NH Coronavirus Cases, Deaths, Hospitalizations Trend Down: Data

CONCORD, NH — State health officials announced Tuesday that several new coronavirus categories being tracked are trending down, which is positive news — but New Hampshire is not out of the woods yet.

Four more people, three women and a man, who all lived in Hillsborough County and were all 60 years of age or older, died Tuesday due to complications of or because of COVID-19. They were all connected to long-term care facilities. The fatality count in the state is now 214 or about 5 percent of all infections.

"We offer our sympathies to the families and friends," the State Joint Information Center said.

The state also reported three more outbreaks in long-term care facilities as well as 34 new positive test results while more than 1,900 specimens were collected Monday. The accumulative positive test count is 4,231 with 2,550, about 60 percent, recovering from the virus.

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All of the new cases were adults, with half women and half men, and one needing hospitalization. Slightly less than 10 percent of all COVID-19 cases have required expanded medical attention with 91 still hospitalized. Three of the new cases had no identified risk factors while others contracted the virus due to traveling or by being in contact with a person who was a confirmed case.

According to the state, 75,633 tests have been taken with 71,402 or 94.4 percent offering a negative result. Around 4,150 Granite Staters are under public health monitoring.

At a news conference Tuesday, Lori Shibinette, the commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, said health officials were watching data in two-week intervals to see if there were any super-clusters of infections.

Four 14-day tracking charts that state health officials are eyeing showing that, despite a slow reopening process that is about two weeks old and fluctuating daily data, positive testing, new hospital admissions, active hospitalizations are all trending down while accumulative recoveries have reached 60 percent. Credit: Tony Schinella

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.

• 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.

ALSO READ:

• Testing Opportunities For Coronavirus To Expand In New Hampshire
• Hillsborough County Continues To Be NH's Coronavirus 'Hot Spot'
• More Than 2,200 In NH Recover From Coronavirus: Data
• Rayno: A Whole Lot Of CARES Act Money — But Way More NH Need
• Charest: In Defense Of Newspapers — Or Is It Time To Let Them Burn?

Got a news tip? Send it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube channel.