Restrictions extended at New Hampshire courts

Restrictions on in-person proceedings in New Hampshire state courts will be extended at least through Aug. 17, the Supreme Court said Friday.

The order, which covers all circuit, superior and supreme court functions, means judges will continue to conduct court proceedings by video and other remote means. Face coverings must also be worn by anyone entering Judicial Branch buildings.

Court buildings will remain open for certain functions, but clerk’s offices will not be open to the general public. Residents can request case files electronically through the court's e-filing portal or by calling the court's information center.

Meanwhile, Gov. Chris Sununu's office announced Friday that applications are now open for a new $2 million state program meant to expand youth summer program options during the pandemic.

The Empowering Youth Program is geared to initiating or expanding summer and fall offerings for middle and high-school aged students. Activities such as day camps, sports, and other recreational programs are eligible for the funding.

The program is administered by the state Department of Health and Human Services with funding from the $2 trillion federal coronavirus relief bill.

The numbers

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services announced 45 new positive test results for COVID-19 on Saturday, plus two additional deaths.

There have now been 6,415 cases of COVID-19 diagnosed in New Hampshire. Several cases are still under investigation.

Of those with complete information, there are three individuals under the age of 18 and the rest are adults with 48% being female and 52% being male. The new cases reside in Rockingham (10), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (8), Strafford (5), Belknap (2), Merrimack (2), and Grafton (1) counties, and in the cities of Manchester (12) and Nashua (5).

One new hospitalized case was identified for a total of 686 (11%) of 6,415 cases. Ten of the new cases had no identified risk factors. Community-based transmission continues to occur in the State and has been identified in all counties. Most of the remaining cases have either had close contact with a person with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis or have recently traveled.

Of the two deaths, one was a female resident of Merrimack County and the other was a male resident of Hillsborough County. Both were aged 60 years or older.

Massachusetts

Nantucket is seeing an increase in coronavirus cases as vacationers descend on the famous island getaway off Massachusetts.

Local health officials on the island off Cape Cod say 24 of the island's total 38 cases have come in the past month, with nine of them reported in roughly the last week.

Roughly 60% of those who have tested positive on the island are in their 20s and 30s, though a man in his 80s has died, town officials said.

Nantucket officials say the rise in cases is attributed to increased virus testing and the arrival of the summer vacation crowd.

Among the notable vacationers is Vice President Mike Pence, who is visiting Saturday for a pricey fundraiser for President Donald Trump's reelection campaign.

Meanwhile, state health officials reported 14 new deaths and 214 additional positive cases of COVID-19 late Friday.

That brings Massachusetts' death toll to more than 8,200 and nearly 108,000 total confirmed cases since the pandemic started.

On Friday, Republican Gov. Charlie Baker announced strict new travel restrictions to control spread of the virus will take effect Aug. 1.

Rhode Island

Law enforcement officials will once again step up presence in Rhode Island's popular beach communities this weekend to enforce the state's virus restrictions.

The state Department of Environmental Management said environmental police, state police and local police departments will be deploying extra officers to limit crowds, manage traffic, and crack down on illegal parking in the coastal communities of Narragansett, South Kingstown, Charlestown and Westerly.

State health department officials will also again pass out free face masks to beachgoers not wearing them.

The measures, including drastically cutting down parking at major state beaches, were rolled out last weekend after complaints that large crowds not following virus safety guidelines were packing the state's shoreline.

Connecticut

Connecticut officials on Saturday closed several state parks as parking lots reached capacity limits set under coronavirus-related restrictions.

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said the closed parks included Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, Sherwood Island State Park in Westport, Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme, Silver Sands State Park in Milford and Bigelow Hollow State Park in Union.

State environmental officials have limited parking at state parks to as low as 25% of total parking capacity to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Positive virus testing rates continue to remain low in the state, with less than 1% of tests coming back positive. Nearly 48,800 people have tested positive for the virus to date and more than 4,400 people have died, while daily virus deaths have averaged in the single digits for several weeks.

Seventy-one people with COVID-19 are hospitalized in Connecticut.

Vermont

A Vermont town and a summer youth camp for New York-area girls have reached a deal to resolve complaints of excessive noise at the former college campus where it operates.

Zichron Chaim camp in Bennington will move its assemblies from a large outdoor tent into the former South Vermont College gymnasium and take steps to reduce loud noise, the Bennington Banner reported.

The camp operator will also install air conditioning in the gym for the assemblies, at a cost of more than $120,000.

The deal was reached Wednesday after the town had obtained a restraining order. Moshe Perlstein, the camp's director said he plans a three-week camp for boys to follow.

The newspaper previously reported that the camp was being monitored for compliance with COVID-19 regulations, but had incurred no violations on that front.

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