COVID-19 Update August 5

COVID-19 Update August 5

• Total: 284 confirmed cases
• 1 out of every 104 Salem residents has been infected.
• Salem Today: 1 new case, 13 active cases.

• • • TODAY’S SPOTLIGHT• • • • • •

• Salem had another new case today. From July 5 to August 5, this is the 10^th new case.
• Other than that, it was a fairly good day for NH: 26 new cases, 1.82% positivity rate, no new hospitalizations, current hospitalized patient rates going down, and no more deaths.
• Manchester has now had more than 1800 cases, although there are only 80 still active. This is the community with the most cases, making up 21% of all active cases, and 26.9% of all cumulative infections.
• Of the 22 communities that have had more than 50 cases, 8 have between 1 and four active cases. Others communities include Manchester (80), Nashua (52), Derry (20), Salem (13), Londonderry (13), Bedford (11), Portsmouth (9), Merrimack (8), Dover (6), Plaistow (6), Rochester (6), Goffstown (5) and Pelham (5). Seabrook is the only community in this list of 22 that no longer has an active case.
• Current hospitalizations in NH are down to 20, but still more than the 17 that we saw on July 19.
• Of the “Big Four” — global new infections, global deaths, and US new cases — today’s numbers brought the two-week daily average down. The global numbers average has gone up from last week. US new cases are slightly better than a week ago. However, with 1,268 deaths reported today, the two-week daily average of US fatalities went up, and has gone up for the previous three days, as well.

 

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

• New positive cases per DHHS: 27
• My new positive cases (Total of today’s cases minus yesterday’s total): 26
• Children under 18 in new cases: 2
• Total positive cases in NH: 6,719
• Percentage of tests that are positive: 1.82%
• Active cases: 378
• Percentage of positive cases that are still active: 5.6%
• New cases in Rockingham County: 5
• Total cases in Rockingham County: 1,660
• Percent of all cases from either Hillsborough County or Rockingham County: 81%
• Total PCR tests results reported today (Positive results plus negative results): 1,431
• The daily average of diagnostic (PCR) tests reported from 7 days ago to today: 1,300
• New negative PCR cases in NH: 1,405
• Total negative cases in NH (as reported by DHHS): 160,688

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

• New antibody tests: 142
• Total antibody tests (No break down of positive vs. negative): 27,506
• The daily average of antibody tests reported from 7 days ago to today: 119
• Children diagnosed with MIS-C: (as of 5/22/2020): 1

• • • • • RECOVERED IN NH • • • • • •

• Announced today: 8
• Total Recovered: 5,923
• Percentage of diagnosed cases that have recovered: 88.2%

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

• New: 0
• Current: 20
• Total Hospitalized: 698
• Percentage of those who have been infected that have been hospitalized: 10.39%
• Percentage of those who have been hospitalized that are still in the hospital: 2.9%

• • • • • DEATHS IN NH • • • • • •

• Lives lost today: 0
• Persons over 60 years of age who died today: 0
• Persons under 60 years of age who died today: 0
• Total fatalities in NH associated with COVID-19: 418
• NH Residents diagnosed with COVID-19 that died: 6.2%
• 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 yesterday’s 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].”

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 yesterday 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

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