offered for months. The decision cost the state’s hospitals hundreds of millions of dollars and forced a Laconia hospital into bankruptcy. Now, nearly eight months later, the state is seeing similar infection rates of COVID-19. This time, though, New Hampshire hospitals don’t plan on stopping elective procedures any time soon. Concord Hospital has no plans to delay non-COVID related procedures. But the plan to continue elective procedures isn’t all financial. One study out of England estimated that when screening is delayed, as it has been during the pandemic, there is a 10% reduction in 5-year survival for breast cancer and a 16% reduction in survival for colorectal cancer. Another analysis predicted it could take three months to clear the backlog of surgical cases in the country. Greg Baxter, chief clinical officer for SolutionHealth and president of Elliot Health System, said that fact played a large role in their decision to keep elective procedures running. “You do have real instances of people who have had a delayed diagnosis,” he said. “When you put off a diagnostic test or procedure, some percentage of the time your outcomes are not going to be as good as they would be with a more timely diagnosis.” (Source: Concord Monitor)

7. Tri-Cities’ Emergency Shelter to Open Monday at Garrison Hotel in Dover. The Tri-Cities’ emergency shelter is set to open Monday inside the Garrison Hotel, operating continuously through April 15 to provide more consistent resources than the sporadic, severe weather-dependent pop-up shelters of years past. The shelter, which won't accept walk-ins, is expected to provide wraparound services to 100 people or more this winter as area officials continue to work on more permanent affordable housing and seasonal sheltering strategies. Community Action Partnership of Strafford County will manage and staff the regional shelter 24 hours a day from Nov. 16 to April 15. It will shelter and feed homeless and housing-insecure individuals and families referred by area partners such as municipal welfare offices, police and fire departments, the state’s 211 line, traditional permanent homeless shelters, and medical and social service providers. (Source: Seacoast Online)

8. Tuscan Market Employee Says He Was Fired for COVID-19 Case Post on Social Media. A Tuscan Market employee says he was fired this week after sharing information about a COVID-19 exposure on social media. Stephen Bernabei of Dover said he is concerned Tuscan Market’s management is not handling the exposure in a way that will protect employees and customers. So, he posted on Instagram, saying the restaurant had not been closed, and that employees who came in contact with the person exposed were not being told to stay home. Bernabei maintains he was fired for posting about the exposure. "They didn’t say so directly, but I received a text message saying that because business was slow and there was a lack of hours, I was being laid off," he said. "I already have another job, so it’s not that. I just don’t feel right about this.” Lindsay Rotondi from Regan Communications Group, the firm that handles the Tuscan Market brand, denied this was the case. “Like all businesses in this environment, we are not immune and have had to cut hours for some employees at various locations," she said. "We would not discuss and individual employee’s employment status.” (Source: Seacoast Online)

9. Pandemic Wreaks Havoc with High School Sports. The coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc with fall tournaments for New Hampshire's high school athletes. The Valley News reports at least 20 state tournament games across five sports involving 15 schools have been canceled. Most recently, Lebanon joined Exeter, St. Thomas and Winnisquam as football teams forced out of their postseasons, in most cases because too many players have been exposed to someone who tested positive for the virus. Lebanon was supposed to play Plymouth on Saturday in the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association's Division II semifinals. But the game was canceled because many of the players came in contact with an infected player from Bow last week. (Source: Seacoast Online)

10. Hampton Restaurant Looks to Extend Outdoor Dining Season with Igloos. The Galley Hatch is offering dining in plastic igloos that seat one party at a time. Like many restaurants, the Galley Hatch benefited greatly from outdoor dining, and wanted to keep that going as it gets colder. They have two igloos that seat one family at time -- fitted with lights and heaters. The restaurant’s owners say they’ve gotten a lot of questions about whether the igloos are safe. There are windows that open to allow air in and out, and they say there is an extensive sanitation process that happens in between parties using them. Reservations are encouraged, and because of the extra time and care that goes into sanitizing the space, there is a $200 dollar minimum to dine in an igloo. (Source: WMUR)

11. COVID is Increasing Everywhere in NH — Even In the Sewage. For months, tests of Keene’s wastewater showed what other data did — a relatively low rate of COVID-19 spread in the city. “Overall, we kept saying that our wastewater had been very boring for most of the semester, because we really weren’t seeing much, which was great,” said Jeanelle Boyer, a professor of public health at Keene State College, who is helping lead the collaborative project with the city. But recently, as the number of COVID-19 cases rose in Keene, the sewage testing has also indicated increasing infections in the community. Until the past few weeks, occasional spikes in the amount of coronavirus detected in wastewater quickly receded, suggesting the college’s plan to isolate people who test positive for COVID-19, and quarantine any of their close contacts, is working. The wastewater testing is also an important part of Keene State’s plan to bring students back to campus in the spring, and have them remain in the community through the end of the school year, President Melinda Treadwell said. “This is important work, because these data provide a predictive measure of the prevalence of the COVID-19 virus in our greater Keene community, and on the Keene State campus,” Treadwell said in a prepared statement. “These data are one consideration, among others, that the college is using to guide our operations during the pandemic to ensure the health and safety of our whole community.” (Source: Keene Sentinel)

12. Giving Thanks in the Age of COVID: Tips for Safe Holidays. With Thanksgiving just a week-and-a-half away, it’s time for big decisions and uncomfortable conversations. Michael Calderwood, an expert in infectious diseases at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, says to be careful—even if everyone you celebrate with gets a COVID test before gathering together. Calderwood says testing can provide a false sense of security because none of the available tests have been shown to be completely effective in detecting infected people who are asymptomatic. He is also concerned that a rush of people without symptoms trying to get tested may strain the system during the current surge and make it harder for people who have actually been exposed to the virus to get tested. Calderwood also has tips for air and car travel, minimizing risk for small groups, and Black Friday shopping. (Spoiler alert: if you see a crowd, don’t join it.) (Source: Concord Monitor)

13. How to Thank the Working Journalists Who Cover the News During the Pandemic. Today’s Portsmouth Herald brought news that Seacoast Online Reporter Alexander LaCasse contracted COVID-19 in October. Now recovered, he believes he caught the virus at a political rally where most of the participants were not wearing masks. (Source: Seacoast Online) Setting aside the politics of the situation, it illustrates the risks that many reporters have taken throughout the pandemic to cover events where people are present who don’t take coronavirus precautions seriously. On top of this, revenue losses from the pandemic have stressed the bottom line of many news organizations, leading to layoffs and reductions in available working hours. For many reporters, lack of job security and a high risk of getting COVID are their rewards for keeping us informed. Want to help? One of the best ways to thank them for the work they do is to become a subscriber or a donor to one or more of your favorite local news sources. Here’s how.

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 14, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES (SOME WITH N.H. DATA)

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times Interactive Vaccine Tracker

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Saturday, November 14

On Friday, N.H. health officials announced 462 new positive tests for COVID-19, 7 new hospitalizations and 3 deaths. Here is the rest of the pandemic-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Saturday.

1. N.H. Sets Another Single Day Record for COVID-19 Cases. For the first time, more than 400 new COVID-19 cases were announced for a single day by New Hampshire health officials on Friday. New cases were confirmed in all 10 counties and reside in Rockingham (87), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (54), Merrimack (34), Strafford (29), Grafton (19), Belknap (15), Cheshire (15), Carroll (10), Coos (6), and Sullivan (6) counties, and in the cities of Nashua (92) and Manchester (62). There are currently 69 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19, including 7 new hospitalizations on Friday. The 3 additional deaths bring the state’s grim toll for the pandemic to 498. (Source: N.H. DHHS and WMUR) Meanwhile, after weeks of appealing to residents for help in slowing the spread of COVID-19, governors in Oregon, Idaho, and New Mexico have now issued stringent new measures to get the virus under control ahead of what some experts predict could be a brutal winter season. A little more than a week after the US first topped 100,000 daily infections, it reported a record of more than 184,000 new cases Friday. Hospitalizations also hit a new high -- for the fourth consecutive day -- with more than 68,500 Covid-19 patients nationwide, according to the COVID Tracking Project. And the country's death toll has topped 1,300 at least three times this week. (Source: CNN)

2. Vermont Gov. Scott Bans Multiple Household Gatherings, Closes Bars. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott on Friday banned multiple household social gatherings, suspended recreational sports, closed bars and social clubs effective Saturday and took other strong measures to curb COVID-19 as the surge in cases continues. “I know this is incredibly discouraging,” Scott said at a news conference in Montpelier, “especially because many of you have worked so hard and we had much success for so long.” Scott’s amended executive order Friday stated: “Attendance at all public and private social, recreational and entertainment gatherings, indoor and outdoor, including large social gatherings incidental to ceremonies, holiday gatherings, parties and celebrations, shall be limited to participation with only members of a single household.” (Source: InDepthNH) New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, the only New England governor who has not imposed a mask mandate, didn’t immediately respond when asked about the Vermont measures. At a press conference on Thursday, Sununu warned that worse days are ahead for the state, but not bad enough to take additional actions. While Sununu shared health tips on how to stay safe, he said the state has no plans to issue formal holiday guidance. “Getting to zero risk is not possible, we cannot manage zero risk, the government cannot put mandates in to get it to zero, it’s not possible,” Sununu said. (Source: WMUR)

3. 14 Infected at Outbreak at Wolfeboro Church. The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services confirmed to WMUR that Calvary Wolfeboro has suspended all in-person services. Church officials posted on their website that at least 14 worshippers have tested positive. Those who were diagnosed are isolating and close contacts are in quarantine. (Source: WMUR)

4. Maine to Require Quarantine or Negative Test for Travelers From Mass. Starting Monday, Massachusetts will no longer be exempt from Maine's rule requiring travelers quarantine for two weeks or test negative for COVID-19 upon arriving in the Pine Tree State, Maine Gov. Janet Mills said Friday. The change comes with coronavirus transmission on the rise in both states and across the country. It'll take effect a week and a half before Thanksgiving, a holiday weekend that many public health officials are warning about, given that the virus is believed to spread efficiently in closed spaces where people aren't wearing masks, like around a dinner table. Maine officials noted in announcing the change to the travel requirement that Massachusetts has had nearly three times as many cases per capita than Maine over the last two weeks, and a higher test positivity rate as well. For now, New Hampshire residents remain exempt from Maine’s quarantine rule. (Source: NECN)

5. Portsmouth High School to Go Fully Remote Through November. Portsmouth High School will go fully remote through at least the end of November, Superintendent Steve Zadravec announced. Quarter two of the school year begins next week, and the high school will revert back to phase two of the district's four-phase COVID-19 reopening plan, "with the determination by DHHS that the existing [coronavirus] cases at Portsmouth High School constitute a cluster," Zadravec said. Over the last few weeks, there have been four cases of the virus diagnosed among the high school's student population. In addition, a positive case has been identified at Robert J. Lister Academy, and "because of the size and structure of this school, all staff and students will need to quarantine for 14 days." The school will shift to a fully remote model until after Thanksgiving, Zadravec said. Zadravec said under phase two, all teachers will be teaching full-day schedules to students remotely on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesday will be reserved mostly for independent work and teacher planning, he said. (Source: Seacoast Online) Meanwhile in the state’s largest city, Manchester schoolchildren could revert to remote learning after Thanksgiving until at least mid-January. On Monday, Superintendent John Goldhardt will ask the school board to vote to close school buildings to most students after Thanksgiving because of the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Manchester. If schools close, only students receiving special education will go to city schools. (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

6. Hampton Falls School Moves Grades 3-6 to Remote After Two COVID-19 Cases. Four grades at Lincoln Akerman School have switched from in-person learning to remote after a student and staff member tested positive for COVID-19. Students in grades 3-5 will be learning remotely until Nov. 20, while grade 6 until Nov. 24, according to a letter sent home to parents from Principal Beth Raucci. (Source: Seacoast Online)

7. As Cases Increase in Schools, Officials Say Procedures Are Working to Prevent Major Outbreaks. The return to in-person learning for some districts in the fall had some concerned about a possible spike in transmissions, but state health officials said while they have identified more than 380 staff and students in K-12 schools diagnosed from 180 different schools, they have only seen 13 clusters of three to six people being infected. “I think it speaks to the hard work that has gone into working with schools and the attention that schools have given to trying to diligently implement the layers of protection,” said New Hampshire state epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan. In Bedford, where there have been 506 confirmed cases of COVID-19, school superintendent Mike Fournier credited those layers of protection for the success they have seen so far. “First, of course, is mask wearing,” he told WMUR. “The second is social distancing, and the third is sanitizing. So, with all of those three we have not seen any clusters, any outbreaks and any transmissions in our schools at all.” While state health officials did not offer any guidance suggesting schools should plan to close for the holidays, Fournier said that in Bedford any student needing to quarantine due to Thanksgiving travel will have to access remote learning instead. (Source: WMUR) While shutdowns and quarantine procedures may have limited spread within schools, the state offered no data on transmission from infected students to family members, friends, or other members of the community outside of schools.

8. Moderna Expects to Know By End of Month if Vaccine Works. One of the leaders in the race to develop an effective vaccine for COVID-19 has finished accumulating data for a first analysis of its vaccine and expects to have an announcement on the vaccine's efficacy by the end of the month. Moderna, which will manufacture the vaccine with Portsmouth’s Lonza Biologics, is conducting a clinical trial of 30,000 participants, with half receiving the vaccine and half receiving a placebo, which is a shot of saline that does nothing. The news comes days after rival Pfizer announced its vaccine was 90% effective, which ass it turns out is also good news for Moderna. That’s because both vaccines use the same never-before-approved mRNA vaccine technology. The similar approaches to creating their vaccines give rise to the hope that Moderna’s version will produce similar results. (Source: CNN) Note: One major issue that remains to be worked out for both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines is the need for special freezers that can store them at -90 degrees Fahrenheit until they can be used.

9. Shaheen Hears Restaurant Owner Concerns Regarding Upcoming Winter Season. On Friday, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) held a phone roundtable with leaders in New Hampshire’s hospitality and entertainment sector to discuss their thoughts regarding the upcoming winter and pandemic on their businesses. The consensus among the group was stark: without further assistance from Congress, many restaurants will not survive until the spring, and that may result in a larger ripple effect. Great NH Restaurants CEO and Owner Tom Boucher said that while the third quarter was a good one for his chain, which employs 1,000 employees at New Hampshire restaurants such as T-Bones and Copper Door, he’s expecting a million-dollar loss for the fourth quarter now that the weather is getting cooler and outdoor dining is less appealing. “We’re going to need help, there’s not a question in my mind,” he said. Paul Ramsey of the Palace Theater asked if it would be possible to build automatic extensions to stimulus packages that kick in given certain triggers, but Shaheen said it has been difficult to convince other members of Congress to include automatic triggers into legislation. Shaheen echoed a concern shared by other members of New Hampshire’s congressional delegation urging immediate action on a new stimulus package, but said that she has not heard any interest from Republican leadership in the Senate on a new package and feared the holiday season may create increased COVID-19 infections. (Source: Manchester Ink Link)

10. Rigid Protocols and Mask Wearing Help Rockingham County Jail Weather Pandemic. Strict protocols and enough space to isolate all new and COVID-positive inmates have resulted in a single outbreak in August and no hospitalized inmates or staff. Rockingham County Corrections Superintendent Stephen Church said no one has entered the jail without a mask and being screened with questions and temperature-taking. Inmate visitations have also gone virtual, which also allows inmates to visit with family and friends who don't live within driving distance, he said. Health Service Administrator Niki Strachan said routine COVID-19 surveillance is conducted twice weekly, unless there's a positive result, in which case testing is done daily. Everyone in the jail is also required to wear a face mask 24 hours a day. (Source: Seacoast Online)

11. CDC Report: York County Jail Staffer Triggered Outbreak by Coming to Work for Five Days While Symptomatic. According to a report published Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a York County Jail staffer who is believed to triggered a major outbreak at the facility was allowed to work five full days while symptomatic. The report, prepared by a team of public health researchers, includes additional detail about the way epidemiologists believe a major outbreak unfolded across Maine in August and September, from a wedding in Millinocket to a long-term care facility in Madison, to the jail in Alfred and elsewhere. The report traces how 177 cases of the virus have been linked back to the wedding and reception, where guests didn't follow mask-wearing protocols. The outbreak led to seven hospitalizations and seven deaths during the time period studied. An eighth death was linked to the outbreak a few days later. (Source: Seacoast Online)

12. Playing It Safe, Some Businesses and Organizations Ramp Up Safety Safety Protocols. As the number of coronavirus cases rises in New Hampshire, some places are seeing a need to do business like they did when the virus first surged in March. Bank of New Hampshire made the call Friday to return to a drive-thru-only model at all of their 21 locations and will only do lobby visits by appointment. Littleton police are also going back to their springtime COVID-19 model. “So essentially, we restrict access to our lobby. We have a video phone set up for people and communicate with us from the exterior of the police department. We screen them,” Littleton police Chief Paul Smith said. (Source: WMUR)

13. New Hampshire Unemployment Claims Edge Higher. The number of new jobless claims filed in New Hampshire continues to creep upward, and the number of people returning to work is slowing down, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s weekly unemployment claims report. The employment snapshot, taken two days after the election and amid a concerning coronavirus surge locally and nationally, is another indication that the new president, the re-elected governor and the incoming Legislature will have a lot to contend with next year. Some 1,919 Granite Staters lost their jobs during the week ending Nov. 7 – 18. But continuing unemployment claims continue to fall. There were 23,126 people still collecting benefits during the week ending Oct. 24. That’s 1,010 fewer than the previous week and 1,352 fewer than the revised rate. (Source: NH Business Review)

14. Elder-Care Facilities Keeping Their Fingers Crossed as COVID Cases Surge. While there have been 2,558 coronavirus cases statewide among those living in long-term care facilities, until October Some facilities had remained untouched by outbreaks in their facilities. For the Belknap County Nursing Home, that ended a month ago when a resident tested positive. The facility immediately went to the highest level of restrictions, which resulted in the immediate cancellation of inside visits and all resident activities, including the opportunity for residents to take their meals in the dining room. Administrators believe that scrupulous adherence to COVID safety precautions such as the wearing of face masks and other personal protective equipment, and enhanced sanitation procedures, frequent health screening for residents and staff, and minimizing any close personal contacts with residents have been key to keep the number of positive cases to date so low. “You can’t take any shortcuts … you have to be more attentive to infection control,” nursing home administrator Shelly Richardson said of the need to strictly adhere to all precautions. Like other nursing facilities, St. Francis Rehabilitation and Nursing Home is conducting weekly surveillance testing of 10 percent of its 51 residents and 10 percent of its staff. St. Francis is also screening staff members frequently for various health signs, such as temperature and respiratory signs, which might indicate potential COVID symptoms. “We’re living much differently,” said Michael Flaherty, the president and CEO of the Taylor Community, which so far has had no infections among its 400-plus residents. “These restrictions are not instinctual. They wear on residents and their families.” (Source: Laconia Daily Sun)

15. Surging Pandemic Forcing Retailers to Get Creative With Black Friday. Many businesses across the Granite State are finding new and inventive ways to sell their goods on what has easily become the busiest shopping day of the Christmas season, while keeping the visits to their stores at a minimum. “This year it is really difficult to predict exactly what is going to happen (on Black Friday),” said Jeremiah Gould, design and marketing manager at Runner’s Alley, which has stores in Manchester, Portsmouth and Concord. “The drive to support local business is strong in New Hampshire so we might see a bit of a boost compared to what we’ve seen in the past.” Runner’s Alley, which due to the size of the stores can only allow a few customers inside at a time, is working to keep sales up through online discounts for Cyber Monday and its popular Run for the Money promotion, which gives customers $5 off per mile (up to six miles) on future purchases of $100 or more when they sign up and run from one of the three locations. Other local stores are expecting more online sales and curbside pick up than in-person sales. “I don’t think, honestly, we will be that busy in the store,” said Mick Pratt, marketing and events coordinator at Bull Moose Music, which has locations in Portsmouth, Salem and Keene. “At least that is what we are putting out there – you don’t have to be here on Friday. You can get (sale items) all month and have it shipped to you or pick it up curbside.The idea is to minimize the amount of people here that weekend.” (Source: Concord Monitor)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 13, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES (SOME WITH N.H. DATA)

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times Interactive Vaccine Tracker

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Friday, November 13

Source: CovidExitStrategy.org

On Thursday, New Hampshire health officials announced a record 323 new COVID-19 cases. There were also 4 new hospitalizations and 3 additional deaths. Here is the rest of the pandemic-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Friday.

1. 323 New COVID-19 Cases, 3 Deaths Thursday; Three New Nursing Home Outbreaks Announced. The 323 new cases reported Thursday reside in Rockingham (70), Strafford (56), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (42), Merrimack (27), Coos (24), Carroll (13), Belknap (11), Grafton (9), Cheshire (6), and Sullivan (3) counties, and in the cities of Nashua (28) and Manchester (23). There are currently 64 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19. Manchester (199), Nashua (197), and Durham (105) had the most active cases Thursday. The state also announced a a nursing home outbreak at Bedford Hills Center has been closed after infecting 61 residents and killing 19. Nursing home outbreaks appearing on the state’s list for the first time include Coos County Nursing Home in West Stewartstown (26 resident cases, 33 staff cases and one death), the NH Veterans Home in Tipton (9 resident cases and 1 staff case), Anne Prospect Woodward Home and Hillside Village in Keene (8 resident cases and 2 staff cases). All counties are currently in phase one for public visitation at long-term care facilities, meaning no visitors due to the level of community transmission in each county. (Sources: N.H. DHHS and InDepthNH)

2. Sununu Discourages Large Thanksgiving Gatherings as New Cases Hit Record High. With a record 323 new COVID-19 infections Thursday, three new deaths, outbreaks at three nursing homes, and possible exposure at the polls in at least four different locations, the state announced it would not be able to do contact tracing every case now. At Gov. Chris Sununu’s weekly pandemic briefing, he also acknowledged that the virus is now widespread in all the state’s counties and discouraged people from traveling and gathering in large groups for Thanksgiving. Currently, the state has a record 2,538 active cases and the positivity rate for people being tested has more than doubled from a month ago. “This pandemic virus is now widespread in our state,” said Dr. Benjamin Chan, state epidemiologist. “The number of infections is also increasing…the test positivity rate is increasing and the number of people dying is also increasing, which is reflective of the changes in numbers.” And Chan said those numbers increase the chance of transmission in schools, offices, and among the public. “We know how to control the spread of this virus. We have seen our community mitigation efforts pay off and work,” in the first wave, “but controlling the spread of COVID-19 continues to be a collaborative and collective effort.” (Source: InDepthNH)

3. N.H. Scales Back Contact Tracing Efforts As COVID-19 Cases Surge. New Hampshire health officials announced Thursday that the state will no longer conduct universal contact tracing. The move comes after a record number of new daily COVID-19 cases today – 323, almost 100 more than yesterday – and reports of delays in contact tracing. At a press conference, Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette said the state was only reaching about 40 to 50 percent of people who tested positive for COVID-19 on the first call. Officials say contact tracing is no longer the most effective way of slowing the spread of the virus. "Contact tracing is part of a containment strategy to stop the spread of COVID-19, but it is one and only one layer or intervention for helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” said State Epidemiologist Benjamin Chan. “As community transmission increases, it becomes a less effective strategy of identifying and breaking the chains of transmission." The state will now only conduct full case investigations for those who are considered high risk populations. That includes health care workers, communities of color, and people in group living spaces. (Source: NHPR)

4. Four Community Health Workers Hired in Nashua to Assist With COVID-19 Contact Tracing. On the same day state officials announced that DHHS is paring back contact tracing efforts, the city of Nashua announced it will hire four more community health workers to help the city’s public health department with COVID-19 contact tracing. Nashua has 150 active cases of the disease and another 263 people who have come into contact with those are infected, according to Mayor Jim Donchess.“That is a lot of contacts,” he said. The Nashua Division of Public Health and Community Services has six employees working on contact tracing, Donchess said. The new workers are being hired with almost $300,000 in funding from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. Over the next two years, the four employees also will serve the city’s communities of color disproportionately affected by the pandemic, said Public Health Director Bobbie Bagley in a statement. (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

5. UNH, PSU Feel Effects Of COVID-19's Second Wave. The state's university system is feeling the effects of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. At the University of New Hampshire, some students are leaving campus early as the school reports record numbers of new COVID-19 cases. 39 students have voluntarily left the campus in the past week, and another 27 were evicted from housing, according to an email from Senior Vice President for Student Life Kenneth Holmes. Holmes said students who intend to remain on campus until completing classes Nov. 20 should take all proper precautions to shield themselves and protect others from the spread of COVID-19. “For ultimate safety, consider sheltering in place – only leaving your room to attend classes and labs, to get meals, for safe exercise, to study in the library or for other essential tasks,” the email stated. UNH now has 108 active cases of COVID-19, and says its quarantine and isolation housing is reaching capacity. Plymouth State University has 11 active COVID-19 cases as of Thursday. Fifteen people are currently in quarantine on PSU's campus. There are currently 50 active cases in the town of Plymouth. (Sources: NHPR and Seacoast Online)

6. Interstate Youth Hockey Competitions Across New England, NJ Suspended Until End of 2020. Interstate youth hockey competitions have been suspended until the end of the year in seven northeastern states, including New Hampshire, offices for each state’s governor announced jointly Thursday. All interstate hockey competitions for public schools, private schools and youth leagues in New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont and New Jersey have been suspended beginning Saturday and until Dec. 31 at the earliest. The coronavirus-related safety measure does not cover collegiate hockey teams, professional hockey teams or the U.S. national hockey teams, officials said, but those teams will be subject to existing COVID-19 safety protocols. (Source: WMUR) In related news, the Ivy League, which includes Dartmouth College in Hanover, has announced the cancellation of all winter sports. No spring teams will play until at least March. (Source: WMUR)

7. Seabrook Parents Reject Middle School Reopening Plan of Just 1 Day a Week. After hearing a proposal to bring middle schoolers back for in-person learning only one day a week, a group of Seabrook parents expressed fears for their children, demanding educators work out something better. Although the elementary school has been open to in-school learning since September for parents who chose to send their children, all middle schoolers have been learning virtually since March, when by state order schools closed for the year. That’s seven months and that’s too long, said Genessa Carrillo, parent of an eighth-grader. SAU 21 Superintendent Bill Lupini said there are enough middle school teachers to bring students back one day a week per grade. Left unanswered was if there are enough teachers willing to go back to their classrooms during the pandemic to bring back all willing students in grades 5-8. “We shouldn’t let teachers decide if kids can go back to school,” said parent Nate Chatney. “This should be about the kids. If the teachers don’t want to teach, then find other teachers.” (Source: Seacoast Online)

8. State Warns of Potential Community COVID-19 Exposure at 4 Polling Places. The state is warning about instances of possible community exposure to COVID-19 at four polling places during last week’s general election. People infected with COVID-19 are known to have voted at the following places on Nov. 3: Souhegan High School, Pembroke Academy, Belmont High School, and Newfields Elementary School. “These were all people that identified in the last couple of days of having positive COVID-19 tests and reported being in line and not being able to six-foot socially distance while being in line,” Lori Shibinette, commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, said. Officials are asking anyone, whether they voted at the above polling places or not, to monitor themselves for symptoms and to get tested if symptoms arise. (Source: WMUR)

9. Federal Judge: Suit Against Portsmouth Mayor Over Mask Mandate Should be Dismissed. A federal court magistrate judge has recommended the dismissal of all claims filed by an Oregon woman against Mayor Rick Becksted, alleging the city's mask ordinance violates her rights despite her living on the other side of the country. Huguette Nicole Young is representing herself in the lawsuit she filed Nov. 2, claiming the city's mask mandate infringes on her First Amendment right to free speech "by literally blocking plaintiff's ability to communicate audibly, clearly and expressively." In response to Young's complaint, U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrea Johnstone stated that Young has filed actions challenging mask requirements around the country, including those in Maryland, Indiana, Arkansas and Massachusetts, where she alleges she may be employed as a truck driver again and might have to stop in one of these states. Johnstone called Young's claims "speculative and insufficient to establish standing." Johnstone urged the district judge to "dismiss the complaint, without prejudice." (Source: Seacoast Online)

10. Pandemic Winter: Homeless Camps and the Hotel Next Door. Two homeless camps on the property of the Hillsborough County Courthouse have been growing in size over the last year. The first signs of the camp appeared when a handful of people slept in the open air on the corner of Merrimack and Chestnut streets. Now, after COVID-19 has wreaked havoc with the economy, the camp is up to about 25 tents with a multitude of people coming and going. Trash of various kinds littered the ground in patches. Clothes hung from tree branches. Masks are completely absent. Directly across the street, the Residence Inn by Marriott looks out onto a busy Granite Street where cars come and go throughout the day. Prices for a one-night stay at the hotel start around $107 dollars. For the majority of homeless people living in tents in Manchester, a one-night stay at the Residence Inn is an impossible dream – much less having a stable enough income to afford an apartment in town. Meanwhile, most of the CARES Act money set aside to address homelessness during the pandemic can’t be used to increase the number of existing beds for the homeless – it can only be used to modify shelters and procedures to allow for “decompression” – which means reducing the number of beds per the governor’s social distancing guidance. Any money for building or renovation projects must be used by Dec. 31. (Source: Manchester Ink Link) Meanwhile, while Gov. Chris Sununu insisted Thursday that state outreach workers are in Manchester daily discussing options directly with homeless people, Manchester Fire Chief Dan Goonan said he hasn’t seen any state presence in the camps, especially the growing location on the lawn of the state-owned courthouse. Homeless residents are scheduled to be evicted from the camp outside the courthouse on Monday. (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

11. Dentists Closed Their Doors for 2 Months in March. They Won’t be Closing Their Doors Again. After a two-month closure in March, dentists are still seeing the economic impact on their businesses and health impact on their patients. During the most current surge of COVID-19 cases, they don’t plan on closing their doors again. When the first wave of COVID-19 spread through the country, about 80% of practices in New Hampshire voluntarily closed their doors to everyone but emergency patients. For two months, many practices lost their incomes entirely — about half of practices in the state said they stopped paying staff in a recent study. Several dentists, already on the cusp of retirement, decided to close their practices early. Despite new cases surging past the numbers from March – the two-week average for new cases is higher than it has ever been in the state – Auerbach doesn’t expect dental practices to close again. He said since March, scientists have learned enough about the best safety precautions in clinical settings to continue safely accepting clients into their offices. “The biggest concern right now is catching up,” he said. “Patients are complaining they have to wait for an appointment. Dentists are working 10 to 12 hour days sometimes just to manage the volume.” (Source: Concord Monitor)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 12, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES (SOME WITH N.H. DATA)

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times Interactive Vaccine Tracker

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Thursday, November 12

New Hampshire health officials reported three additional fatalities from COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total number dead since the pandemic began to 492. There were 233 additional cases reported, and four new hospitalizations. Here is the other pandemic-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Thursday.

1. 233 New COVID-19 Cases, 3 Deaths; High Community Transmission Across NH. The new cases reside in Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (38), Rockingham (37), Merrimack (24), Belknap (17), Coos (14), Strafford (13), Cheshire (9), Grafton (9), Sullivan (5), and Carroll (4) counties, and in the cities of Manchester (20) and Nashua (15). There are currently 69 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19. In New Hampshire since the start of the pandemic, there have been a total of 13,148 cases of COVID-19 diagnosed with 800 (6%) of those having been hospitalized. (Source: N.H. DHHS via InDepthNH) Nationwide, 61,964 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Tuesday, according to the Covid Tracking Project. That's the highest number since this pandemic began. (Source: CNN)

2. COVID Surge Hits New England States Hard as Increase in Two-Week Average of New Cases Puts N.H. In Top 10 Among All States. No other state in the United States has seen a bigger increase in the number of cases as a percentage of all its cases between Oct. 28 and Nov. 11 than Maine, according to NBC News data. Maine's number of COVID-19 cases, an average of 50 cases per day two weeks ago has risen to an average of 163 cases per day—a 229% increase. Two other states in New England round out the top 10, according to NBC News: Connecticut, with a 106% increase, and New Hampshire, with a 91% increase. While Vermont didn't make the list, it reported 72 coronavirus cases Wednesday, a single-day record for the Green Mountain State. It's also more than double what Vermont reported on Tuesday. (Source: NECN) Meanwhile, on Wednesday Massachusetts reported 2,495 new confirmed coronavirus cases and an additional 37 deaths. The last time the daily numbers were this high was April 24, according to data provided by the Massachusetts Department of Health. (Source: NECN) Nationally on Wednesday, there were at least 1,893 additional American deaths from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University -- the highest daily death toll the country has seen since early May. Already, more than 241,700 people have died. Another 110,000 Americans are projected to lose their lives in just the next two months, according to the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. (Source: CNN)

3. State Contact Tracing Notifications Experiencing Lag Time Due to Surge in Cases. An intensive statewide effort to track the spread of COVID-19 and inform people who may have been exposed has a lag time of up to 5 days now. But, state officials said that is to be expected with cases and transmission rising statewide. Some school districts are helping to speed up the process. Districts can complete contact tracing in a matter of hours, but their investigation is limited to the actual school setting. Sports and social gatherings are not accounted for. “We can’t wait for DHHS, we have to contain this,” Berlin Superintendent Julie King said. “So, we are all doing our own contact tracing.” COVID-19 cases are surging in Berlin, the schools went remote at the end of October as three cases were identified within the school district. (Source: WMUR)

4. Sununu Says N.H. Has Proper Resources to Deal with Pandemic. During his weekly COVID press conference, the governor said that while no one has control over the pandemic itself, he feels to state is in a good place when it comes to the resources needed to minimize its impact. “I would never say that we have control on it. I don’t think anybody does,” Sununu said. “But, what we have great control on is those tools, resources and management techniques that we have developed with our team over the last six months.” When it comes to a potential shutdown, he said the goal is to be strategic—looking at data involving specific situations where the virus is being transmitted to see if adjustments need to be made. (Source: WMUR) However, as cases surge, key data shows the state may not be able to respond quickly enough to outbreaks to maintain them. According the CovidActNow website, operated by a non-profit group of universities working in conjunction with former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, with 210 new daily cases on average, New Hampshire needs an estimated 1,050 contact tracers on staff to trace each new case to a known case within 48 hours of detection. Per available data, New Hampshire has 110 contact tracers, fulfilling 10% of this staffing requirement. “With insufficient contact tracing staff, New Hampshire is unlikely to be able to successfully identify and isolate sources of disease spread fast enough to prevent new outbreaks,” the site reports. (Source: CovidActNow)

5. 2 Dead, 35 Infected in COVID Outbreak at Newport Nursing Home. A COVID-19 outbreak at Woodlawn Care Center in Newport has grown to include 35 people, two of whom have died. The outbreak, the largest in the Upper Valley thus far, now includes 22 residents and 13 staff members, one of whom has recovered, said Chris Martin, Woodlawn’s administrator, in a Tuesday phone interview. Two residents died after contracting the disease. A third resident, who did not test positive, also died after the outbreak began on Oct. 21. A fourth resident is hospitalized, he said. But he added that the home has not had any new cases in two days. “I hope we’re on the other end of the curve,” he said. (Source: NHPR) Meanwhile, just over the border in Kittery, Maine, an outbreak at the Durgin Pines nursing facility has infected 36 residents and 15 staff members. While the number of cases at Durgin Pines has risen exponentially over the last several days, some residents are beginning to recover and leave the COVID-19 units, administrator Lauren Scogin told families in an update Wednesday. (Source: Seacoast Online)

6. Hampton Schools to Keep Hybrid Model as Coronavirus Cases Rise. SAU 90 plans to stay the course with its hybrid model of in-person and remote learning for the second trimester as the Seacoast continues to see an uptick in coronavirus cases. The School Board voted unanimously Tuesday to continue the current schedule that has half the student body going to school Monday and Tuesday, the other half Thursday and Friday. Under the hybrid learning model, students learn remotely three days a week, with all students having a half-day virtual check in on Wednesday for social and emotional well-being. (Source: Seacoast Online)

7. COVID-19 Cases Spiking On, Off of UNH Campus, Durham Town Manager Says. A spike in COVID-19 cases in Durham has officials concerned both on and off the University of New Hampshire campus. There is now an investigation underway into allegations of several large off-campus gatherings. Cases in Durham have been on the rise for the past week. Last Thursday, there were 34 active cases and as of the following Wednesday that number had doubled. Now, almost 400 students are in quarantine. Durham town manager Todd Selig also said his wife has tested positive for COVID-19. “We were really surprised,” Selig said. “On Sunday, we got the call she tested positive, so, now our whole family is in quarantine.” (Source: WMUR)

8. Rochester Worries Some Remote Students May Be Going Hungry. Less than a week into the city schools’ new remote learning model, hundreds of free student meals have gone unclaimed and only 40% of local families have fully registered to receive key alerts about meals and other special COVID-19 services. These numbers are concerning to School Department Superintendent Kyle Repucci, whose district experiences food insecurity in normal years. “Our students are potentially not eating,” said Repucci, who noted the thought keeps him up at night. “We want to make sure they have access to the resources to be healthy.” Repucci and district Food Service Director Karan Pfingst urge local families to reach out for help and take advantage of meals the district is providing seven days a week throughout the remote learning period, which continues until Jan. 19. (Source: Foster’s Daily Democrat)

9. Moderna to Release Interim Data on COVID-19 Vaccine Trials This Month. New England-based biotech firm Moderna shared promising news on a COVID-19 vaccine and its trials on Wednesday. The company’s CEO said the firm is on track to report the first interim results this month. That means the company could apply for an emergency use authorization nationwide as soon as December. Moderna is working with Lonza Biologics in Portsmouth to produce a COVID-19 vaccine. Officials said their goal is to supply between half a billion to 1 billion doses around the globe in 2021, including at least 100 million in the U.S. (Source: WMUR)

10. Town Officials in Amherst Warn of Possible Coronavirus Exposure at the Polls. A voter has tested positive for COVID-19, but town officials said guidelines were followed on Election Day. Officials said the infected person was at Souhegan High School between 10:15-11:15 a.m. on Election Day. While there was the potential for exposure, town leaders said the likelihood of transmission is low. The town is now contacting election volunteers who may have had direct contact with the voter. (Source: WMUR)

11. Veteran’s Day Marked Across N.H. Despite Pandemic Restrictions. The COVID-19 pandemic forced changes to Veterans Day observances in New Hampshire, but Wednesday was still a day for reflection and remembrance. Manchester and Nashua cancelled their parades, and other communities held virtual events and smaller gatherings of remembrance. (Source: WMUR) In Portsmouth, members of the high school band played the national anthem at a ceremony at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Goodwin Park as veterans saluted and local leaders put their hands over their hearts. (Source: Seacoast Online)

12. ‘Know Before You Go’ COVID-19 Skiing, Expect More Out-of-Staters on NH Slopes. Ski resorts are used to the uncontrollable when it comes to the weather. But this year they have a new factor to contend with: COVID-19. The industry is now working with the state’s guidance and is working to educate their future guests to “know before you go,” often with the expectation that they will need to make a reservation to ski on weekends and holidays and change their normal behavior to prevent the spread of the virus. Exacerbating the uncertainty of the situation is the fact that neighboring Vermont has essentially shut down all out-of-state skiing for now, due to the fact that it has lower coronavirus numbers than the rest of the country. That could mean added out-of-state pressure on New Hampshire’s resorts from people who would normally ski in the Green Mountain State. Jessyca Keeler, president of Ski New Hampshire, the statewide organization that represents most of the state’s ski resorts, said the mantra for the season will be for guests to do their homework for a specific ski area before they go and to know what will and will not be allowed. Otherwise, they might find themselves being turned away. To help prepare guests for the COVID-19 winter, SKI NH has developed a resource page for skiing this winter at https://www.skinh.com/covid-19-consumer. (Source: InDepthNH)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 11, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES (SOME WITH N.H. DATA)

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times Interactive Vaccine Tracker

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Wednesday, November 11

For the first time during the pandemic, the state’s community transmission map is “in the red” for the entire state, indicating that the risk of community transmission is “substantial” statewide. (Source: N.H. DHHS)

New COVID-19 cases in New Hampshire topped 200 for the 6th day in a row on Tuesday as the state recorded 222 new cases along with two new hospitalizations. Here is the rest of the pandemic-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Wednesday.

1. NH DHHS: Entire State is at Substantial Rate of COVID-19 Community Transmission. New Hampshire’s COVID-19 map now shows every county is at a substantial rate of community transmission. The Granite State has now experienced six days in a row of over 200 COVID-19 daily new cases. Active cases are at their highest level since May 20 and the 64 active hospitalizations is the highest since June 15. “All of these metrics, all of these facts point to the fact that we are losing control on preventing the spread of this virus,” said state epidemiologist Benjamin Chan. Chan said the increase is related to people gathering in groups and not social distancing. Chan stressed that if the virus goes unchecked, the risks for the elderly and vulnerable populations will be like the first wave of the pandemic. For those who are not high risk, Chan said what we enjoyed during the summer months, when numbers were lower, may go away. “If people don’t take this virus seriously community transmission spread is only going to increase risk to our families and our communities is only going to increase,” Chan said. “We are going to lose the flexibility and freedoms our communities enjoyed over the summer.” (Source: WMUR)

2. Rural NH Communities Now Experiencing Some of the Most Widespread COVID-19 Transmission. Nine months into the global COVID-19 pandemic, the virus is spreading at an alarming rate in the state’s most remote locations and is no longer just a southern New Hampshire, big city problem. Based on population, COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in rural communities. As of Monday, Clarksville has been the hardest hit town in the state with one active case for every 27 people. Brookfield in Carroll County has one case for every 58 people, Stewartstown has one case for every 78 residents, Warner in Merrimack County has one case per 93 residents and Colebrook has confirmed cases in 1 out of every 100 people. “I think as a town and a community we are really ready to go if things get worse than they are,” Colebrook director of emergency management Dean Woodard-Nealy said. “We spent a lot of time preparing for this.” (Source: WMUR)

3. CDC Issues Revised Guidance on Masks. Wearing a mask can help protect you, not just those around you, from coronavirus transmission, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in new guidance Tuesday. The statement was an update to previous guidance suggesting the main benefit of mask wearing was to help prevent infected people from spreading the virus to others. Cloth masks act as "source control" to block virus particles exhaled by the wearer and provide "filtration for personal protection" by blocking incoming infectious droplets from others, the CDC said in its new guidance. The new guidance cites a number of studies showing that masks reduce the risk of transmitting or catching the virus by more than 70% in various instances. One study revealed mutual mask-use helped prevent two infected hair stylists from transmitting the virus to 67 clients who were later interviewed. Another followed infected people who spent more than 10 hours on flights without infecting other passengers when masks were used. In several scenarios, when officials told people to wear masks, infections and deaths fell significantly, the CDC pointed out. (Source: CNN)

4. Vermont Restricts Non-Essential Travel Into State. Vermont is moving to shut down all non-essential travel into the state as COVID-19 case counts rise across the country. The state's previous travel policy allowed people from certain counties in the Northeast to enter Vermont without having to self-quarantine. All of New Hampshire's counties were already on the restricted list as of late last month. At a press conference Tuesday, Vermont Governor Phil Scott said they're now tightening their rules. “We’re temporarily suspending our travel map, and requiring a 14-day quarantine, or seven days and a negative test, for any non-essential travel into Vermont.” (Sources: NHPR and Vermont Public Radio)

5. New Hampshire, Maine Added to Connecticut's COVID-19 Travel Advisory List. Connecticut has released the newest edition of the COVID-19 travel advisory list of the states and territories considered hot spots for coronavirus. This comes days after the state rolled back to what Gov. Ned Lamont called "Phase 2.1" as cases of the virus increase. New Hampshire and Maine were added to the list Tuesday, and no areas were removed, bringing the total number of hotspots on the list to 46. (Source: NECN)

6. As COVID Spreads, Safety Measures Let Doctors and Dentists Keep Seeing Patients. With new COVID-19 cases reaching an all-time high in New Hampshire, health providers say their current safety protocols will keep their patients safe and their doors open. “Things right now are worse than they were in March, so the risk is much greater than it was in March,” said Dr. Thomas “T.J.” Filip, lead dentist of Noble Dental Care in Keene. “But I think what March gave us was time to understand the things that we needed to do to be careful, to be cautious.” Now, when patients come in, Filip said they are screened for COVID-19 symptoms and have their temperature taken at the door. All staff wear N95 face masks and face shields, along with gowns, to protect the patients and themselves. The number of people in the treatment rooms has also been limited, he noted. Dr. Aurora Leon, co-owner of Monarca Health in Keene, said the practice has implemented basic COVID-19 protocols like mask wearing, hand washing and frequent surface disinfection. Patients are also seen immediately, she noted, so they’re not lingering in the waiting room. To meet patients’ needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, the practice will also make a telehealth-only membership available soon. (Source: Keene Sentinel)

7. Pappas: Pandemic No Time to Kill Health Care Law. Congressman Chris Pappas joined state medical and legal experts Tuesday morning for a virtual discussion regarding the state of the Affordable Care Act that coincided with arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court that could determine the law's fate. “There couldn’t be a worse time to threaten the viability of the Affordable Care Act than during a global pandemic,” said Pappas, a Democrat re-elected Nov. 3 to represent New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District. “We have lost nearly 500 Granite Staters because of COVID-19, over 240,000 Americans, and we know that infection rates are continuing to increase at alarming rates all across our country," Pappas said. "Right now, we’ve got to make sure that everyone has access to the care they need, and to see this case move forward in the middle of a pandemic is just unconscionable.” (Source: Seacoast Online) But after comments by two conservative judges during oral arguments before the Court yesterday, there were indications that the Supreme Court may not strike down the law in its entirety after all. (Source: CNN)

8. NH Hospitals Say They're Prepared For COVID Surge, But Aren’t Letting Guard Down. COVID-19-related hospitalizations in New Hampshire are on the rise, with the seven-day average now at 51 patients. The state is also seeing daily case counts higher than in any time during the pandemicand health experts say they expect hospitalizations to follow closely behind. But some of the state's hospitals say they are more prepared for those cases this time around based on what they learned in the spring. Dartmouth-Hitchcock has already taken action in response to the second wave by tightening visitor access. “Hospitals are intently engaged in the increasing numbers and are taking changes appropriately,” said Elizabeth Talbot, New Hampshire’s deputy state epidemiologist. “I have a great confidence in the hospital system in New Hampshire’s continuous preparation for what might happen in the next few weeks,” she said. Officials say the supply chain for PPE and ventilators are in better shape than they were in the spring. Testing capacity is also much higher, allowing them to identify positive cases faster. The biggest remaining challenge is staffing. “There isn't a staffing pool in the sky we can pull from,” said Elliot President and SolutionHealth Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Greg Baxter. "I wish we all had one...we had seen some support in the spring where the national guard was able to stand up some testing centers and those things, so all of that together will add to our total assets we can bring to bear,” he said. (Source: NHPR)

9. Shelters Reduce Beds Due to Pandemic, Raising Concerns About Winter. Concord’s homeless shelter is reducing capacity due to coronavirus, raising concerns that there won’t be enough beds come January. The Concord Coalition to End Homelessness, which provides temporary housing in the winter, accepts 40 people a night on a normal year. In light of new safety regulations to prevent the spread of COVID-19, they have reduced capacity to 28, a 30% decrease in beds. These reductions come as many fear there will be an increased demand for resources if a moratorium on evictions ends in January. (Source: Concord Monitor)

10. Some Good News: In NH, VA Facilities Have Avoided COVID-19 Outbreaks. Though COVID-19 outbreaks have hit dozens of nursing homes, New Hampshire's VA health system has avoided outbreaks, said administrator Kevin Forrest. Forrest said that the VA has been thorough in testing patients and staff, and has halved the number of patients who come in for in-person treatment. None of the residents of the VA's long-term care facilities in New Hampshire have tested positive for COVID-19, he said. Forrest credited the staff's vigilance in keeping the virus out of the long-term care facilities that serve veterans at a time when the virus has ravaged many of New Hampshire's nursing homes. But while the virus has spared veteran’s hospitals, it has not spared veterans in New Hampshire. According to data collected by the Department of Veterans Affairs, 120 veterans in New Hampshire have tested positive for the virus. Of the 489 New Hampshire residents who have died of COVID-19, according to the VA, 15 were veterans. (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

11. How N.H. Arrived at a Child Care Crisis. For many New Hampshire parents, finding affordable child care before the pandemic was difficult. But with the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing, many are finding it almost impossible. Last year in New Hampshire, there were 32,780 spaces in childcare centers, but 54,019 children whose parents or guardians worked full-time, according to statistics gathered by Child Care Aware, a nonprofit that works with state and local childcare agencies nationwide. That meant that before the pandemic, at least 39% of Granite State kids in working families did not have access to licensed child care while their parents were at work. The situation only worsened when Covid-19 hit, schools suspended in-person classes statewide and childcare centers closed across New Hampshire, according to Child Care Aware. As of July, the organization reports, more than 200 had shut their doors. And while many day cares, including Monadnock Community Early Learning Center, have reopened, the coronavirus outbreak continues to exacerbate the existing strains on the childcare system. According to Jess Carson, a professor at the University of New Hampshire, childcare providers don’t generate enough revenue to pay staff members well, making it difficult to find employees. Meanwhile, care is too costly for many families to afford. “Really, in the short term, the solutions are still sort of a bit of triage in that people are just sort of trying to keep everybody healthy and keep their doors open,” Carson said, “because the bottom line, like always, is that the math just doesn’t work out.” (Source: Keene Sentinel via N.H. Business Review)

12. Portsmouth Poised to Close Outdoor Cafes, Snow Removal Cited. After a season of outdoor dining, at cafes created by loaned concrete barriers, the jersey barriers will be removed after Nov. 30 so the city is prepared for snow removal, Public Works Director Peter Rice told the City Council Monday night. Rice said he and a DPW foreman walked all the outdoor cafe sites, he calculated estimated costs for removing snow around them, at the overtime rate, and determined it would cost an additional $3,500 per storm. Unless the City Council directs otherwise, Rice said, the barriers will be removed after Nov. 30. On Tuesday, Rice told the Portsmouth Herald some restaurants, including several in the Vaughan Mall and Cure, already have decided against winter outdoor dining and those barriers have been removed. Others, including Dwyer's Pub owner Kevin Dwyer, wish to remain open during the winter and predict it will be a successful opportunity to stay afloat during economic challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Rice said it's up to the council to make the final decision and its next meeting is Monday, Nov. 16. (Source: Seacoast Online)

13. Cold Weather Could Put Restaurants into Deep Freeze. As the weather turns cold, the finances of restaurants in the time of COVID-19 are in danger of going into a deep chill. That’s why the current brief stint of unseasonably warm weather has come as a blessing to restaurateurs who have been able to continue to use outdoor seating at a time when indoor dining is limited to allow for the social distancing required under state guidelines intended to limit the spread of COVID-19. Oral Kelly, general manager of Nolan’s Brick Oven Bistro, said he is being forced to operate at 50 percent capacity. He would normally be able to seat 16 people at the bar and operate 12 tables in his dining room. To allow for social distancing, he is forced to limit his seating to eight at the bar and six tables. “It was a big plus that we could seat people outdoors,” Kelly said. “This weekend wasn’t bad. It was warm enough that people could eat outside, but when outdoor seating closes, we’re down to 35 or 40 percent of overall capacity.” But Kelly says balancing customer and employee safety with pandemic fatigue hasn’t been easy. “The fallout of that with guests and customers is that not everybody wants to mask up and follow the rules. They yell and scream at you, and you just shrug it off.” (Source: Laconia Daily Sun)

14. As COVID-19 Cases Rise, UNH Students Hopeful to Make it to Nov. 20. Despite a rise of COVID-19 cases on campus, students at the University of New Hampshire in Durham are hopeful they will be able to finish the in-person learning portion of this semester. At the close of business on Monday, there were 389 students in quarantine and 74 students isolated within the UNH system, which includes the Manchester and Concord campuses. Students at UNH in Durham are scheduled to have their last day of face-to-face classes this fall on Nov. 20. All classes will switch to remote learning on Nov. 23; final exams end on Dec. 22. Seniors Makenna Comeau of Merrimac, Mass., and Dominique Courchaine of Portsmouth, were outside studying on Tuesday and said that despite social activity reported around Halloween, for the most part students have been adhering to all of the guidelines required by UNH officials. “Everyone is really careful. I feel like a lot of the students around here have four or five friends and they hang out with them and nobody else,” Courchaine said. Freshman Gemma Pohl, of Portsmouth, said she has been pleasantly surprised that everyone is following protocols when it comes to self-testing for COVID-19. “I’m so grateful for that,” Pohl said. “I feel so much more reassured getting tests done every four days.” Pohl said she has friends who went to other colleges where routine testing is not performed and they have already been switched to remote learning due to a spike in positive COVID-19 cases. (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

15. Winter Term Start Date Pushed Back at Dartmouth, Testing Upped to Twice Per Week. Students returning to campus this winter will face new COVID-19 precautions from the College. In addition to the initial two-week quarantine and staggered move-ins seen during the fall term, next term will bring a delayed start date and increased regular testing. Winter term’s start date was pushed from Jan. 4 to Jan. 7 due to the lengthened move-in process for students living on and off campus. In addition to requiring increased testing, the College is also grappling with how to make necessary changes to dining seating adjustments and outdoor activities in order to accommodate the weather. Colleges across the region have been adjusting class schedules and safety precautions as the virus surges. (Source: The Dartmouth)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 10, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES (SOME WITH N.H. DATA)

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times Interactive Vaccine Tracker

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Tuesday, November 10

Active COVID-19 cases in New Hampshire communities. Source: N.H. DHHS

On Monday, state health officials reported 215 new COVID-19 cases and no new deaths or hospitalizations. Here is the pandemic-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Tuesday.

1. New Cases Surge in Seacoast and Southern Tier. New coronavirus cases in N.H. topped the 200 mark for the fifth day in a row on Monday. The new cases reside in Strafford (41), Rockingham (40), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (29), Merrimack (15), Carroll (11), Belknap (8), Grafton (8), Cheshire (5), Coos (5), and Sullivan (3) counties, and in the cities of Nashua (21) and Manchester (16). With the total number of active cases in N.H. now standing at 2,057, the state also topped the 2,000 mark in active cases for the first time. Communities with the most active cases include Manchester (157), Nashua (147), Dover (76), Salem (70), Durham (68), Concord (58), Bedford (57), Portsmouth and Derry (48), and Rochester (46). (Sources: NH DHHS and InDepthNH)

2. UNH Investigates Halloween Gatherings As Student COVID Cases Rise. The University of New Hampshire is reporting a record number of COVID-19 cases on campus. The school's weekly positive case number has doubled since last week, now at 67. Of the total 84 active cases, 73 are students, and a total of 351 people are in quarantine, more than triple the amount quarantined two weeks ago. While UNH's test positivity rate remains far lower than the state's positivity rate at 0.29 percent, the surge in cases and the risk of community spread among a population that often doesn’t show symptoms is a major cause for concern—especially with many students soon dispersing throughout the state and the region to join their families for the Thanksgiving holiday. The university is investigating several allegations of large off-campus gatherings on Halloween weekend as potential sources of community spread, according to UNH spokesperson Erika Mantz. In a video shared with community members, UNH President Jim Dean and Senior Vice Provost for Student Life Kenneth Holmes asked students to remain vigilant in the final weeks of the semester. "We really want to keep our campuses open through Nov. 20 as planned, but every single one of us must commit to staying vigilant for that to happen," Dean said. (Source: NHPR)

3. Some Good News: New Cases in N.H. Nursing Homes are Not Rising in Proportion to the Overall Statewide Surge. Cases of COVID-19 in nursing homes, which once comprised the bulk of the state’s numbers, have petered out to a weekly average of 12 cases, a decline from the 54-case weekly average the state saw in May. “What we’re seeing now is that the transmission and the spread of this virus has largely moved out of those facility outbreak settings and into the general community,” said Ben Chan, the state epidemiologist. The virus, which thrived in nursing homes during the “first wave” in New Hampshire, has largely taken host in the community this time around – spreading in hockey rinks and over dinner tables instead. Chan said one explanation for the virus’s changing epidemiology is the precautions nursing homes have agonized over for the last eight months. Brendan Williams, the president of the New Hampshire Health Care Association, said the facilities have learned a lot about how to contain the virus. Homes have implemented rigorous testing procedures, stringent personal protective equipment requirements, and restrictions on outside visitors and group activities. But until the trajectory of nursing home cases is clear, Williams won’t celebrate the low number of cases. “I’m not going to declare victory,” Williams said. “I’m pleased facilities are making progress but the fact that the virus can run through the White House with a daily testing regime shows it can certainly get into any long-term care facility.” (Source: Concord Monitor)

4. Staff Member Tests Positive at Westmoreland Nursing Home. Maplewood Nursing Home in Westmoreland has put a pause on visits after learning Sunday that a part-time staff member tested positive for COVID-19. The county has been in touch with the state health department, and all staff and 10 percent of residents will be tested for COVID-19, the release says. Scheduled visits will be canceled until further notice while staff are tested, according to the release. The nursing home has helped set up video chats for families. (Source: The Keene Sentinel)

5. Half of the Residents at a Kittery Nursing Home Have COVID-19 as Outbreak Grows. About half of the residents at Durgin Pines nursing home currently have COVID-19, as the facility's case count surged over the weekend. Of the 61 residents currently living at the facility, 32 have contracted COVID-19, Durgin Pines administrator Lauren Scogin said Monday. The facility also has nine staff members who have tested positive for the virus, including its medical director, Dr. Jabbar Fazeli, equaling 41 total active cases. An outbreak investigation by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention has been open at Durgin Pines for nearly two weeks, while cases have "exponentially grown," Scogin said in a recent letter to families. (Source: Seacoast Online)

6. Biden Wants Governors To Mandate Masks, But Sununu Says That’s Not the Answer. New Hampshire is the only state in New England and among 16 in the country without a statewide COVID-19 mask mandate and President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. said Monday that he would ask governors to implement them. But Sununu maintained Monday as he has since March that he does not support a statewide mask mandate for New Hampshire. “New Hampshire has managed this crisis well and I have supported local communities in their decision to enact mask mandates, but a one-size-fits-all approach out of Washington is not the answer to combatting this crisis, Sununu said in an email response to InDepthNH.org. If the governor is not willing to mandate a mask, he might expect to get a call from Biden in January and if that does not work, Biden may start calling all the governors in states where there is no mandate, according to NBC News and The Hill. On Aug. 20, upon accepting the Democratic nomination for president, Biden called for a “national mask mandate,” but has softened the rhetoric now to become a national mask suggestion for governors to enact. Legal experts said that such a federal mandate could not be supported by law and that it would wind up in the courts and almost certainly be challenged. (Source: InDepthNH) On a separate but related topic, Gov. Sununu has also made it clear that despite case counts rising to levels not seen since March—and several outbreaks traced back to restaurants—there are no plans for additional restrictions on restaurants. Mike Somers, president and CEO of the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association said, “You have a lot of these restaurants in a desperate situation where if the business isn’t there, and there’s no aid coming, their survivability percentage gets pretty low.” Somers says that adding restrictions without also providing additional financing or aid for restaurants would be a death knell for many businesses. (Source: Concord Monitor)

7. As COVID Cases Rise, Tense Debates In Nashua Over School Reopening. The coronavirus has hit Nashua harder than other parts of New Hampshire, particularly in its communities of color. But despite trailing only Manchester when it comes to active cases combined with a risk of transmission rated at the state’s highest level, many families here are pushing to get kids back in the classroom. They say other cities - including Manchester - have found a way to reopen safely. So why not Nashua? “All 11,000 children in this district have a right to an equal education and we are failing them,” Alicia Houston, a parent in Nashua, told me. “And we can do better.” Houston is part of a new group called Nashua Parent Voice, with about a thousand members, that’s advocating to reopen schools. The group has sent formal appeals to the Nashua school board and New Hampshire Department of Education. Jon Michael-Person, a middle school teacher and member of Nashua Parent Voice, says the district should accomodate people with health concerns, but its decision to stay largely remote is hitting low-income students hard. He says in some of the classes he teaches, half the students aren’t showing up. “Basically, remote learning is privileged. It’s easier for people - not easy, but easier - if you have a 3,000 square foot house and 4 rooms and 4 computers,” he says. “And that’s not what Nashua is.” (Source: NHPR)

8. New Hampshire Schools Weigh Whether To Go Remote Until After The Holidays. With coronavirus cases rising and Thanksgiving around the corner, some school districts are weighing whether to go remote until after the holidays. The state’s current travel guidance requires people who have travelled outside of New England to quarantine for two weeks. This has a lot of families preparing to keep their kids remote after Thanksgiving and winter break. As essential workers, teachers are exempt from the state's post-travel quarantine guidance, but some worry that not quarantining teachers will undermine their schools’ efforts to control transmission rates within the building. Some school boards, like Concord’s, will be deciding this week whether to go remote from Thanksgiving through Martin Luther King day in January. In some districts, the upward trend of new COVID cases could shut schools down before the board votes on holiday closures. Manchester’s daily case count is pushing that district into a red zone on its reopening metric, which would prompt schools to stay mostly closed. Berlin schools have already gone remote in response to a spike in coronavirus cases there, and superintendent Julie King says that could change the board’s calculation on whether to go remote for two weeks after Christmas break. (Source: NHPR) Meanwhile, the Wilton-Lyndeborough School district recently faced the question of how to handle an expected teacher shortage following the Thanksgiving and December holidays. Rather than vote to go to full remote learning, the district decided to hire an additional four long-term substitutes to fill the gaps, at a cost of about $212 per day each for 28 school days. (Source: Monadnock Ledger-Transcript)

9. Lonza Biologics Partner Continues to Work Toward Vaccine. New England based biotech firm Moderna has been developing a COVID-19 vaccine and is working with Lonza Biologics in Portsmouth to produce it. Moderna is currently in Phase 3 trials of a vaccine with 30,000 people taking part. The company said early analysis has shown the vaccine was generally well tolerated across all age groups and resulted in a strong immune response against COVID-19. The nation’s top disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said the results of Pfizer’s trials have been extraordinary, that they bode well for Moderna and there is hope of eventually having two vaccines. (Source: WMUR) Worth noting is that while the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are now showing the most promise, distributing them will not be easy. Like Moderna’s vaccine, Pfizer and BioNTech’s preparation is based on mRNA, which falls apart unless it’s kept in a deep freeze. As a result, the vaccine will have to be chilled to minus 80 degrees Celsius (minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit) until it’s ready to be injected. This temperature is well below the minimum achievable temperature of most commercial freezers—meaning that equipment capable of keeping the stored vaccine cold must be a key part of any distribution plant. Pfizer is designing boxes that will keep the vaccines cold as they’re being transported. (Source: The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html )

10. Ice Castles Returning to NH This Winter With COVID Safety Measures. The popular Ice Castles attraction https://icecastles.com/new-hampshire will return to New Hampshire this winter with a new design and COVID-19 safety measures in place. Ice Castles said the annual winter attraction in North Woodstock -- featuring ice slides, crawl spaces, caves and fountains illuminated at night -- will be back in early January of 2021. Ice Castles will operate at a reduced capacity to promote social distancing. All tunnels and crawl spaces will be one-way to limit face-to-face exposure with other guests. All staff and guests will be required to wear a mask or face covering. (Source: NECN)

11. Lost Masks of the Seacoast. For many of us, face masks are the new car keys—they always seem to disappear at the exact moment we need them. While most are lying safely in a drawer, on a shelf, or stuffed into the pocket of the jacket you wore the last time you were out, you’ve also probably started to note that more than a few masks belonging to other people—including the pricier cloth variety—seem to have joined the autumn leaves on sidewalks and in parks across the Seacoast. It’s gotten to a point where Seacoast Online photographer Rich Beauchesne has created an entire photo essay on lost (or tossed) masks that’s definitely worth a look. (Source: Seacoast Online) Also a quick reminder: the CDC recommends that you throw away disposable masks after one use and wash reusable cloth face masks in warm, soapy water at the end of each day. (Source: Centers for Disease Control)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 9, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES (SOME WITH N.H. DATA)

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times Interactive Vaccine Tracker

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Monday, November 9

Source: N.H. DHHS

On Sunday, N.H. DHHS announced 249 new positive test results for COVID-19, four new hospitalizations, and no new deaths. 55 people are now hospitalized with COVID-19 in New Hampshire. Here is the rest of the pandemic-related news you need to know to start your Monday.

1. N.H. COVID Numbers Worsen. In its weekly update of five key N.H metrics for the coronavirus, the Concord Monitor reports the state continues to report troubling results for 3 of the 5. Hospitalizations have increased sharply and the number of positive tests results that are reported each day long ago passed the 54 mark (four new cases per 100,000 people each day) and keeps going up and up. The two-week average has doubled in three weeks, from 65 on Oct. 12 to 132 on Nov. 5, and shows no sign of slowing. On the bright side, the state’s positivity rate continues to be under 5% and the state is conducting well over 150 PCR tests per 100,000 people each day, or 2,000 tests per day. (Source: Concord Monitor)

2. COVID-19 Transmission ‘Substantial’ in All But Carroll, Cheshire Counties. On Sunday, Carroll and Cheshire were the only two counties in the yellow “moderate” level for community transmission of the virus. The rest of the counties Sullivan, Rockingham, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Strafford, Belknap, Coos and Grafton were listed in the red for having “substantial” community transmission. Since Wednesday, there have been no counties listed in the green level for “minimal.” The 249 new cases announced Sunday reside in Rockingham (46), Strafford (27), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (26), Merrimack (23), Cheshire (15), Sullivan (15), Grafton (14), Belknap (7), Coos (5), and Carroll (4) counties, and in the cities of Manchester (32) and Nashua (18). (Source: N.H. DHHS and InDepthNH)

3. Portsmouth Elementary School Reports COVID-19 Case. Parents of children attending the New Franklin School have been notified that a student has tested positive for COVID-19. The school nurse is checking in on students and staff who may have had close contact (within 6 feet for more than ten minutes) with the infected student and the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services has been notified to assist with contact tracing. Last week, three infections were reported at Portsmouth High School. (Source: Seacoast Online)

4. Some School Systems See Enrollment Spike Because of COVID-19. Last year, the Waterville Valley Elementary School had just 17 students enrolled. This year, the number has nearly tripled, driven largely by students who have moved to the area since January 1, 2020. During that time, the town has seen its population increase roughly 25% to 559 full-residents, said Town Manager Mark Decoteau. Waterville Valley is a particularly dramatic example, but far from alone. Now that the pandemic has opened up opportunities for many people to live, work and learn remotely, some are taking advantage of that by nestling away in secluded corners of New Hampshire where Covid-19 activity is nowhere near as severe as that of the larger cities. Realtors in some sections of the state are seeing more interest from out-of-state buyers, and school districts in the more mountainous areas where second-home ownership is more common are now seeing new students enroll. In Mount Washington Valley, SAU 9 — which includes Conway — Superintendent Kevin Richard has welcomed roughly 25 new students. While Richard is used to students coming and going, he said there’s a clear trend related to the pandemic this year. (Source: Manchester Ink Link)

5. As Cold Weather Approaches, Restaurant Owners Worry About Surviving the Season. With temporary closures because of potential COVID-19 exposure becoming more frequent, restaurants are bracing for a disquieting winter. Keith Murphy, owner of Murphy’s Taproom in Bedford and Murphy’s Diner in Manchester, said Friday he has serious concerns about the next few months. “I am extremely worried. Outdoor dining at both my restaurants is what kept us going since April or May,” Murphy said. “Our outdoor tables are always in very high demand, and we were able to keep pace with traditional sales because of that. “But now that we are moving inside, there is definitely a slump.” To satisfy state health officials and reassure diners, New Hampshire restaurants recently implemented a sign-in/dine-in policy that allows for easier contact-tracing if a restaurant customer or employee tests positive. So far, according toTom Boucher, CEO of Great New Hampshire Restaurants, which includes T-Bones, Cactus Jack’s and The Copper Door, 99% of his customers have complied with the protocol. The policy is preferable to the the alerts the state issues when a restaurant employee or patron tests positive for COVID-19, Boucher said. He called that practice “really unfair,” pointing out the same notifications were not made for cases or potential exposure at gyms, hair salons or grocery stores. “It really hurts the industry,” Boucher said. “Restaurants are suddenly the bad guys.” (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

6. N.H. Consequences of Tuesday’s Election Will Be Striking. As the saying goes “elections have consequences” and that is certainly true in New Hampshire where the Executive Council, Senate and House flipped from Democratic control to Republican majorities. In this analysis, veteran state house reporter Gary Rayno looks at the potential impact on issues ranging from redistricting, to education funding, to battles over the state budget in a year when revenues will be off because of the pandemic. (Source: InDepthNH) Meanwhile, President-Elect Joe Biden has named a 12-member Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board, to be led by former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. David Kessler, former Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith of the Yale University School of Medicine. The Board will be responsible for implementing a nationwide plan to stop outbreaks, ramp up testing, hire more public health workers to help with contact tracing, and to boost vaccine and PPE production and distribution. (Source: NHPR)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 8, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES WITH N.H. DATA

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Sunday, November 8

Source: N.H. Department of Health and Human Services

On Saturday, public health officials announced another person has died from COVID-19 in New Hampshire. 230 new cases were also reported along with one additional hospitalization. Here is the rest of the pandemic-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Sunday.

1. Community Transmission Levels Escalate on State Map. For the first time Wednesday and again Thursday, Friday and Saturday, there are no counties listed in the green level for “minimal” on the state’s community transmission map. On Saturday only Carroll, Cheshire and Sullivan Counties were in the yellow “moderate” level for community transmission of the virus. The rest of the counties Rockingham, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Strafford, Belknap, Coos and Grafton were listed in the red for having “substantial” community transmission. Manchester (124), Nashua (108), Salem (62) and Dover (61) had the most active cases of COVID-19 Saturday. On the Seacoast, Dover has the most cases followed by Durham (55) and Portsmouth (45). Hillsborough (476) and Rockingham counties (455) lead N.H. counties in active cases. (Source: N.H. DHHS and InDepthNH)

2. Outbreak Leaves Newport Nursing Home in Dire Straits for Staffing. The novel coronavirus outbreak at a nursing home in Newport, N.H. has strained staffing so much that the home’s administrator has appealed for help on Facebook. “Our outbreak currently with 19 residents and 11 staff has left our nursing staffing in a critical situation,” Woodlawn Administrator Chris Martin wrote on the home’s Facebook page Saturday morning. “We have residents needing more care and less staff to take the load. The State has some crisis staffing for outbreaks, but they have been unable to fill any of our needs or open shifts.” Of the 11 staff members diagnosed with COVID-19, eight are in isolation, one has recovered and two are inactive, either on leave or no longer working at Woodlawn. The staffing shortage has been exacerbated by the departures of employees who aren’t infected. Some work at Woodlawn part-time and have full-time jobs elsewhere, Martin said. As many as 12 Woodlawn employees were told by their primary employers that they couldn’t keep their jobs if they stayed at Woodlawn, because of the outbreak, Martin said. As a result, Woodlawn badly needs LNAs, or licensed nursing assistants, and has turned to a state emergency staffing program, without success. (Source: The Valley News https://www.vnews.com/Woodlawn-Care-Center-coronavirus-outbreak-worsens-37202212 )

3. As COVID-19 Cases Climb, Maine Residents Adjust to New Mask Mandate. Maine is now in its first weekend under a new executive order requiring masks to be worn in all public settings regardless of social distancing. Masks must now be worn in all public settings whether people are within six feet or not as Maine deals with increasing coronavirus cases. In a Friday afternoon press briefing, Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah said Maine had seen 18% of its to-date COVID-19 cases appear within the last two weeks. “Hospitalizations are up sharply," said Shah. "Widespread masking would have rapid and significant impact on transmission across the state and across the country." In Portland, where Mayor Kate Snyder called the mandate "something we can all do to contribute to the health of our community," there is a general sense the new order will help fight COVID-19 in Maine. "I don't have a problem with it," said Andrew Ingels, who was in downtown Portland on Thursday. "If we don't do what we've got to do, it'll last longer and damage our economy." (Source: NECN https://www.necn.com/news/coronavirus/as-covid-19-cases-climb-maine-residents-adjust-to-new-mask-mandate/2344834/ )

4. ‘We Are At a Tipping Point’: Portsmouth City Manager Responds to High School ‘Mask-Shaming’ Kerfluffle. A Portsmouth High School family whose daughter was the school's first COVID-19 case says a public statement made by the city's health officer was untrue, causing them to experience additional stress and shaming from the community. The family took issue with a statement by Portsmouth Health Officer Kim McNamara saying they knowingly allowed a symptomatic child to go to school. Superintendent of Schools Steve Zadravec later corrected McNamara's remarks in a letter to parents, claiming that was not the case. McNamara did not respond to request for comment for this story, but City Manager Karen Conard said, "The issue at hand is not a 'he said, she said' with individuals, nor would I comment publicly on a citizen or a staff member." "There is a more important community message that the Health Department and I want to emphasize," Conard added. "The recent closures of the high school underscore that we are at a tipping point in the community transmission of COVID-19. Any individual action can have consequences that make it hard to keep students in school and threaten the health and safety of our businesses, organizations and the vulnerable members of our community." Conard said the city's senior emergency management team "can't stress enough" the importance that "students, parents, teams, organizations, business owners and employees and the general population continue to observe the basics: wear masks, observe physical distancing, do not congregate, avoid crowded places and wash your hands often and thoroughly." (Source: Seacoast Online https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/local/2020/11/07/portsmouth-student-family-health-officers-covid-shaming/6176035002/ )

5. Positive COVID Test at School Forces Merrimack Valley Girls’ Soccer to Forfeit Championship Game. After beating rival Pembroke Academy on Thursday to qualify for the first girls’ soccer final in school history, Merrimack Valley High School announced it had a positive COVID test in the school on Friday and that the girls’ soccer team would not be participating in Sunday’s Division II final. Milford, MV’s scheduled opponent, has been named champion. (Source: Concord Monitor)

6. NH Reports Potential COVID-19 Exposure at Hampton’s 401 Tavern. The state Department of Health and Human Services identified potential exposures to a person with confirmed COVID-19 at The 401 Tavern at 401 Lafayette Road. DHHS determined potential exposure occurred in the bar area the nights of Friday, Oct. 23 and Saturday, Oct. 24. DHHS contacted known close contacts directly but is making public notification as there may be others at the location those nights who should monitor for symptoms and get tested. (Source: InDepthNH)

7. Dover's Strand Theater Has Last Chance to Avoid Permanent Closure. Board of Trustee President Dan Demers says The Stand must raise $100,000 by December, or it will close permanently. The upcoming "Strand Theater – Telethon Event" is the nonprofit's Hail Mary. With the support of an army of performers, technicians, filmmakers, event sponsors (still seeking more) and volunteers, the house hopes the virtual fundraiser Nov. 20-21 will see them through the coming year. The fundraiser will take place on Saturday, November 14 from 4 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 and donations will be accepted during the event. Due to COVID-19 requirements, maximum capacity is 88. Masks will be available upon request. Tickets are available here. (Source: Seacoast Online)

8. Demand for Weight Loss Surgery Goes Up in Time of COVID-19. Portsmouth Regional Hospital reports seeing an uptick in people choosing to have bariatric surgery and expects a record number of patients will undergo the procedure in the first quarter of 2021. Bariatric surgery is the general term for weight-loss surgical procedures that reduce the size of the stomach. They are often used to help obese patients with diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. Dr. Bernard Benedetto, the hospital’s chief of surgery and a bariatric surgeon, said patients are choosing to lose weight now because of the additional risk COVID-19 poses for people who are overweight. “This new threat of COVID-19 really seems to be a driver of this decision more and more,” Benedetto said. “They don’t want to wait until the next surge.” “The interest in bariatric surgery on the Seacoast seems to be extremely high at the moment,” hospital spokesperson Lynn Robbins said. “We have seen more than 145 new patients since we reopened the clinic in May and have well over 100 preoperative patients actively in the program, which is the highest in the history of our surgical weight loss program.” (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 7, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES WITH N.H. DATA

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Saturday, November 7

New Hampshire health officials reported 209 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, two new deaths and two new hospitalizations on Friday. Here is the pandemic-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Saturday.

1. Sununu: Be Prepared for 'Very Aggressive' Spike in COVID-19. Gov. Chris Sununu said Friday that Granite Staters should be prepared for a very aggressive spike in COVID-19 cases in the coming weeks. The governor said the state could be looking at 500 to 1,000 new daily cases by the end of the month. "These spikes tend to go in six- to eight-week cycles," he said. "We are a couple weeks in, so we've got a ways to go. I don't think things are going to be dropping any time soon, and I think everyone needs to understand that.” (Source: WMUR)

2. UNH Active COVID-19 Cases Eclipse Previous High; 325 People in Quarantine. After reporting zero new positive coronavirus (COVID-19) cases on Nov. 1, the University of New Hampshire (UNH) announced 16 new cases on Nov. 5 and 60 total active cases, per their COVID-19 dashboard. Forty-seven of the 60 are students, while 10 are faculty or staff and three are categorized as “other/contractor.” This is the largest number of daily cases UNH has announced in its fall semester, and the most overall since its testing program was implemented on Aug. 31. The previous high was a total of 51 positive cases on Sept. 2. In an email to The New Hampshire, UNH spokeswoman Erika Mantz said that the university is “investigating allegations of several off-campus large gatherings over the Halloween weekend.” There has been a steady rise since Oct. 30 when UNH announced 22 overall cases. Since that date, the university reported 41 overall positives on Nov. 2, 46 on Nov. 5 and now 60. UNH only has two more weeks of in-person operations due to their adjusted schedule. Remote operations will begin on Nov. 20 and will continue after the Thanksgiving holiday until the end of the fall semester on Dec. 22. The university hasn’t announced testing procedures for their planned reopening of campus and the first day of classes in February. (Source: The New Hampshire https://tnhdigital.com/2020/11/07/unh-active-covid-19-cases-eclipse-previous-high-325-people-in-quarantine/ )

3. As COVID Cases Rise Across State, N.H. Hospitals Tighten Visitor Policies. Some New Hampshire hospitals are returning to more restrictive visitor policies, as COVID-19 cases and community transmission have increased across the state in the past few weeks. Starting Nov. 6, Dartmouth Hitchcock facilities no longer allow visitors for inpatient or outpatient visits, except in eight specific cases, including labor and delivery, a child’s doctor appointment or for patients receiving end-of-life care. Michael Calderwood, an infectious disease specialist at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon. said rising case numbers -- which exceed those New Hampshire saw this spring -- are a major reason for the updated visitor policy. (Source: NHPR)

4. NH Border Communities Concerned as COVID-19 Restrictions Increased in Neighboring States. New Hampshire has not added or changed any guidelines or restrictions as COVID-19 cases rise in the states, but surrounding states have. Maine has postponed the reopening of indoor service in bars and tasting rooms, and in Massachusetts, bar business and in-person dining ends at 9:30 p.m. in an attempt to curb spiking COVID-19 numbers. In communities such as Pelham, N.H., which borders the Bay State, there are worries that the Massachusetts restrictions will send people north. "We are very concerned about that because that is what's going to happen," said Brian McCarthy, Pelham town administrator. "People won't even bother going to dinner at 8 or 9 o'clock in Massachusetts. They're just going to come up here to New Hampshire." That was the concern that shut things down in New Hampshire before St. Patrick's Day. It's not something community leaders said they want repeated. In response to the surge in new cases, Portsmouth has stopped issuing permits to temporary events that draw crowds. "I think we need to be focusing on those things and perhaps slowing down some other activities that may not be within those core priorities," said Kim McNamara, Portsmouth public health director. McNamara said that to get through the winter safely, Granite Staters need to learn to live differently for now. (Source: WMUR)

5. NH Long-Term Care Centers Concerned About Rise in COVID-19 Cases. As COVID-19 numbers rise around New Hampshire, people caring for the state's most vulnerable population are worried about what lies ahead. "The virus has been unsparing," said Brendan Williams, of the New Hampshire Health Care Association. "The fact that it can march into a five-star nonprofit facility in Dover or hit a family-run operation in Newport shows you that the virus is really on the move across the state right now." Williams said there is a sense of dread about what the coming months will bring as people spend time with friends and families for the holidays. "So, we're going to see a real increase in transmission, I'm afraid," Williams said. He said there are actions that could be taken to help. "We would like to see a statewide mask mandate," he said. "We're supportive of all local efforts to impose a mask mandate." (Source: WMUR)

6. St. Ann Nursing Home Responds as Outbreak Grows to 18 Cases. The administrators of St. Ann Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Dover say they are working quickly to contain a coronavirus outbreak, reinstating a policy that visitors are not allowed inside the building. Lori Shibinette, commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, announced the outbreak Thursday with 15 cases, the latest of many nursing homes statewide and nationally to be hit with an outbreak during the pandemic. Kate McCracken, administrator of St. Ann, said Friday there are now 18 cases with eight residents and 10 staff members testing positive for COVID-19. It is the first outbreak of the virus at St. Ann. (Source: Seacoast Online)

7. Merrimack County Jail Guard Infected with COVID-19, Inmates Get Tested. Inmates at Merrimack County Jail underwent coronavirus testing after an officer at the facility tested positive for the virus. On Friday, the facility swabbed 105 inmates and staff who agreed to testing. Ross Cunningham, the superintendent of the Department of Corrections, said the tests were done as a precaution to ensure the virus has not spread in the facility. Cunningham said he expects the results of these tests on Tuesday. (Source: Concord Monitor)

8. Exeter High School Has COVID-19 Case; Football Team Forfeits. SAU 16 Superintendent of Schools David Ryan wrote an email to parents Thursday, informing them of a positive case of COVID-19 at Exeter High School. According to the email, 32 individuals have been directly affected by the positive case. The email did not mention Exeter’s football team; however, the Blue Hawks have forfeited Saturday’s Division I quarterfinal game at Winnacunnet due to a “health issue” on the team, WHS coach Ryan Francouer said. Exeter's student body has been learning remotely since the start of the school year. Francouer was informed of the forfeit by Exeter athletic director and football coach Bill Ball in a phone call on Thursday night. (Source: Seacoast Online)

9. When COVID Emerges at Rural Schools, Officials Must Balance Privacy with Public Health. Public health officials have said an essential part of containing the COVID-19 pandemic is contact tracing, the process of tracking down everyone who might have been exposed to someone who’s tested positive for the virus. But in small, rural schools like many of those in the Monadnock Region, officials have to take extra care to preserve confidentiality during this process — and when sharing information about positive cases with the community. Monadnock Regional School District, Superintendent Lisa Witte said officials are following state guidance when it comes to sharing information about positive COVID-19 cases. Witte said Monadnock staff and families are taking confidentiality seriously, as well. “What I’ve observed and heard is that folks have been really good about not feeding that need to go, ‘Who is it, what is it, who did it?’ ” she said. “And instead saying, ‘You know what, it’s under control, people have privacy, we have stress, but folks are doing the right thing.’ ” While parents are notified about cases where their children may have been exposed, the Monadnock district is not revealing whether the case involves a staff member or a student in order to preserve the privacy of individuals testing positive who will need to quarantine or isolate. (Source: Keene Sentinel) This morning, the state’s COVID-19 Schools Dashboard was showing over 50 New Hampshire schools with active cases.

10. Potential Community COVID Exposures Announced in Nashua, Raymond. New Life Church in Raymond will be closed for the next three weeks after learning that seven people with COVID-19 have connections to the church. Meanwhile, health officials in Nashua say there may have been community exposure at Boston Billiard Club on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week. (Sources: WMUR and Manchester Ink Link)

11. Doctors Warn Against Holiday Gatherings, Crowded Shopping. Health care experts are warning that this year caution is advised when approaching holiday travel and family gatherings. Martha Wassell, Director of Infection Control at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital said it’s important for people to be thoughtful about the number of people who are coming, and from where. “Are any of them high risk for exposures? Are they high risk if they catch COVID?”, she said. Dr. Apara Dave noted that if people are coming in from outside of New England, there are guidelines that require them to quarantine for 14 days. “The exception to that is if they quarantine for 14 days before their trip, and then travel in a private vehicle to get here,” said Dave, an infectious disease specialist at Exeter Hospital. “That will make them a much smaller risk to the people here.” Jackie Dockham, director of infection control at Exeter Hospital, agrees that staying home this year is the best option. Dockham said she has a big concern about family gatherings. “I would advocate for small dinners at home with your immediate family,” she said. Dockham also had three words of advice for Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. “Don’t do it,” she said. (Source: Seacoast Online)

12. Final Tallies Show All NH Winners With Sununu Top Vote Getter. Despite the pandemic, New Hampshire voters turned out in record numbers both at the polls and through absentee ballots on Tuesday. While the percentage will go a bit lower when the newly registered voters are factored in, it appears 78 percent of all those on the voter rolls before Tuesday (1,043,178) did cast ballots. A total of 814,092 votes were cast, a record which surpassed 2016 when 775,850 voters cast ballots. As expected, due to changes in the law this year to allow voters to select absentee ballots because of COVID-19, the state also saw a record of 235,834 returned absentee ballots, beating the record set in 2016. A full tally of election results on the Secretary of State’s website is available here. (Source: InDepthNH)

13. State Revenues Show Strength Despite the Pandemic. Despite the exploding number of cases of COVID-19, state revenues continue to produce above expectations in figures released this week by the Department of Administrative Services for October. While rooms and meals tax revenues continue to perform well below expectations, higher than anticipated revenues from business taxes, and the tobacco, interest and dividends and real estate transfer taxes more than make up for the shortfall. Department of Revenue Administration officials said state revenues continue to be impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and extended federal tax filing deadlines. For October, state revenue totaled $139.4 million, or $9.4 million more than anticipated. (Source: InDepthNH)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 6, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES WITH N.H. DATA

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Friday, November 6

Source: N.H. DHHS

On Thursday, N.H. health officials reported 252 new COVID-19 cases, two new deaths, and one hospitalization. Here is the rest of the pandemic-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Friday.

1. Test Report Delay Boosts NH to Highest Single-Day Total of COVID-19 Cases. New Hampshire reported 252 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday, the highest single-day total ever, but health officials said many of those cases should have been reported Wednesday. State epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan said there was an issue with reporting at one of the national labs, which resulted in the delay of about 50 cases being reported a day late. Still, he said, the state is averaging about 150 new infections each day, a sign that community spread of the coronavirus is increasing. (Source: WMUR)

2. New COVID-19 Outbreaks at Dover and Newport Nursing Homes and Plymouth Youth Center. A coronavirus outbreak has struck the St. Ann Rehabilitation and Nursing Center with 15 cases, according to state health officials. Eight residents and seven staff at the Dover Point Road facility have been infected. No deaths had been reported as of Thursday. Health officials also reported a new long-term care facility outbreak at the Woodlawn Care Center in Newport (eight residents, three staff). An outbreak was also reported at Mount Prospect Academy in Plymouth (nine residents and 11 staff), a youth residential treatment facility. (Source: Seacoast Online) The outbreak at the Woodlawn Care Center, which is home to 48 residents, is the first nursing home outbreak in New Hampshire’s rural Upper Valley. Long-term care settings account for 2,487 of the state’s 11,808 total cases so far; 212 of the state’s 788 total hospitalizations; and 396 of New Hampshire’s 486 total deaths. (Source: The Valley News) Meanwhile, four nursing home outbreaks reported in previous weeks remain active. They include outbreaks at Bedford Hills Center (61 resident cases and 20 deaths), Pine Rock Manor in Warner (48 cases and 5 deaths), St. Teresa Rehabilitation and Nursing Center Manchester (32 resident cases and 7 deaths), and Woodlawn Care Center in Newport (8 cases). (Source: N.H. DHHS)

3. COVID Update: Number of New Cases Keeps Hitting Records in N.H. A lot of things were put on pause for the presidential election but that doesn’t include the spread of the coronavirus. New cases in New Hampshire continued to rise sharply this week, while the number of people in the hospital with COVID-19 stayed relatively high. As of Wednesday, the two-week average of new cases in New Hampshire was 122, far higher than any time last spring. The average is rising more quickly than it did at the height of the first wave of the pandemic in early May. Close to one-fifth of cases uncovered now come via antigen tests as compared to the slower but more accurate PCR test. Questions have been raised, however, about the accuracy of antigen tests when performed on people who do not show any symptoms. A recent study found that in that circumstance they missed as many as one-half of positive results which were spotted by follow-up PCR tests. If this holds true for all antigen tests in all locations, it would seem to indicate that more people are infected than we realize. (Source: Concord Monitor) Meanwhile on Wednesday, the US reported its highest number of new coronavirus infections in a single day -- 102,831, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. (Source: CNN)

4. Sununu: Further COVID-19 Restrictions Unnecessary. Gov. Chris Sununu on Thursday dismissed the need for more COVID-19 related restrictions as seven of 10 New Hampshire counties experienced “substantial” numbers of cases and neighboring governors acted to slow community spread of the virus. The soaring case count was predicted with the advent of colder weather, Sununu said. He did not rule out imposing restrictions in the future and said he could take action in regions of the state with the most cases. “We are confident this can and will be managed,” Sununu said during his weekly COVID-19 briefing. (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

5. Maine Gov. Mills Announces New, Stricter Face Mask Order. Maine Gov. Janet Mills has announced a new executive order that steps up face mask requirements as the state sees a spike in coronavirus cases. The order, filed Wednesday and effective immediately, requires people -- with some exceptions -- to wear masks in public, regardless of whether they are able to maintain a safe social distance from other people. Face coverings are required in public for children aged five and older, including in schools. They are also recommended for those between two and four years old, Mills said in a statement. (Source: NECN) Gov. Sununu remains the only northeast governor to have not issued a safety order requiring mask- wearing in public places.

6. NH Mayors to Sununu: We Need a Statewide Homelessness Plan. On Thursday, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig joined with the other 13 mayors of New Hampshire (including Portsmouth’s Rick Becksted) asking New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu for a statewide plan to address the issue of homelessness in a collaborative manner. In the letter, the mayors noted that the State of New Hampshire experienced a five percent increase in individual adults experiencing homelessness and a six percent increase in families facing homelessness between 2014 and 2018. The mayors expressed concern over the undue burden New Hampshire’s cities face regarding helping the state’s homeless population in places like Manchester where only 27 percent of homeless people identify as being from Manchester originally or in Keene due to its status as the only city in the Monadnock region. They added that upcoming cold temperatures expected in winter months as well as the need to socially distance due to the COVID-19 pandemic requires a more permanent solution beyond just additional shelters. (Source: Manchester Ink Link)

7. Cares Act Funding Updates. Just over 4,000 new applications have been submitted to the second round of $100 million in Main Street Relief business funding. But 1,000 businesses didn’t make the cut because they were either new businesses started in the past year or are based out of state. At his Thursday press briefing, Gov. Sununu said the first wave of grants will go soon to eligible businesses that didn’t get money in the first round. Meanwhile, school districts have until Friday to get their final budget into the state Department of Education. The step is requiring for districts applying for $200 per pupil aid from a $25 million pool in CARES Act funds allocated by the governor. Also announced Thursday was the status of applications to the Live Venue Relief Program regarding their application status for $12 million in grants. Portsmouth venues receiving funding include Friends of the Music Hall ($705,226) and the Players Ring Theater ($27,367). You can view the full list of recipients here. Note: If your performance venue was determined to be not eligible for a Live Venue Relief Fund grant, you may request an appeal by emailing livevenue@goferr.nh.gov by 4:00 PM on Friday, November 20, 2020. (Source: InDepthNH)

8. Where Did the $40m in NH COVID Contracts Go? NH Business Review used the Federal Procurement Data System to search for New Hampshire companies that got acquisition and sustainment contracts. More than 70 contracts were awarded to nearly 30 firms for a total of about $41 million. Most went to firms that were obviously on the front lines of fighting the pandemic. But they also included construction n Half of the contracts examined by NH Business Review came through military agencies and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Even Rochester mask manufacturer Lydall Inc.’s $13.5 million masks contract — the largest single CARES Act contract awarded to a New Hampshire company that NH Business Review found — came though the Air Force, though it had nothing to do with the agency. The explanation is that because the military, with its vast acquisition bureaucracy, is processing a lot of the Covid-19 paperwork. On the other hand, The New York Times reported in September, some $668 million of CARES Act funding has been diverted for maintaining military infrastructure. (Source: NH Business Review)

9. Nashua Health Officials Say Indoor Dining Barriers Could Create More Risk. Outdoor dining is coming to an end and restaurants are facing challenges on how to keep their patrons safe from the coronavirus. During a meeting Wednesday, Dr. Stephanie Wolf-Rosenblum, a member of the Nashua Board of Health, said she worries about the enclosed plastic barriers that restaurants are implementing to allow for additional dining inside their establishments. Creating small cubicles inside a restaurant may actually inhibit aerosols from being dispersed by ventilation systems within the buildings, explained Wolf-Rosenblum. The state’s guidelines for distancing of indoor dining tables does not meet the guidelines recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Wolf-Rosenblum. Wolf-Rosenblum also voiced concerns about entertainment inside of restaurants. Loud talking, singing and shouting can spread the virus beyond 25 feet and maybe as far as 45 feet. The use of uncovered wind instruments can also spread the virus, according to Rosenblum. (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

10. COVID-19 Cases Hit Dover High's CTC and St. Thomas Aquinas. Dover High School's administration notified families it has received three positive COVID-19 tests among Career Technical Center students. DHS students are still learning remotely, but more than 500 students at the adjacent CTC returned for in-person instruction in October. At the technical center, DHS principal Peter Driscoll said, “We have our kids back in the building today” after the positive tests. Driscoll referred all other questions to Superintendent William Harbron, who could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday morning. Meanwhile, St. Thomas Aquinas High School has closed its building for Thursday and Friday due to a single case of COVID-19. (Source: Seacoast Online)

11. Concord High School Has Two More COVID Cases, No Transmission. Two more students at Concord High School have tested positive for COVID-19 this week in cases unrelated to each other, interim superintendent Kathleen Murphy announced. The first case involves a student enrolled in a Concord Regional Technical Center (CRTC) program. The student had not been in school since Oct. 26, nine days before the case was announced, according to Murphy. Contact tracing is underway to identify anyone who may have come into contact with the student. The second case involves a first- or second-year CHS student and is not related to the first case, Murphy said. Concord High School, which is currently operating using a hybrid model, was closed for cleaning on Monday due to a positive case last week. There was no school on Tuesday due to Election Day. The district has had six student cases since the beginning of the school year, but so far it has experienced no in-school transmission. (Source: Concord Monitor)

12. WHS Students Push for In-Person Learning. Winnacunnet High School students say months of school from home is taking its toll. WHS students answered questions about their experience with remote learning in a survey last week. It was taken by 431 WHS students and asked what they found challenging and what has gone well, as well as engagement in virtual learning. It found 70.3% of students said being on a screen too long to be one of the biggest challenges, while 61.5% answered the amount of work and time spent on school. WHS senior class president Colby Petalas said he has begun going to therapy this school year after experiencing mood swings and lack of motivation for subjects he loves like math and science. He has hopes of going into one of those fields after high school, but said he feels lower energy levels and lower self-esteem since beginning remote learning. WHS Principal William McGowan said survey results indicate remote-learning is not as effective as in-person learning but students are still able to learn. Parents of students struggling with online learning are calling for school officials to take swifter action in returning to in-person learning in some form at WHS, though administrators and teachers say doing so safely is a challenge. (Source: Seacoast Online)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 5, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES WITH N.H. DATA

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Thursday, November 5

Masked-up activists gather in front of the State House Wednesday in Concord to demand every vote be counted in every state.

On Wednesday, N.H. Health officials announced 120 new COVID-19, three hospitalizations, and one death. Here is the rest of the pandemic-related news you need to know to start your Thursday.

1. COVID-19 Numbers Point to Second Wave in New Hampshire, Health Officials Say. New Hampshire health officials said the higher COVID-19 case numbers seen in the state in recent days could be the start of a second wave. Belknap County is the latest county to show substantial community transmission of the coronavirus. There are now six New Hampshire counties to be placed in the "red zone," joining Coos, Merrimack, Rockingham, Hillsborough and Strafford counties. In a weekly call with long-term care facilities, state epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan said the state is entering a second wave. "The numbers of new infections continue to rise. We are in our second wave of this pandemic," Chan said. "We have seen and are seeing a slow increase in the number of people requiring hospitalizations and the number of people dying from COVID-19. We are seeing an increasing number of clusters and having to do more and more cluster investigations." Chan said the state is reviewing its travel restrictions. (Source: WMUR)

2. Fourth COVID-19 Case Reported Among Portsmouth High School Students. A fourth case of the coronavirus has been identified among the Portsmouth High School student population, school district officials announced Tuesday. The new case will not affect school operations though, Superintendent Steve Zadravec told families, because the student was already in quarantine related to previous COVID-19 cases and has not been in school since Oct. 26. "Because of this, there is no need for school closure as this time," he wrote, stating students scheduled be in the building Wednesday would do as planned. Portsmouth High closed Oct. 28 as a result of its first positive COVID-19 case of the school year, and then again this past Monday when the case count reached three. (Source: Seacoast Online)

3. Gather Pantry Closes Due to COVID-19 Case. Gather food pantry's West Road headquarters are closed this week after a student intern tested positive for COVID-19 and potentially exposed other staff members. The pantry is working with the city's health officer and has hired a specialized cleaning company, said Executive Director Deb Anthony. The student contacted Gather staff this week to inform that she'd tested positive for COVID-19, and believed her exposure was likely before last Tuesday. Gather has closed its 210 West Road site completely for the next two days while cleaning protocols are followed and contact tracing is done. One staff member is quarantining as a result and all are getting tested. (Source: Seacoast Online)

4. NH Supporters of Trump, Biden on Edge as Votes Continue to be Counted. Supporters of President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden in New Hampshire are on edge as votes continue to be counted in the states that will decide the 2020 presidential race. On Wednesday, several national media outlets had called races in Wisconsin and Michigan for Biden with the Trump campaign promising to challenge the results in court. Joe Biden supporters in New Hampshire said that every legal ballot should be counted and if he wins, that a peaceful transition of power is necessary. Former Democratic state Rep. Jim Demers and Republican state Rep. Al Baldasaro said they were surprised by how tight the race is. Demers said people need to be patient as results come in. Baldasaro said he expected the Supreme Court to get involved. "The Supreme Court is a constitutional court, and they don’t make the law, but they will comply with whatever laws we have on the books for these federal elections, so I feel confident that there has to be laws out there that says that votes that come in on the next day should not be counted," Baldasaro said. (Source: WMUR) As of this morning (Thursday), the race is still too close to call in six states: Alaska, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Arizona. Arizona had been projected as a Biden win late Tuesday, but as more votes are counted,Trump is whittling away at Biden’s small lead. (Source: USA Today)

5. N.H. GOP Poised to Sweep Legislature, Executive Council. While complete results are not official, it appears Republicans will reclaim majorities in the state Legislature and on the Executive Council after Tuesday's election. Republican control in Concord means the GOP will draw the next set of legislative redistricting maps. GOP control also means Governor Sununu is likely to move ahead with plans to further cut state business taxes and possibly the tax on rooms and meals. GOP control will also means the next state budget will be a largely Republican document, and could affect ongoing efforts to reform the state's school funding scheme. A Republican-led Executive Council also clears the ways for Sununu to install Attorney General Gordon MacDonald as chief justice of the state Supreme Court. Sununu first nominated MacDonald, who's never been a judge and has drawn opposition from pro-choice groups, to oversee the court system last year. (Source: NHPR) While Democrats swept races for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives at the top of the ballot, the results were the opposite at the state level where Gov. Sununu, popular because of his handling of the pandemic, put more time into campaigning for Republican candidates down ballot than most sitting governors typically do. Veteran State House reporter Gary Rayno speculates that another reason why the results differed in state versus federal races is the tendency of some voters not to continue voting all the way down the length of the ballot. Using incomplete results from Wednesday afternoon with 94 percent of the vote counted, 766,000 votes were cast for president. However, the next race down the ballot is for governor where 756,000 votes were cast. The U.S. Senate race saw a slight uptick of about 1,500 votes, but the two Congressional races had a drop off. Going further down the ballot, there was a significant drop off for Executive Council races at 700,000, and state Senate races at 693,000. With more Republicans receiving votes in these races, the likely conclusion is that many Democrats voted for the top five races and then stopped voting. In an election where some of the margins of victory were small—especially in Executive Council races—this likely had a major impact. (Source: InDepthNH) Another factor in the legislative and Executive Council flip according to UNH political scientist Andy Smith is the way legislative and Executive Council districts are drawn in New Hampshire. Smith says that because of the way districts were redrawn in 2011 when Republicans had a strong majority in Concord, for Democrats to break even with Republicans in legislative races, they need to start with more than 50 percent of the popular vote. Smith says that because of past redistricting, Democrats essentially start several points behind, since the districts give Republicans an advantage in how they crowd voters into favorable lines. With the GOP again in full control of the State House during a redistricting year—and with no independent redistricting commission to oversee the process because Gov. Sununu vetoed a bill that would have created one—Republicans are poised to have unfettered control over how districts are redrawn in 2021 for the next decade of N.H. elections. (Source: NHPR)

6. Awaiting Presidential Results, N.H. Progressive Groups Call For Full Count. With the results of the presidential race still unknown and all bodies of the New Hampshire State House now likely controlled by Republicans, local progressives are facing an uncertain future. On Wednesday night, about 150 people gathered in front of the State House, as part of a national post-election effort organized by progressive groups called ‘Protect the Results.’ Some supporters waved huge American flags and others held up signs with the words ‘COUNT EVERY VOTE.’ Many said they had spent the last 24 hours in a haze of anxiety and doom scrolling. Organizers called attention to the big wins for the state GOP, which will control all branches of the New Hampshire State House. “We lost,” said Erika Perez, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter Manchester. “This is a red state. And I’m gonna say that again because I know ya’ll felt really good about being blue on that [presidential] map. This is a red state.” (Source: NHPR)

7. Health Workers, First Responders and Elderly Prioritized in State's Draft Vaccine Plan. New Hampshire health officials have released the state’s draft coronavirus vaccine distribution plan. Dr. Beth Daly, chief of the state's Bureau of Infectious Disease Control, says the plan takes a phased approach to distribution, since the state will likely receive the vaccine in small allotments. She says so far, New Hampshire has only planned part of the first phase – vaccinating over 87,000 high-risk health workers, first responders, and older people in residential care facilities. The following phases, according to national recommendations, include people of all ages with underlying health conditions, teachers and school staff, and other essential workers in high-risk settings. Daly noted all the planning is subject to change as experts await more information on the vaccine to see if it is less effective on some populations than with others. The web page linking to the plan notes that no vaccine has yet been approved for distribution. (Source: NHPR)

8. ‘Additional Details’ Coming as NH Business Fund Application Window Closes. The $100 million second round of the state’s Main Street Relief program ended last week, but on Monday, said Alexander Fries, a spokesperson for the Governor’s Office for Emergency Relief & Recovery (GOFERR) said it “hoped to have additional details in the coming weeks.” In the first, $342 million Main Street round in the spring, 5,400 Granite State businesses received funds within a week of closing, a speed that would make any federal agency blush. But in June the distribution was run by the state Department of Revenue Administration. This time, the DRA is updating its computer system, so GOFERR is trying to handle the job itself. Main Street 2.0 isn’t the only recent allocation by the state to aid businesses.There was an allocation of $12 million for the Live Venue Relief Program, aimed at helping theaters that have been hit hard during the pandemic. As of Monday evening, none of that money had been distributed. But GOFERR has received 101 applications and “is hoping to finalize the review of the applications soon,” Fries said. All told, some $1.247 billion of the original $1.25 billion in CARES Act funding received by the state from the federal government has been allocated, but only $830 million of it had been spent as of Oct. 23, leaving $416 million unspent, including Main Street 2.0 and the venue fund. (Source: N.H. Business Review)

9. Silver Linings to Pandemic? Asked by the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript to identify potential bright spots reveals by the pandemic, a group of seven community leaders in the Monadnock region listed several positives. One is virtual meetings, which have made it easier for busy citizens to participate in local government, while making it easier for family members to connect. Churches have also benefited. “Once the church got shut down, we went to Facebook Live and that has just been amazing,” Rev. Dan Osgood of the Greenfield Congregational Covenant Church said. 200 to 250 people are tuning into services that drew 40 or 50 people in person prior to the pandemic, he said, and the church has received donations from its virtual visitors. The availability of telemedicine to allow patients to consult with doctors online instead of in-person—along with new insurance rules requiring coverage telemedicine visits—was also identified as a plus along with an outpouring of community support for people in need ranging from food donations to volunteer mask-sewing. (Source: Monadnock Ledger-Transcript)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 4, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES WITH N.H. DATA

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Wednesday, November 4

On Tuesday, the line outside Portsmouth’s Little Harbour School wound around the school parking lot and onto a nearby street as close to 150 voters stood in line before polls opened at 8 a.m.

On Tuesday, N.H. Health officials announced 132 new COVID-19, three new hospitalizations and no new deaths. Here is the rest of the pandemic-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Wednesday.

1. N.H. Incumbents Win Re-Election at Top of Ballot, Many Down-Ballot Races Still Up for Grabs. While voters re-elected Gov. Chris Sununu, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Congressman Chris Pappas, and Congresswoman Annie Kuster to new terms, the news may not be as good for Democrats in the N.H. Senate or House of Representatives. (Source: Associated Press via NHPR) Although as of this writing official tallies in many communities have not yet been fully finalized and released, GOP candidates had leads in enough key races to raise the possibility that both houses of the state legislature may flip back to Republican control. Should this happen, Republicans would have full control of redistricting the state’s election maps following the 2020 census and a clear path to passing legislation with minimal risk of vetoes. On the seacoast, Democrats won two key Senate races as Rebecca Perkins Kwoka became the first LGBTQ+ woman elected to the N.H. Senate and Sen. Tom Sherman appears to be on-track to defeat businessman Lou Gargiulo. In a 3rd seacoast race, former Sen. Bill Gannon won back the seat he lost in 2018 to first-term Democratic Sen. Jon Morgan. (Source: Seacoast Online) Meanwhile, at the very top of the ballot, Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in New Hampshire. But the nationally, the presidential election remains too close to call with votes still being counted in key battleground states despite President Trump’s proclamation of victory. (Source: USA Today)

2. Doubly Whammy of High Turnout and Social Distancing Leads to Lines of Voters Snaking Around Buildings, Long Waits in Some Areas. In Hampton, a drone captured a photo of voters wrapping around Winnacunnet High School waiting to get inside to cast a ballot. Lines formed throughout the day in Derry, which is home to one of the largest polling places in the country. More than 19,000 voters were expected to go through the polling place ay Pinkerton Academy on Tuesday, roughly 2,000 more than in 2016. Election volunteers took to social media to update voters about the wait times. At virtually every ward in Concord, voters stacked up as they wore masks and tried to stay at least six feet apart. The story all across New Hampshire Tuesday – from Portsmouth to Keene, from Weare to Plymouth – was about the lines created by the double whammy of high voter turnout and social distancing. (Source: Concord Monitor)

3. Despite Concerns, Preparation Pays Off For N.H. Poll Workers. That sound you heard across New Hampshire on Tuesday was a collective exhale over months of pent-up election anxiety — not about the final results, but about what kind of chaos or confusion or conflict a presidential election in the time of coronavirus, under the distant but looming threat of civil unrest, would have in store. New procedures allowing wider access to absentee voting by people concerned about the safety of the polls because of COVID-19 proved to challenging for both both voters and election workers alike. But it was a challenge that appears to have been successfully managed. Voters turned out in record numbers and despite concerns of potential disputes because of the divisiveness of the campaign, there were only a few scattered incidents, most centering around improper attire the some voters tried to wear when entering the polls (hats, buttons, and t-shirts with names or slogans promoting the campaigns of individual candidates). The biggest issue proved to be with New Hampshire’s aging ballot-counting devices, many of them decades old and prone to technical problems. This year, this equipment was stressed on several extra fronts. In addition to having to handle a record number of ballots, absentee ballots mailed to voters were also folded to fit inside their envelopes. The thick creases caused some problems when being fed into the machines. "Our only slow spot has been unfolding absentee ballots and getting them to feed through our counting device,” Hopkinton Moderator Sara Persechino reported. As of about 8:30 p.m., the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office received about 275 calls through their Election Hotline. The details of all of those calls weren’t yet available as of press time, but Chong Yen said many of the issues were routine and resolved through follow-up conversations with local officials. He said he was not aware of any situations where a voter was not able to cast their ballot. (Source: NHPR) In Londonderry, problems with a memory chip in a ballot-counting device have forced all of the town’s 16,000 ballots to be recounted. (Source: NECN) Meanwhile in Bedford, a tent set up to accommodate maskless voters toppled over in yesterday’s high winds, injuring one person. (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

4. USPS Fails to Meet Deadline to Sweep Facilities in NH, Other States for Ballots. While things were busy but relatively orderly at the polls, that wasn’t the case behind the scenes as controversy continues to embroil the U.S. Postal Service and the delivery of absentee ballots. New Hampshire is among several battleground states where a federal judge has ordered the U.S. Postal Service to send inspectors to processing facilities to ensure that no mail-in ballot is left behind, ABC News reported. U.S. Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled Tuesday that the Postal Service must "sweep the facilities between 12:30 p.m. EST and 3 p.m. EST to ensure that no ballots have been held up and that any identified ballots are immediately sent out for delivery." The inspectors were ordered to report back to the court by 4:30 p.m. "confirming, in the most efficient manner available, that sweeps were conducted and that no ballots were left behind," Sullivan wrote. The USPS said it was unable to meet the 4:30 p.m. deadline but said it would complete the sweeps in the battleground states by the times polls closed. (Source: WMUR)

5. School Hybrid Models Run Afoul of Mandated Minimum Instruction Time. With hybrid instruction models often mixing minimal classroom time with lots of remote learning time, the actual number of instruction hours some students are spending with their teachers is a fraction of what it was last year. The decrease in instruction hours is a common problem in school districts across the state and runs afoul of a state mandate established prior to the pandemic that students need to be in front of a teacher for close to 1,000 hours for a school year to meet minimum standards. COVID-19 is changing what New Hampshire defines as an adequate education. While the state Department of Education is allowing school districts a lot of flexibility in deciding what counts toward state-mandated instruction time, New Hampshire law requires a minimum of 990 hours of instruction time for middle and high schools, 945 for elementary schools and 450 for kindergarten. It can also be counted as 180 days. The way the N.H. Department of Education is now defining it, an instruction hour could be a live video class, where a teacher conducts a lesson with students over Zoom or Google Hangouts. But it could also be time spent on independent work, where a student does an activity sheet assigned by the teacher on their own. In cases where active COVID-19 cases have resulted in shutdowns, schools can make up for pandemic-related loss of instruction hours by using time from the 60 hour snow day reserve that all schools are required to schedule. (Source: Concord Monitor)

6. Rising COVID-19 Cases in New Hampshire Linked to Informal Gatherings. Lori Shibinette, commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, said Tuesday there are increasing concerns about community transmission of the coronavirus. Five New Hampshire counties now have significant community transmission. Over the weekend, the state saw its highest number of COVID-19 cases ever in one day. "Informal social gatherings is really where we are seeing a lot of transmission," Shibinette said. "I think we are going to see continuing escalation of COVID-19 cases in our communities from now until the end of year." As winter approaches, Shibinette said people need to make smart choices as more social gatherings will take place inside, especially through the holidays. "Right now, I don't think we are looking at a stay-at-home order," she said. "We look at the data points every day and think about what action we can take to make a difference." (Source: WMUR)

7. Berlin Considers Requiring Masks as COVID-19 Cases Rise. With 23 active cases of the COVID-19 virus in the city as of Tuesday, councilors are weighing whether to require the wearing of facial coverings in public. Mayor Paul Grenier said the city council discussed the ordinance on Monday and may finalize it on Nov. 9. Employees of all businesses would have to “wear a face covering over their mouth and nose when interacting with the public and whenever they are within 6 feet of a co-worker or a customer.” Members of the public entering any business, including “any outdoor area where business of any sort is conducted, work site, or government building must wear a face covering, such as a fabric mask, scarf, or bandana over their nose and mouth.” The ordinance, which would sunset after 90 days, would not apply to children under 10 nor to those who can show a medical reason for not wearing a mask. Councilors are debating whether to fine violators. (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 3, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES WITH N.H. DATA

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Tuesday, November 3

On Monday, N.H. health officials announced 105 new positive test results for COVID-19, one new hospitalization, and no new deaths. 41 people are now hospitalized. Here is the rest of the coronavirus-related N.H. news you need to start your Tuesday, Election Day in America.

1. Today: America Votes...and Holds Its Collective Breath. Record turnout, COVID “sneeze guards,” and stacks of mail-in ballots: The 2020 Election Day will contain plenty of firsts. Up and down the Granite State today, votes will be cast and counted in the throes of an eight-month pandemic, alongside potentially unprecedented voter enthusiasm and anxiety. Polling places in Portsmouth open at 8 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Voters choosing to vote in-person will encounter election workers masked-up behind plexiglass barriers to reduce the chance of viral spread. Election workers and Public Works employees spent Monday setting up tables, roping off traffic routes, and getting supples of masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer ready for what is expected to be the highest turnout ever for a New Hampshire election. (Source: Concord Monitor and personal notes)

2. Expect Increased Police Presence at Polls. Police officials across the state say they will be out at the polls all day Tuesday – plainclothed and in uniform – to ensure peace. While Attorney General Gordon MacDonald said there is no “credible threat” at the polls, he will be overseeing efforts to ensure a smooth outcome. His staff will also fan out to ensure there is no voter intimidation. Londonderry, however, expects “a significant number of police personnel will be on-site all day to ensure overall safety” and expects there to be “SIGNIFICANT” traffic in and around the high school, according to its Facebook page. In Nashua, police are planning to double the normal number of officers at each of the nine polling locations, according to Nashua Police Lt. Robert Giggi. (Source: InDepthNH)

3. U.S. Attorney Urges Voters to Think Carefully Before Bringing Guns to N.H. Polling Places. The New Hampshire Attorney General’s office says state and local authorities can’t prevent people from bringing guns into polling places, even those located in school buildings, as gun-free school zones are a matter of federal law. But the United States Attorney for New Hampshire says anyone thinking about bringing a gun into a polling place should proceed with caution. “If you wear a firearm at the polls, it may be legal, but if you wear the firearm, you're certainly going to draw attention to yourself if it's visible, there's no doubt about that,” U.S. Attorney Scott Murray told NHPR. “That then raises the question, if you're in a school, under the federal statute, whether you're violating the federal prohibition. Murray said that if someone called the office to report that the prohibition is being violated, his office will look into it. Assistant Attorney General Nicholas Chong Yen, who leads the state’s Election Law Unit, said voter intimidation will not be tolerated. “Voter intimidation is a felony offense, it is something that is reportable to our office that we can look at and prosecute.” (Source: NHPR)

4. National Guard Conducting COVID-19 Tests At Coos County Nursing Hospital. The National Guard went to Coos County Nursing Hospital Monday to test all residents and staff after four employees tested positive for COVID-19 over the past few days. “We are in for a very difficult time ahead,” wrote Laura Mills, administrator of the 90-bed facility with 194 employees on a Facebook page notice to family, friends, and staff of the facility. Over the weekend, two staff members tested positive, one of whom had patient contact. And then two more staff tested positive. Fortunately, Mills said that none of those who are sick had what the federal officials consider significant contact – within six feet of someone for 10 minutes or more – making her hopeful that none of the residents were exposed. The National Guard planned to test all staff and residents at the home Monday. (Source: InDepthNH)

5. Two State Police Troopers in the North Country Test Positive for COVID-19. Two troopers of State Police Troop F in Twin Mountain have tested positive for COVID-19 and other troopers are in quarantine, State Police Col. Nathan A. Noyes confirmed Monday. Responding to an inquiry from the Union Leader, Noyes said via email that the quarantine is “out of an abundance of caution, and in accordance with guidance from the NH Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Center for Disease Control,” after the two troopers tested positive “following close contact exposure.” The area of Troop F consists of Coos and Grafton Counties and makes up 39% of the total area of the state. It includes 74 towns and unincorporated communities, approximately 60 miles of interstate, and 3,000 miles of state and local highways, according to the New Hampshire Department of Safety. The troopers who tested positive, said Noyes, were “asymptomatic when other officers were possibly exposed in the days leading to the positive test.” (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

6. Who Will Be First in Line for COVID Vaccine? New document provides some answers. A COVID-19 vaccination plan released this week by the state offers a window into what this process might look like in New Hampshire. COVID-19 vaccines will likely be limited at least within the first couple of months, which means the state will have to decide who gets first dibs on the limited supply. The state has adopted a four-phase process for distributing the vaccine. Within each phase, the state plans are starting the allocation process in areas with the highest COVID-19 case counts to help contain the spread of the virus. In phase one, vaccines will go to first responders, including firefighters, police officers and EMS workers, high-risk health workers, and adults living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Next, adults living in overcrowded settings and those who have conditions that put them at “significantly higher risk” for developing a severe case of COVID-19 will have access to the vaccine. Tentatively, the second phase will make vaccines available to school staff, older adults not counted in the first phase, those with conditions that put them at “moderately higher risk” of developing a severe case of COVID-19, prison residents and staff, people and staff in homeless shelters, and group homes. Workers in high-risk settings who work in industries that are “essential to the function of society” are also included in this phase. In phase three, children, young adults, and workers in other essential industries will get access to the vaccine. Vaccines become available to everyone else during phase four. The state plans on using a combination of government and non-government distribution sites to administer the vaccine. (Source: Concords Monitor)

7. N.H. School Districts On Edge As COVID Numbers Rise Across State. A spike in coronavirus cases is forcing many New Hampshire school superintendents to consider going remote. So far, state officials say school reopening has contributed very little to the state’s coronavirus numbers, but many districts’ reopening metrics require them to reassess their schedule when community transmission levels reach those seen in the last week. Recent cases have prompted schools in Timberlane, Raymond, Pembroke and Milford districts to go remote this week, and substantial transmission in Coos County is prompting some districts there to close buildings. (Source: NHPR)

8. FPU to Go Remote Until Spring Semester After Thanksgiving. Franklin Pierce University students are expected to finish the fall semester online after Thanksgiving, as travel and family gatherings are anticipated to require large numbers of quarantines before students can be accepted back on campus. FPU has been randomly testing sections of its student population, faculty and staff for COVID-19 on a weekly basis since returning to campus this fall. The most recent round of testing on Friday resulted in two positive cases. The campus has reported a total of 22 positive cases since the beginning of the fall semester, with more than 3,000 tests conducted. By entering a period of online learning following the Thanksgiving holiday, FPU intends to limit possible spread from students traveling or visiting with family. The last day of in-person classes will be Nov. 24, prior to Thanksgiving break, and students are not expected to return to campus until spring semester in January. (Source: Keene Sentinel)

9. N.H. Restaurants Begin Collecting Customer Contact Info. Restaurants in New Hampshire began collecting customers' names, phone numbers and times of arrival this weekend as part of a new policy to aid the state in contact tracing. State epidemiologist Benjamin Chan said last week that New Hampshire’s recent rise in COVID-19 cases is largely due to community transmission driven in part by the cold weather: small gatherings and dining are moving inside. Several restaurants across the state have reported staff and customer cases in recent weeks, some of which have led to community spread. Ami D'Amelio, chief operating officer of the Red Arrow Diner in Manchester, said some customers have been reluctant to give their information, and some have altogether refused. “[Some have] been concerned for their privacy,” she said. “But we are going to have an electronic version so people can feel more comfortable in putting in their own information and they don't have to have it on a piece of paper, because that's what we've found. They don't want to write it down.” (Source: NHPR)

10. N.H. Bankruptcies Hit Another Low for October. Bankruptcy filings in October hit yet another record low. Some 66 businesses and individuals filed for protection, the lowest number of any month since the three months in 1988, when stricter bankruptcy laws were about to take effect. October’s 66 filings are 60% lower than the 166 recorded in October 2019, when the economy was at full throttle. This decrease brings the monthly average of filings to under 93. Last year, the monthly average was 148. And, despite the high-profile bankruptcy filed by LRGHealthcare – a group of hospital and healthcare facilities in the Lakes Region – there have been very few business bankruptcies filed during the year as well. (Source: N.H. Business Review)

11. COAST Bus Service To Require Riders And Drivers Wear Masks. The COAST bus service on the Seacoast will require passengers to wear face masks in its vehicles and at bus stops starting next Monday. The transit service says it's following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control as COVID cases increase in New Hampshire. Riders will be offered pre-wrapped disposable masks for the first couple of weeks of the rule. COAST is also offering free rides to the polls on Election Day. Riders should just tell their driver they're on their way to or from voting. (Source: NHPR)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 2, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES WITH N.H. DATA

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Monday, November 2

On Sunday, N.H. health officials announced 133 new positive test results for COVID-19, one new hospitalization, and no new deaths. Here is the pandemic-related N.H. news you need to know to start your Monday.

1. COVID-19 Numbers Climb. The new cases include 105 people who tested positive by PCR test and 28 who tested positive by antigen test. There are now 1,352 current COVID-19 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire. Rockingham County (40 new cases) continues to be the part of the state where new cases are growing the fastest. It was followed by Strafford County (19 new cases), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (16), Grafton County (12), Merrimack County (12), Coos County (11), Carroll County (3), Sullivan County (2), and Belknap County (1), and by the cities of Nashua (4) and Manchester (3). Durham leads the seacoast area with 34 active cases, followed by Dover (33) and Portsmouth (30). (Source: DHHS and InDepthNH)

2. Portsmouth High School Closed Again Due to COVID-19 Case. Another city high school student has tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in school closure on Monday. In an email Sunday, Portsmouth High School Principal Mary Lyons said, "There will be no students in-person at the high school Monday, Nov. 2 due to another student testing positive for COVID." The new positive case makes three current cases among Portsmouth High School students. (Source: Seacoast Online)

3. Rochester Schools Hit with COVID-19 Cases, Going Remote. The city's public schools will go to remote learning beginning this week after a number of people "across the district tested positive for COVID-19," Superintendent Kyle Repucci announced Sunday. Remote classes will begin Thursday, Nov. 5 and will continue until Jan. 19, the district announced. The Rochester district had on Friday announced it would go to remote learning after Thanksgiving through Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January. This news comes after a grade level team at the city's middle school and a bus route with middle and high school students were dismissed and placed in quarantine Thursday, Oct. 29 due to a coronavirus case. The district announced it received information on several new cases of the coronavirus from New Hampshire health officials Saturday and several more Sunday. (Source: Seacoast Online https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/education/2020/11/01/rochester-schools-hit-covid-19-cases-going-remote/6115069002/ ) Meanwhile, Raymond Superintendent Tina McCoy has announced that all Raymond High School and Iber Holmes Gove Middle School students will participate in remote learning on Monday, Nov. 2. due to a positive COVID-19 case at the middle school and possible exposure at the high school. (Source: WMUR)

4. SBA Eases Forgiveness for PPP Loans Affecting Thousands of NH Businesses. The Small Business Administration has simplified procedures for forgiving Payroll Protection Program loans, including 24,741 in New Hampshire totaling more than $2.5 billion. The money was lent through banks as part of the federal emergency response to the coronavirus pandemic and was intended to cover payroll and other expenses with the idea of keeping people employed. Original rules said the loans would be forgiven, essentially turned into grants, if businesses used the money for payroll and allowable expenses while not reducing staffing or salaries. Now, the SBA says that for businesses receiving less than $50,000 through the program, all that is required is documentation of actual payroll, rent and utility expenses, Administrator Rachael Roderick, of the agency’s New Hampshire office, said in an interview on Friday. (Source: Laconia Daily Sun)

5. Portsmouth City Hall Open Until 5 p.m. to Receive Absentee Ballots. If you still have an absentee ballot and haven’t returned it yet, you can drop it off at the Voting Center inside City Hall until 5 p.m. (Source: Portsmouth City Clerk). Over the weekend, nearly a dozen ballots were rejected during ballot pre-processing. The most common reason was failure to sign the affidavit on the outside of the inner envelope. So be sure to indicate the ward you vote in, SIGN THE AFFIDAVIT, seal your completed ballot inside the inner envelope (the one with the affidavit), and then seal the inner envelope inside the outer envelope. You can also have an immediate family member drop it off for you (he or she will be required to sign a form). If you miss, today’s deadline, don’t worry. You still have options for voting on Election Day itself. You (or an immediate family member) can return your absentee ballot at your polling place before 5 p.m. But if you can't make it to your local polling place by 5 p.m. on Election Day, you can still show up at the polls and cast an absentee ballot without going inside any time before the polling place closes. (Source: NHPR) In Portsmouth, the polls will open at 8 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. on Tuesday. A reminder: if you live in N.H. but are not yet registered to vote, you can register at the polls and vote on the same day as the election.

6. Record Voter Turnout Predicted for Election Day. On Tuesday, New Hampshire almost certainly will set a record for ballots cast in a presidential election, according to Secretary of State Bill Gardner. The nation’s longest-serving head of a state election office wasn’t ready last Friday to predict how many would likely end up voting. But Gardner said it’s a safe bet that more ballots will be cast than the record 755,850 turned in for the 2016 election. He also said that as many as 250,000 voters could vote by absentee ballot in this election. (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

7. N.H. Communities Get Head Start on Processing Record Number of Absentee Ballots. The Manchester Doubletree Hilton hotel has hosted its fair share of campaign events through the years, but this past weekend it also hosted a crucial part of the voting process — serving as the absentee ballot pre-processing hub for New Hampshire’s largest city. Manchester is one of more than 140 communities opting to pre-process absentee ballots ahead of Election Day this year, thanks to a change in state law meant to help local election officials weather a record-breaking surge in absentee votes. The vast majority of absentee ballots are processed without issue, but a small number have been rejected for various reasons. New Hampshire election officials aren’t required to notify voters whose absentee ballots are rejected, though they’re strongly encouraged to — and starting the process of screening for those mistakes before the election gives officials more time to take this extra step. The process, as with all of New Hampshire’s election procedures, played out in full view of a small handful of public observers and party-appointed challengers. Sean Strong, of Londonderry, was there as a challenger on behalf of the New Hampshire Republican Party. “There’s no funky business going on,” Strong said. “We’re just making sure we get the names of people that get disqualified, so maybe we can give them a call later on.” In Portsmouth, ballots were pre-processed by election workers on Saturday at City Hall. (Source: NHPR)

8. Manchester Police to Increase Patrols on Election Day to Discourage 'Civil Unrest'. As cities across the country prepare for potential civil unrest on Election Day, Manchester police say they have a plan in place to “ensure the safety of all citizens” in the state’s largest city. Published reports in recent days have detailed efforts in cities across the country to prepare for civil unrest and potential violence during and after the election, including preparations to activate the National Guard. Storefronts were boarded up Friday in Washington D.C., New York City, Los Angeles and other cities over fears of large-scale demonstrations regardless of who wins Tuesday’s presidential election. While Manchester police said in a statement that there is “no specific information leading us to believe there will be civil unrest”, Chief Allen Aldenberg said the department will do everything it can to ensure safety and to keep Election Day peaceful. (Source: Manchester Union Leader) In Portsmouth, police presence will be stepped up with two officers assigned to each polling place—one inside and one outside.

9. Responding To Concerns About Possible Voter Intimidation, Some Groups Offer De-Escalation Training. Some groups concerned about potential voter intimidation at the polls on Tuesday are offering de-escalation training for volunteers. State law does allow for poll watchers, but if those watchers veer into intimidation or campaigning they could be removed from the polling place. At the first presidential debate, President Trump told supporters during the first presidential debate to “go into the polls and watch very carefully.” Isaac Grimm, the organizing director for Rights and Democracy, said volunteers are concerned, and that de-escalation training gives them tools to help Election Day go smoothly.“So that they know how to engage with someone who’s high-tension and a possible threat, and de-escalates them from a place of potential violence and re-directs their energy,” he said. The US Attorney’s office in New Hampshire said it isn't aware of specific threats, but will be watching Tuesday’s election closely. (Source: NHPR)

10. Caught In Middle Of Partisan Voting Battles, Students Take Turnout Efforts Into Their Own Hands. The pandemic has upended lots of things about campus life for the nation’s college students this fall — including voting. That’s particularly true in New Hampshire, a place where the student vote has made a difference in close elections. Students like Cait McGovern have been walking a tightrope in their voter turnout efforts this fall. As president of Dartmouth’s Student Assembly, McGovern’s said she’s worked hard to ensure all of the group’s election initiatives are “strictly nonpartisan.” “We want to make sure students know that if they have any concerns, any questions, anything, they can come to us for information and know that this information is going to be objective, it's going to be truthful, and they're not going to have to question whether or not it's the accurate information.” To that end, the Student Assembly has launched a series of efforts to get as many of their peers as possible to vote this fall. They partnered with campus officials and the Hanover clerk’s office to organize on-campus voter registration drives. They also worked closely with local election officials to verify the voting information they’ve been sharing in videos and other social media posts. It has also sponsored an online tool meant to make it easier for students who were already registered in Hanover to request an absentee ballot. (Source: NHPR)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – November 1, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES WITH N.H. DATA

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level

Sunday, November 1

On Saturday, N.H. DHHS announced 205 new positive test results for COVID-19, two new hospitalizations, and one additional death. Here is the rest of the pandemic-related news you need to know to start your Sunday.

1. The Second Wave is Here: N.H. Shatters Single Day Record for New COVID-19 Cases. The state Department of Health and Human Services announced 205 new positive test results for COVID-19 and one new death of an elderly woman in Hillsborough County on Saturday, numbers so high that Gov. Chris Sununu issued a news release reminding people to take precautions. “The situation here in New Hampshire remains very serious, the data shows that community transmission is increasing, and we expect cases to rise,” Sununu said. The previous one-day high for new cases occurred on April 30 when there were 153. The state Department of Health and Human Services now lists the statewide risk for community transmission of the deadly virus as “substantial,” the highest of three levels. New Hampshire has seen an average of 124 new COVID-19 cases a day for the past week, and the numbers are rising. Manchester (144), Nashua (86), and Concord (60) had the most active cases of COVID-19 Saturday. On the Seacoast, Durham (31), Portsmouth (28) and Dover (26) have the most active cases. (Sources: N.H. DHHS and InDepthNH) Health experts say what happens next depends a lot on the choices we all make about the people we spend time with, the activities we participate in, and even how we celebrate the holidays. Last spring, most people getting infected with COVID-19 here had risk factors associated either with travel or with a cluster or outbreak, especially at long-term care facilities, according to Dr. Benjamin Chan, the state’s epidemiologist. It’s different now. “We’re seeing more people being diagnosed with COVID-19 who are reporting close contact with somebody else diagnosed with COVID-19,” Chan said. An increasing number of people report no identifiable risk factors, “meaning we believe they likely acquired it in the community from an unknown source.” (Source: Manchester Union Leader)

2. COVID Tracker: Increasing Cases in the Hospital is a Real Cause for Concern. The Concord Monitor reports that the state is now failing on three of the five goals that the Monitor has been following for months. The red flag is hospitalizations. All summer long, the number of people in New Hampshire whose COVID-19 symptoms were seriously enough to send them to the hospital was low and steady, fluctuating between 5 and 10. When September arrived it rose to between 15 and 20 but stabilized again. And then it jumped, to 31 on Oct. 27 and hasn’t gone down. As hospitalizations have almost doubled in the second half of October, the two-week average for new cases is higher than it has ever been in the state, hitting 99 on Thursday (and 109 on Saturday) as compared to a previous high of 91. (Source: Concord Monitor)

3. Cases Also Surging in Adjacent States. In Maine, the rolling average of new daily COVID-19 cases has more than doubled since last week from less than 30 per day to more than 67 by Oct. 30. "We are nearing a phase of exponential growth, if we haven't entered it already," Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah tweeted. "It's easy to think you're flying until you hit the ground." (Source: Seacoast Online) Meanwhile, Massachusetts health officials announced 16 new deaths and 1,292 more coronavirus cases Saturday, continuing a streak of more than 1,000 daily COVID-19 cases confirmed in the state. The report comes on the same day Massachusetts has begun mandating that travelers from Connecticut and New Jersey quarantine for 14 days upon arriving to the Commonwealth. The two states had added Massachusetts to their own quarantine lists on Wednesday. (Source: NECN)

4. Hockey, Indoor Ice Sports Resume in NH After Two-Week Pause. Hockey and indoor ice sports returned Friday after taking a two-week hiatus to get a jump in COVID-19 cases under control. Of the New Hampshire Amateur Hockey Association's 100 teams, 17 have backed out in the past two days because of the sport's new restrictions. “It's a higher number than we expected, and it's unfortunate, but we got to keep striving along and pushing along,” Roy said. Under the new guidance, masks must be worn while not skating. And a coronavirus test is required by Nov. 6, meaning athletes can still play without one for a week. (Source: WMUR)

5. Absentee Ballots Pre-Processed in Portsmouth, Some Rejected. On Saturday at Portsmouth City Hall, election workers pre-processed the thousands of absentee ballots for Tuesday’s election received so far by the Portsmouth City Clerk’s office. As observers from a number of interested parties looked on—including Project Veritas, a right-wing activist group known for using undercover techniques to attempt to expose alleged voter fraud—election workers pre-processed a record number of absentee ballots, including thousands More that arrived in the mail on Friday. Under a temporary state law enacted because of the pandemic, absentee ballots are allowed to be pre-processed to make them easier to tally on Election Day. But the affidavit envelope containing the actual ballot itself must remained sealed until after the polls have opened on Tuesday. On Saturday, the process spilled over into three separate rooms at Portsmouth City Hall as City Clerk Kelli Barnaby enforced physical distancing requirements and made observers keep six feet away from workers processing the ballots. During the process, the name of the voter was announced to observers, the voter’s name was checked off on the master list, and the outer envelope was opened containing the affidavit envelope with the ballot inside. The affidavit envelope was then checked to see if the name on the affidavit was the same as the name on the absentee ballot application and to verify that the affidavit was signed. The affidavit envelope and the voter’s absentee ballot application were then placed back into the outer envelope. Election workers then highlighted the last name of the voter on the ward-specific voter checklist that will be used on Tuesday at the polls. During the process, approximately a dozen ballots were rejected in one ward alone with a final citywide tally not available at this writing. Most of the rejections were because the voter failed to sign the affidavit. Portsmouth election officials will be reaching out to those voters to inform them that they will either need to complete and return a new absentee ballot or come to the polls and vote in-person on Election Day. So if you voted absentee and see “City of Portsmouth” come up on your phone, make sure to take the call. (Source: Personal Notes)

6. NH Delegation Calls for USDA Investigation Into Supplier, Alleging Low-Quality Food Going to NH Food Bank. New Hampshire’s congressional delegation has penned a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue expressing concern about Vincent Farms – a Delaware-based food distributor – that was awarded the most recent contract with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to supply food to the New Hampshire Food Bank through the Farmers Families Food Box Program. The delegation called on the USDA to investigate concerns brought to them by the New Hampshire Food Bank that the products provided do not meet nutritional standards and are not suitable to serve families in need of assistance amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The delegation underscored concerns that the USDA was paying far more under the Farmers to Families Food Box Program than the contents of the food box being provided by the current distributor have been estimated to be worth, compromising the quality of food for Granite State families. (Source: Manchester Ink Link)

7. State Announces New State-Wide COVID Screening Program for First Responders. COVID-19 antigen tests from the federal government will be used in a statewide screening program for first responders, the commissioner of the department of health and human services announced Thursday. Though slightly less accurate than PCR tests, the gold standard of the gold standard of COVID testing, antigen tests are faster, less expensive, and less complex, making them optimal for large-scale screening in police stations or fire stations. Jake Leon, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the program is not meant to replace the testing options already available – a frontline worker with symptoms of COVID-19 is not eligible. Rather, the screening program is an additional layer of testing for asymptomatic first responders. Lori Shibinette, the commissioner of the department, said she expects between 4,000 and 5,000 first responders, including police officers and EMS workers, to participate in the First Responder Optional Screening Test Program, dubbed FROST. Organizations and individuals are free to opt out of the program which makes use of the BinaxNOW rapid antigen test card to provide results within 15 minutes of a quick nose swab. (Source: Concord Monitor)

8. Private School Enrollment Surges Amid Pandemic. Like many Catholic or private schools in the area, St. Mary Academy in Dover has seen an increase in interest or enrollment from new families as many public schools adopted remote learning models. Principal Kristin St. Hilaire said the school has waiting lists for most classrooms despite a positive COVID-19 test at the school in mid-October. Portsmouth Christian Academy in Dover has been teaching most of its students in person since late August. But after getting its first positive COVID test on Oct. 24, it learned of three more this week, officials said. Mike Runey, PCA’s head of school, said the feedback they’ve received “has been reaffirming, especially since we’re giving parents all the information we know as rapidly as we can.“That lets them decide whether they want their students attending in person or remotely,” he said during an interview this week. On Thursday, more than 86% “of parents who normally brought their kids on-site brought their kids to school,” officials said. (Source: Seacoast Online)

N.H. STATE DHHS COVID-19 DATA

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – October 31, 2020

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Overview Dashboard

• NH DHHS COVID-19 Schools Dashboard

OTHER DATA/METRICS SOURCES WITH N.H. DATA

• NHPR Interactive Charts: COVID-19 in NH

• WMUR N.H. Coronavirus Information and Charts

• New York Times N.H. COVID Maps and Charts

• New York Times U.S. Nursing Home Statistics and Outbreak Map

• John’s Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center—NH Page

• The Covid Tracking Project—NH Section

• CovidActNow NH Outbreak Risk Level