COVID-19 Update October 15

COVID-19 Update October 15

Total: 359 confirmed cases in Salem
1 out of every 82 Salem residents have been infected
Salem Today: 3 new cases, 22 active cases

Community Transmission (per NH Department of Health and Human Services)

The overall level of community transmission is defined using three metrics. A community is then assigned an overall level based on the highest-level determination for any specific metric.

Community Transmission Metrics:
- New Cases per 100k over 14 days:
  - Scale: Minimal: <50; Moderate: 50 – 100; Substantial: >100.
  - Today: 994 cases; Daily average: 73.3 (Moderate)
- New hospitalizations per 100k over 14 days:
  - Scale: Minimal: <10; Moderate: 10 – 20; Substantial: >20,
  - Today: Total hospitalizations: 18 total; Daily average: 1.3
- Average PCR Test Positivity Rate over 7 days:
  - Scale: Minimal: <5%; Moderate: 5% – 10%; Substantial: >10%
  - Today: Tests over last 7 days: 428 Total. PCR Tests over last 7 days: 34,822 Daily average: 1.2%
Today’s Level of Transmission: Moderate

• • • • • • TODAY’S SPOTLIGHT • • • • • •

Another three Salem resident have been diagnosed with COVID-19. 22 Salem residents are still considered to be infectious. The last time we had this many active cases was July 18. We were down to less than 5 on September 30.
3,750 people in NH are “being monitored.” The last time we have had this many on the monitoring list was June 13.
The daily average for the last two weeks of kids under 18 is 7.4 kids infected.
Communities:
- Notable changes in active cases:
  - There is a net of one more community with 5 or more active cases. Those forty communities make up 681 of the 829 active cases.
  - Bow, Hanover and Franklin had less than five active cases yesterday, but have more than 5 today.
  - Gilmanton had more than 5 active cases yesterday, but have less than 5 today.
  - Other communities: Hanover (+5). Derry and Londonderry (+4 each). Concord, Portsmouth and Rye (+3 each). Dover (-3) Nashua and Weare (-5 each). Manchester (-11)
- Some of the communities with significant changes in cumulative cases: Manchester (+11). Nashua (+8). Goffstown (+8). Derry and Londonderry (+5 each). Salem, Portsmouth and Concord (+3 each).
66 people were marked as “recovered” today, leaving NH with 829 active cases. We had 266 cases on Sept 23.
At least one NH resident has been hospitalized because of COVID-19 for all but one of the last nine days. We are averaging 2 hospitalizations per day over the past week.
We lost another five NH residents to COVID-19. Yesterday, we were averaging 1.43 deaths per day over the previous week. Today that average jumped up to 2.0 fatalities per day.

• • • • • • DIAGNOSTIC TESTS IN NH • • • • • •

New positive cases by my math (Total of today’s cases minus yesterday’s total): 77
New positive cases per DHHS: 82
- 58 PCR tests
- 24 Antigen tests
Children under 18 in new cases: 13
Total positive cases in NH: 9,426
Percentage of today’s tests that are positive per DHHS: 1.1%
Total PCR tests results reported today (Positive results plus negative results: 2,509
The daily average of diagnostic (PCR) tests reported from 7 days ago to today: 1,934
New negative results reported today: 2,432
Total negative cases in NH: 294,150

• • • • • • ROCKINGHAM COUNTY • • • • • •

Total cases in Rockingham County: 2,313
New cases in Rockingham County: 26
Rockingham County: New cases per 100K residents: 8.4
Rockingham County 1-week average per 100K residents: 6.7
Percent of all cases from Rockingham County: 24.3% yesterday: 24.5%
Percent of all cases from either Hillsborough County or Rockingham County: 78%

• • • • • • ACTIVE CASES • • • • • •

Active cases in NH: 829
Active cases in Rockingham County: 192
Percent of NH’s active cases that are in Rockingham County: 23.2%

• • • • • • OTHER TEST RESULTS • • • • • •

New antibody tests: 35
Total antibody tests (No break downs of positive vs. negative): 31,654
The daily average of antibody tests reported from 7 days ago to today: 39

• • • • • • CHANGES BY AGES • • • • • •

0-9: +4 (3% of all cases. 7% of new cases
10-19: +9 (8% of all; 16% today)
20-29: +16 (17% of all; 28% today)
30-39: +10 (14% of all; +18% today)
40-49: -6 (13% of all; -11% today)
50-59: +10 (15% of all; 18% today)
60-69: +8 (12% of all; 14% today)
70-79: +4 (7% of all; 7% today)
80+: +2 (11% of all; 4% today)

• • • • • • CHANGES IN SCHOOLS • • • • • •

The school dashboard shows that the student who was reportedly from Salem High School is now recovered.
Granite State Arts Academy, a public chartered high school in Salem, has one student listed as having an active infection, unchanged from yesterday.
The list of schools with kids infected is growing, it’s over 100 schools. However, they seem to be identifying the infection before it gets out of control.
The school with the most active cases continues to be UNH-Durham, with 20 students/staff. There are no other schools with more than three active cases. The Schools with 3 cases are Epping Elementary, Griffin Memorial, Londonderry Senior High, Merrimack High and Riddle Brook School.

• • • • • • RECOVERED IN NH • • • • • •

Announced today: 66
Total Recovered: 8,134
Percentage of diagnosed cases that have recovered: 86.3%

• • • • • • HOSPITALIZATIONS IN NH • • • • • •

New: 1
Current: 18
Total Hospitalized: 761
Percentage of those who have been infected that have been hospitalized: 8.07%

• • • • • • DEATHS IN NH • • • • • •

Lives lost today: 5
Persons over 60 years of age who died today: 5
Persons under 60 years of age who died today: 0
Total fatalities in NH associated with COVID-19: 463
NH Residents diagnosed with COVID-19 that died: 4.91s%
Lives lost in Rockingham today: 0

These are not simply numbers. We must not forget that these are all someone’s husband or wife, mother or father, sister or brother, son or daughter, friend or neighbor.

‪In April, the experts thought that there would be seasonal coronavirus waves. In the August 4th edition of Business Insider, they changed their tune. Instead, they are now likening the pandemic to “a forest fire looking for human wood to burn.” WHO says the pandemic is probably “going to be one big wave,” with “peaks and valleys in different locations at different times.” “This [virus] is behaving differently [than any other known virus].”

It appears that big wave is now peaking in NH. What we don’t know is how high it will go, or how long it will last. What I do know, beyond any doubt, that it won’t be gone in three weeks.

We still have so much to learn. We don’t know how to put out this fire. We do know that the majority of the deaths are in our seniors. We know that long-term health consequences do not have an age limit. We do know it can take months for some people to recover; there are enough of them to have a name: “Long Haulers.” We learned recently that there is a strong chance of cardiac issues amongst people who have recovered from COVID-19. We know that there can be organ damage, including lung damage and brain damage.

How much more is there to learn about this disease and this virus? What we don’t know is what we don’t yet know. THAT is what scares me the most. Until we understand this better, please stay safe, and always, be kind.

~Bonnie