Reusable Bag Ban Ends In New Hampshire; 7 New COVID-19 Cases

CONCORD, NH — New Hampshire residents can begin using their reusable bags at grocery and others stores in the Granite State.

On Monday, Gov. Chris Sununu rescinded the state's ban on reusable bags, an executive order he issued in April — and extended throughout the new coronavirus pandemic.

The governor did not issue a statement when terminating the order beyond saying, "effective immediately."

State health officials also reported seven new COVID-19 infections — the lowest amount of new positive cases reported since the March 15, two days after the state was placed in emergency lockdown.

One of the new cases was child with five being male and two being female. Single cases reside in Manchester, Nashua, and Merrimack County.

There are 407 active cases of COVID-19 — the lowest number of active cases since April 4.

According to town-by-town data, Exeter, Milford, North Hampton, Portsmouth, and Windham have four active cases or less; Amherst has five actives cases; Concord has eight; Londonderry has 12; Bedford and Merrimack have 14; Salem has 20; and Nashua has 50.

One of the seven required hospitalization with one offering no identified risk factors. The state has 20 current cases.

While 6,441 accumulative cases have been reported by state officials, 87 percent of them — 5,625 people have recovered from the virus.

On Sunday, 2,379 tests were collected with 181,638 specimens collected since January. Of all those tests, 96.5 percent offered a negative result.

About 3,225 Granite Staters are under public health monitoring.

Stop The Spread Of COVID-19

The COVID-19 virus is spread through respiratory droplets, usually through coughing and sneezing, and exposure to others who are sick or might be showing symptoms.

Health officials emphasize residents should follow these recommendations:

• Avoid any domestic and international travel, especially on public transportation such as buses, trains, and airplanes.
• Practice social distancing. Stay at least 6 feet from other people, including distancing while in waiting areas or lines.
• When you can't practice 6 feet of social distancing, wear a face covering.
• Anyone who is told to self-quarantine and stay at home due to exposure to a person with confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19 needs to stay home and not go out into public places.
• If you are 60 years or older or have chronic and underlying health conditions, you need to stay home and not go out.
• Avoid gatherings of 10 people or more.
• Employers should work from home as much as possible.
• There is increasing evidence that the virus can survive for hours or possibly days on surfaces. People should clean frequently touched surfaces, including door handles, grocery carts and grocery basket handles, etc.

Take the same precautions as you would if you were sick:

• Stay home and avoid public places.
• Wear a face covering.
• Cover mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing.
• Wash hands frequently.
• Disinfect frequently touched surfaces.

More information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services about coronavirus can be found here on the department's website.

• Guidance to schools can be found can be found here.
• Instructions for returning travelers to self-observe for symptoms of COVID-19 are available are available here.
• For more information on COVID-19 in NH, visit its site here.
• For the latest information from the CDC, visit its site here.
• To access the state's COVID-19 data dashboard, click on this link here.

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• 3 More Deaths; 25 More Infected With COVID-19 In New Hampshire

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