Posted on by Bonnie

COVID-19 Update April 29

COVID-19 Update April 29

Salem has 143 confirmed cases.

Today it was reported that six more people lost their lives to COVID-19, including two men and two women from Rockingham County. All were 60 years old or older. After two slow days, today was the day with the most test results: 1,175, of which 1,131 more people tested negative. The number of active cases was the same as the number of recovered cases, both at 44, with seven new cases coming from Rockingham County. The number of people who are still infected remains over 1,000. The number of people who have been hospitalized increased by ten, making an all-time high of 107 cases (13% of the confirmed cases.)

NH DHHS announced 50 new cases, but said the total number of cases today is 2,054, and the total number of cases yesterday was 2,010. I can’t explain the additional six cases. The count for Salem remains at 143; it is still puzzling why the cumulative total is less than on Monday.

It was a beautiful day today! Spring is here, with its promise of rebirth and renewal. However, like these numbers, good things come with bad. It is expected to rain tomorrow. Stay positive, stay safe, and, always, be kind.

Key points covered below in today’s report:

  • Suicides
  • Weekly Summary from HHS
  • Senator Shaheen to be on The Exchange
  • Pentucket Bank and Greater Salem Chamber of Commerce
  • A poll from St. Anslem College, NH Institute of Politics
  • Summer Camps
  • Beaches
  • Services for Granite Staters with intellectual disabilities 
  • Governor issued two more executive orders.
  • Senator Hassan: Virtual roundtable with 1st responders

ALSO:

I spent most of this beautiful day today in redoing the calendar, plus one short Zoom meeting, although my husband did drag me out for a short bit to look at the flowers in our yard. I’ve gone back through it to the beginning, so every day had the info, in the same order. A few days ago, I added: a “Total negative” count for all of last week. I’ve now put that info in for the entire calendar.

I also added the number of tests that were “Tested today.” This is actually the number of test results REPORTED today. Bear in mind that these tests were done anywhere from 5 minutes to a week earlier. I compute this number by adding the total positive plus the total negative for the day, and then comparing that sum to the sum of yesterday’s totals.

In the process of reconstructing this, I discovered that I had made some errors yesterday. They have now been corrected. I’m sorry this is so late tonight; I wanted it to be right. And, thank God for backups!

Click on the calendar to enlarge
https://www.bonnie4salem.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/april29-calendar.jpg

Q: How much testing is NH doing in comparison to our neighboring states?

A: We aren’t doing enough tests!
WHY???

Could this be the answer?

On April 19, this was posted on Facebook:

The Governor maintains that we don’t have enough supplies (test availability).

Why is this so important?
COVID vs. US Daily Average Cause of Death

By Robert Martin on 15 Apr 2020

The following charts are from NHPR

#End of NHPR’s charts.

Additional charts can be found at https://www.nhpr.org/post/updated-tracking-covid-19-cases-and-testing-new-hampshire

COVID Symptom Tracker: This is a project of Mass General Hospital. In the absence of proper testing, this may be the best way of tracking how we are doing. I’m keeping it near the top, so I’ll remember to log in each day.
https://covid.joinzoe.com/us?fbclid=IwAR2IsoxZ9RBKC4uPQscKiuUUTJCA3cCt3dUr9tjNSsFqOU1rv10jmysmt4Y


Today’s COVID-19 Statistics:

April 29April 28Change from yesterday
Total Confirmed Cases2,0542,010+44
Recovered 98048% (was 47%)
936+44
Deaths Attributed to COVID-19
663% 60+6
Active Cases1,0081,014-6
Total Hospitalized25913% (was 12%)
249+10
Current Hospitalized107106+1
Tested Negative19,86718,736+1,131
Persons with specimens submitted to NH PHL9,1278,635+492
Persons with test pending at NH PHL27281+191
Being Monitored (Approximate) 2,5502,5500
Total Tested (Confirmed Cases + Tested Negative)21,92120,746+1,175

 

Salem’s confirmed cases: 

  • March 30 (Range 10-19)
  • March 31 (Range 20+)
  • April 3: 25 cases (Range 20+)
  • April 6: 33 cases (+8 in 3 days)
  • April 8: 20+ cases
  • April 9: 20-49
  • April 10: Over 50
  • April 23: 116
  • April 27: 144
  • April 28: 143 (Huh? Less than yesterday? Triple checked!)


NH Hot Spots
Six NH municipalities have more than 50 confirmed cases:

  • Manchester: 446 (+10 from yesterday); 40 per 10K residents (+1)
  • Nashua: 186 (+6 from yesterday); 22 per 10K residents (+1)
  • Salem: 143 (same as yesterday); 49 cases per 10K residents
  • Derry: 133; (+1); 40 cases per 10K residents (+1)
  • Dover: 68 (+3); 21 cases per 10K residents (+1)
  • Londonderry: 60 (+1); 23 cases per 10K residents (+1)
  • All other municipalities have less than 50 cases.  All of the other municipalities with 20-49 cases are geographically south of Concord/Dover, and east of Concord/Milford.

Counties:

  • Hillsborough (inc. Manchester and Nashua): 931 (+35); 22 per 10K residents
  • Rockingham (inc. Salem & Derry): 670 (+6); 22 per 10K

These two counties make up about 78% of all confirmed cases in NH.

Our neighboring towns:

  • Methuen: 559 (+28). 28 deaths (+5). 71 recovered.  142 cases per 10K residents
  • Lawrence: 11,645. 64 deaths (+7); 205 cases per 10K residents

Without better testing, and without transparency, we can’t know what our real numbers are.

 

 

Of the confirmed cases in NH, about 13% have required hospitalization. Over 30% of the confirmed cases are healthcare workers. Most of those with mild symptoms have not been able to get tested.

We need proper testing to fight COVID-19

The NH Division of Public Health Services, Bureau of Infectious Disease Control, has announced a Weekly Summary Report, with more details than I see in the daily reports from the Department of Health & Human Services. See the report or my summary of the key points in my report on April 13.

Weekly info has been released for Week of April 20
As of April 20th, 471 healthcare workers have been infected (33% of all confirmed cases). Six kids under 9 years have tested positive. 21% of those infected are 50-59 years old, the largest age group. Those who are 30-39, 40-49, and 60-69 are each 15% of the cases. Surprisingly, only 17% of the confirmed cases are 70 or older, however, the rate per 100,000 for those over 70 is skyrocketing, as there are fewer people in that age range. 54% of all NH cases are female, 46% are male.

Race/Ethnicity: 90% of NH’s population is white; 81% of the confirmed cases are white. Hispanic/Latino are 3.9% of the population, but 6.1% of the cases. Blacks/African Americans are 1.4% of the population, and 5.4% of the cases. Asians are 3.0% of the population, and 3.2% of the cases. All other races are 1.8% of the population, and 4.4% of the population.

NH News relating to COVID-19

Suicides

Suicide rates have gone up. This pandemic, with the fear of health coupled with economic loss it causes, is especially hard for people with depression. #SuicideAwareness 1-800-273-8255

Weekly Summary from HHS

The state has issued its third Weekly Summary Report. Key points:

  • Through April, 27, 82 of the 246 total hospitalizations have required admission to Intensive Care Units.
  • 29.4% of all people infected have been healthcare workers. 19 have required hospitalization; 2 have died.
  • 2/3 of the deaths in NH have been men, and almost 62% of the hospitalizations are men although 54% of the confirmed cases have been women. 
  • 20% of all infections have been people aged 50-59, the largest age group. However, half of the deaths have been people over 80 years old, and another 20% are people aged 70-79.
  • 77 of the people who have been hospitalized are from Rockingham County (31%). Almost 27% of the deaths have come from our County.
  • Race and ethnicity play a big part in the percentage of Hispanic/Latino, Black/African American, Asian, and other non-white people who are infected, hospitalized, and die. Read more.

Senator Shaheen to be on The Exchange

Senator Shaheen will be on the programs’ first segment on Thursday, April 30, 2020, at 9:00, to talk about coronavirus relief efforts, including the PPP. Email questions to exchange@nhpr.org. The Exchange.

Pentucket Bank and Greater Salem Chamber of Commerce

At a Chamber of Commerce meeting that I attended today, Eric Leuteritz, Sr Vice President at Pentucket Bank says that the bank has done more in 3 weeks than they normally do in a year, offering $51M of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to 300 small businesses in the first round and about $12M so far in round 2. He cautions that many businesses do not understand the details of the Paycheck Protection Program. If you have a business, be sure to talk with your banker. Other businesses attending that meeting expressed concern. The Chamber has been busy offering resources for struggling businesses.

A poll from St. Anslem College, NH Institute of Politics

“This poll focuses on how voter attitudes have been impacted by the emergence of COVID-19, or coronavirus, and the efforts of the Federal and New Hampshire governments to contain its spread and minimize the threat to public health. Overall, voters are supportive of the restrictions that have been implemented, are currently more concerned about protecting public health than the economy, and remain patient. There is, however, an expectation that restrictions will be lifted as we enter the summer months, as well as an understanding that continuing to restrict people from resuming their lives will eventually have an extremely significant impact on individuals and families.”

“38% of voters hope to see restrictions in New Hampshire lifted in May; however, only 18% expect that to happen, with a plurality (38%) believing restrictions will be lifted in June and an additional 23% over the remainder of the summer. Of the 76% of voters who do not yet report an extremely significant impact on their lives, 44% foresee reaching that point by the end of summer, and a total of 64% sometime this fall.”

Many more political questions were covered.  Read more

Summer Camps

Representatives of summer camps and child care centers told state officials today that when they reopen, things won’t be back to normal. Since February, the child care industry’s capacity has been reduced to about one-tenth of what it was. If allowed to open, camp programs, such as those offered by Boys and Girls Clubs, will be different, with limited field trips. Read more.

Beaches

State parks officials have drafted a proposal on how to open many of the state’s beaches when it’s safe to do so. Their plan calls for people to keep moving: walking, running or swimming, to ensure social distancing. No group activities, no beach umbrellas, coolers or chairs, or hanging around on the sand will be allowed. All state, town and private parking lots will be limited to half their vehicle capacity, and parking at any state lot will require online reservations. Read more.

Services for Granite Staters with intellectual disabilities 

Services have shifted for this special population. The mission of PLUS Co. in Manchester is to get clients engaged with the community, but working and interacting have come to an abrupt halt. PLUS Co. has shifted to Zoom for interactions, classes, and contact. To date, every client and staffer is healthy. 

The Moore Center serves people with intellectual, developmental, and personal challenges by creating opportunities for a good life. While referrals have dropped because of the COVID-19 crisis, officials at The Moore Center said they want parents to know they don’t need a referral to ask for support. Just call 800-852-3345 ext. 5122 or go to the website, and they said they will find a way to help. Read more.

Governor issued two more Executive Orders.

Emergency Order #37: An order relative to Executive Branch hiring and out-of-state travel 

Emergency Order #38: Temporary modification of school board and district statutory requirements. Read more.

Senator Hassan: Virtual roundtable with 1st responders

Sen. Hassan held a virtual roundtable with first responders. Members from local police and fire departments said the pandemic has led to more overtime and the need for more local and state aid to prevent budget cuts. Firefighters are working with their police department, to make sure they are both trained and provided with proper PPE. Domestic calls and persons-in-crisis calls have gone up, as have suicides. Read/watch more.

Salem Government

The Town of Salem’s Emergency Operations Center Team (EOC) will be making weekly reports every Monday evening at 7:00. Their reports can be seen at http://sctv-17.com/CablecastPublicSite/?channel=1

Find other Salem Government board meetings: https://www.townofsalemnh.org/boards

To watch past or live viewings:

State Representation:
Salem has nine State Representatives. If you are having issues connected to COVID-19, they have access to the people who can get you the help you need. You can find contact info for our reps here: http://gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/default.aspx

Our Senator, Chuck Morse, can be contacted at Chuck.Morse@leg.state.nh.us His Concord office phone is 603.271.3207.

Disclaimer:

On April 7, NH scientist and politician, Mindi Messmer, PG, CG wrote on her Facebook page: “… testing has pretty much stopped at the NH PHL. The testing penetration is so low in NH, only 1/2% of the 1.3M people, meaning 99.5% of the 1.3M have not been tested, that I am not putting up projections or tests for NH because the graphs would be meaningless and I don’t want to give the false impression that we know what’s going on in NH.”

On April 8, the National Academy of Sciences reported that 16 out of 51 tests were inaccurate. (false negatives). Others also have concerns about both false negatives and false positives.

Please keep these ideas in mind as you review the information on this page or any other page.

Resources to help in these challenging times:

Have Questions?

NH residents can dial the state’s COVID-19 hotline at 2-1-1 or 603-271-4496 for answers to questions related to the outbreak and to be directed to available resources for help.

Do YOU think you have COVID-19?

To report suspected cases, contact the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control at  603-271-4496, (603-271-5300 for after hours), or nhbidc@dhhs.nhs.gov.

The IRS has released its new app to track stimulus payments, “Get My Payment.” which had been scheduled to be released on April 17. Expect to wait. (And possibly, like me, be disappointed.) If your info isn’t available today, try again tomorrow, as info is going to be updated every night.

How You Can Help Others:

Masks:

There is no excuse for not having a mask!!!

Salem:

New Hampshire:

New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services:

Office of the Governor: https://www.governor.nh.gov

Mindi Messmer: A scientist who is reporting frequently on COVID-19, Mindi is also a candidate for Executive Council, District 3 (including Salem). https://www.facebook.com/Mindi4NH/ Sign up for her “Daily or So COVID-19 Updates” https://actionnetwork.org/forms/daily-or-so-covid-19-updates

More info about COVID-19

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:


COVID Symptom Tracker:
This is a project of Mass General Hospital. In the absence of proper testing, let’s let them know how we are doing. https://covid.joinzoe.com/us?fbclid=IwAR2IsoxZ9RBKC4uPQscKiuUUTJCA3cCt3dUr9tjNSsFqOU1rv10jmysmt4Y

Tuft’s University: COVID-19 Convalescent (Recovered) Patient Registry

Trackers (Cases)

The World Health Organization:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

Media with NH COVID-19 news:

Housing

Unemployment

Financial Assistance

Link to other  NH benefits:

Businesses and Employers: Guidance for Small Businesses 

Sources for data included in these reports:

Please report any errors or omissions to bonnie@bonnie4salem.us. Thank you.