Health & Fitness

NH COVID-19 Update: 44 New Positive Cases; UNH Testing Thousands

Data: 3 more children infected in New Hampshire; nearly 264K people tested; 20 active school cases; 98% of all tests negative; and more.

CONCORD, NH — Another 44 people, including three children, have contracted the new coronavirus in New Hampshire bringing the case count to 8,085.

Ninety-one percent of all infections have recovered from the virus.

Fifty-five percent of the new infections were women with nine living in Hillsborough County outside of Manchester and Nashua, seven living in Nashua, four residing in Rockingham County, and three living in Merrimack County. The residency of two is still under investigation.

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Two of the new cases required hospitalization and 19 are currently hospitalized. The state said 15 had no identified risk factors.

State Integrates UNH Testing

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

On Friday, polymerase chain reaction test data from the University of New Hampshire was integrated into the daily counts — showing a huge jump in the number of tests being performed in New Hampshire.

Between Sept. 18 and Sept. 24, between 355 and 5,123 tests were performed at UNH. The addition of the tests more than doubled the daily test count nearly every day this week and increased the daily average of testing to nearly 7,300 during the last week.

With the addition of the UNH tests, daily increases in testing numbers have risen to between 8,000 and 13,000 per day in the month of September.

The state said 263,983 people have been tested in New Hampshire with PCR tests with 422,951 tests being issued. Of those tests, more than 98 percent offered a negative result.

New School Cases In NH

The state reported a number of new COVID-19 infections connected to K-12 schools.

The Allenstown Elementary School reported its first case Thursday as did the Hollis Primary School. St. Paul's School in Concord also reported its second case Thursday.

The state now has 20 active cases of the new coronavirus in K-12 schools.

At colleges and universities, UNH-Durham has 44 active cases and 88 recovered cases. Other colleges reporting active cases include Colby-Sawyer College, Dartmouth College, Keene State College, and New England College-Henniker all each with one current case. UNH School of Law in Concord has three active cases.

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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.

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