Politics & Government

Testing Opportunities For Coronavirus To Expand In New Hampshire

Update: Sununu calls political folly about masks "silly"; COVID-19 recoveries top 60%; three more outbreaks at long-term care facilities.

Gov. Chris Sununu signed a new executive order ensuring continued special education services, for every child in the state with an individualized education plan, to help those who may be falling through the cracks of remote learning.
Gov. Chris Sununu signed a new executive order ensuring continued special education services, for every child in the state with an individualized education plan, to help those who may be falling through the cracks of remote learning. (Shutterstock)

CONCORD, NH — With new coronavirus recoveries topping 60 percent in New Hampshire, and positive cases and hospitalizations trending down, state health officials are expanding opportunities for testing.

Lori Shibinett, the commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, said during a news conference Tuesday that more than 2,500 people have recovered from COVID-19, about 60 percent of all cases. She also said testing would expand to any business owner that is reopening and has up to 50 employees. Employers can request the test for employees directly at a number of locations around the state or the state may be able to bring its mobile lab directly to companies. The state opened up two new testing locations during the weekend in Keene and Londonderry along with other testing locations in Concord, Claremont, Lancaster, Milford, Plymouth, Tamworth and Rochester.

Testing requests can also be made through primary care providers, at eight ClearChoice MD locations, and 11 ConvenientMD locations.

Find out what's happening in Concordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The "pretty low testing numbers" during the Memorial Day weekend, she said, were to be expected, being a holiday weekend. But, at this point in the pandemic, the state is in a position where supply and demand were equal for people who wanted to get tested — which meant test requests could be expanded, Shibinette said. Along with health workers, child care workers, people with at-risk health conditions, and people 60 or older, anyone living with someone in those categories can now request a test, too.

Gov. Chris Sununu also signed a new executive order ensuring continued special education services for every child in the state with an individualized education plan to help those who may be falling through the cracks of remote learning — and expand learning during the summer. The order, he said, had the support of AbleNH, the Disability Rights Center, the Parent Information Center, and other organizations that advocate for those with learning and other disabilities.

Find out what's happening in Concordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Too many students are still at risk of slipping through the cracks," the governor said. "And this order will make sure that school districts and teachers prioritize the needs of each student on a individualized basis. It's one of the opportunities we can truly provide here in New Hampshire."

Sununu also thanked everyone in the state for limiting their social gathering and working within the guidelines, with a few exceptions, to stem the spread of the virus even though it was a holiday weekend.

"I think the state did a phenomenal job," he said, before adding that more flex open phases were coming soon.


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Health Update

While there was encouraging news with recoveries, there are still more deaths, outbreaks, and positive cases.

Four more people, all from long-term care facilities, have died because of or due to complications of the new coronavirus. The state also announced 34 new positive test results and one new hospitalization. Shibinette also announced that there were three more outbreaks at long-term care facilities including at All American Assisted Living in Londonderry where six residents and 11 employees were sick; The Courville at Manchester where six residents and six employees had COVID-19; and the Kimy Nichols Center in Plaistow, a facility with adults with developmental disabilities, with three residents and two workers infected.


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Questions And Answers

Sununu was asked about violations of the slow roll open flex plans of the Stay-At-Home 2.0 orders, specifically, a racetrack in Groveton that has refused to stay closed and been warned not to open. The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office will be acting against the business this week, he said.

When asked about further action, including beach hotels bending the rules and renting rooms to Bay Staters, Sununu said there was no "blanket template" for enforcement but the AG's office was taking cases individually, on a more "customer service" basis.

In a follow-up, Sununu said he was not worried about people obeying the order. He even took a drive over to Hampton Beach Sunday morning to case the beach out and "get a feel of things" and people "really were, I think, understanding the responsibility that they have in making sure that every drop in the bucket matters, so to say."

On lodging, the governor said there was "common ground" being worked out and he would have an update Friday.

Shibinette was asked about changing to the categories and how the state was reporting data, including the elimination of negative testing from the data, and she said the data could be figured by adding the number of tests and subtracting the number of positive tests. She said more data was being reported now than at any time during the pandemic and they are still working on reports in the system and tweaking things. Now that antibody testing is being ramped up, it gets its own chart because the numbers are no longer negligible, she said.

Testing capacity, though, she said, was still a function of being able to handle more and more testing. About 2 million swabs came into the state along with more testing kits.

"It's not about not having a number of individual test supplies for our residents," she said, "it's about being able to test a million residents in one week. Spreading it out and testing the more high-risk people makes the most sense."

Right now, between PCR and antibody testing, about 2 to 4 percent of the tests are coming back positive. Shibinette said while it is believed that there is widespread community transmission in New Hampshire, the percent positive being fairly low was "good," even though there was ongoing evidence that there are asymptomatic people in the state.

Shibinette, when asked about the ultimate end point of the pandemic, said she didn't know — and no one knew, right now, the answer, but, "What we're watching right now, as we take these small steps to reopening, is, 'What is the impact on those numbers?' So, are we going to start seeing percent positives go up, are we going to start seeing hospitalizations or our case numbers going up … that's what we are really watching now." She added that the state was about two weeks from the first small reopening steps and would wait for another two to three weeks to take another step and then another. The state is in that window to see what the data shows as far as exposure due to reopening.

When asked about the future and more decisions about reopening, Shibinette said it was a number of factors and so many data points to determine when the right time would be to open up. Nursing homes, she said, had been hit hard, and if they continue to be hit hard, she will not be ready to approve of expansive reopening.

"Our nursing home residents don't have the liberty of social distancing themselves from their caregivers," she said. "They rely on their caregivers for activities of daily living and to have their care done every day. Those caregivers are a part of our communities. So long as there is COVID circulating in our communities (and) at risk of bringing it into the nursing home, there is always a risk of a negative outcome."

On reopening churches and President Donald Trump's order, Sununu said he would look at the order and respond to it later.

Sununu was also asked about why wearing masks had become so political.

"I don't know," he said. "Because we all need something to argue about lately. It's one of the sad natures (of politica) and it's something we can argue about … 'Why isn't he wearing a mask?' I don't know why it's so political. It's silly. We encourage everyone to wear a mask. Is it absolutely required, by the CDC guidelines? No."

The state, he said, would not be going to a mandatory mask order like Massachusetts, he reiterated, although a lot of people were wearing them and that was "a very positive sign here."

When asked about whether or not consumers should be empowered to report businesses to the state who were not adhering to the guidelines, Sununu said the state didn't have "a snitch line" and he didn't believe in having one.

Sununu was also asked about the National Guard extension and he hoped the federal government would extend the order to cover the costs. He said they were doing an "unbelievable" job assisting the state with call centers, at food banks, and in other ways.

"(They're an) awesome resource," he said, "(and) we are using them as a resource wherever they are needed … (they) are all over the state."

Currently, the state has a $150 million budget hole for this year and another $350 million or more for next year but broad-based taxes would not be on the table, Sununu said. He hoped there would be more funds in the next federal package and the state would need to look at its spending while protecting children, special education, domestic violence, addiction, and other sectors of the government that need protection.

When asked, again, if all or nearly all of the deaths associated with COVID-19 in New Hampshire have been people with underlying or chronic health conditions, Sununu said it was the vast number of deaths.

In a follow-up question from last month, with the introduction of antibody testing and understanding that there is still focused on contact tracing and investigations of immediate cases, is the department going to circle back with people who think they were sick to see if they had it back then and didn't know it or when testing opens up to other categories, can those people come forward to get antibody testing to see if they had it, Sununu said anyone who thinks they may have had the coronavirus previously can reach out to ClearChoiceMD and request an antibody test, with no financial barrier.

Learn More About 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.
  • Anybody who is told to self-quarantine and stay at home due to exposure to a person with confirmed or suspect COVID-19 needs to stay home and not go out into public places.
  • If you are 60 years or older or have chronic medical conditions, you need to stay home and not go out.
  • Avoid gatherings of 10 people or more.
  • Employers need to move to telework as much as possible.
  • There is increasing evidence that this virus can survive for hours or possibly even a few days on surfaces, so 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 when sick (i.e., social distancing).
  • 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.

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