Posted on by Bonnie

COVID-19 Update 15 November 2021

COVID-19 Update 15 November 2021

COVID-19 numbers are growing. We have 2x as many active cases now than we had one year ago.  And we have more active cases today than we had the day before we hit our peak last December 27. 

  • SALEM
  • Salem since last update: 86 new cases
  • Total: 3,790 confirmed cases in Salem
  • We now have 94 active cases (64 last week)
  • 1 out of every 8 Salem residents has been infected.
  • Salem’s new cases per 100K for 14 days: 481 (321 last week)
  • Salem’s Positivity Rate for the past 2 weeks: 9.3%. (6.9% last week).
  • Fully vaccinated Salem residents: 14,541 (48.6%). 
  • Partially vaccinated Salem residents: 15,772 (52.7%). 

NEW HAMPSHIRE:

  • New cases of COVID-19 in NH this week by math (Total cases last week compared to total cases today): 5,517. (4,542 last week) 
  • New cases of COVID-19 in NH this week as reported by DHHS: 5,595. Last week: 4,725.
  • 1 out of every 9 NH residents has been infected. (It was 1:10 last week.)
  • Active COVID-19 cases in NH: 6,295 (5,164 last week). We had 6,119 on December 26, 2020 — 176 less than today. The next day reached our peak (6,994 on December 27). There were 155 active cases on June 28.
  • Recovered in NH this week: 4,355. (3,295 last week.)
  • State Level of Transmission: Substantial in all counties 
  • New patients hospitalized this week because of COVID-19: 21???. Last week: 80.
  • Current patients hospitalized because of COVID-19: 260??? (212 one week ago; 193 two weeks ago)
  • New admissions to ICU this week because of COVID-19: MINUS 2??? Last week: 15
  • New deaths attributed to COVID-19 reported in NH this week: 31 
  • From the Vaccination Dashboard: Total NH individuals fully vaccinated: 769,857 (54.9%). Total NH individuals partially vaccinated: 851,482 (60.3%). Per NHPR: “Over the summer, the gap in vaccinations as reported by the state and the CDC grew to a discrepancy of more than 200,000 first doses. The state health department’s data is currently showing 60 percent of the total population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, while the CDC puts that same figure at 75 percent.” In the governor’s press conference a few weeks ago, State officials reported that the CDC records for vaccinations in NH are more accurate than the State’s records. It might take weeks or months to resolve the issues.

Hello, Salem!

Random thoughts from this week:

We have more active cases today than we had the day before we hit peak last December. Hospitalizations and deaths associated with COVID-19 are still increasing. Breakthrough cases are increasing.

It appears to me that the State still has issues with their collection methods, as they are still reporting multiple days together:

  • On Tuesday, DHHS reported new positive test results for COVID-19 for Friday, November 5, Saturday, November 6, and Monday, November 8, plus five deaths that occurred from August 16 to October 18.  
  • On Wednesday, DHHS reported new positive test results for COVID-19 for Friday, November 5; Saturday, November 6; Sunday, November 7; Monday, November 8 and Tuesday, November 9.  
  • On Friday, DHHS reported new positive test results for COVID-19 for Sunday, November 7; Monday, November 8; Tuesday, November 9; Wednesday, November 10 and Thursday, November 11.
  • On Monday, DHHS reported new positive test results for COVID-19 for Wednesday, November 10; Thursday, November 11; Friday, November 12; Saturday, November 13 and Sunday, November 14.

They are also still reporting significantly lower vaccination rates than the CDC is reporting for our State, and the Governor’s team has reported a few weeks ago that the CDC numbers are more accurate than theirs.

On Nov. 10, the Governor said that the State of NH doesn’t know how many NH children have been vaccinated, and admitted that our numbers are not accurate. There is no information available now regarding booster shots, either. The Governor estimated that we have 3 times as many cases now as we had one year ago.


Per CDC guidelines: 

  • Everyone 2 years of age or older who is not fully vaccinated should wear a mask in indoor public places.
  • If you are fully vaccinated, to maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others, wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission. 

Per NH DHHS, Salem, Rockingham County, and all of NH are at a substantial level of transmission. New Hampshire has been at a substantial level of community transmission for months.

My next update is scheduled for next Monday. I remain hopeful that sometime soon the State will have figured things out, and resolved all of the reporting issues. In the meantime, stay safe, and always, be kind. 

~Bonnie 

On Tuesday, November 9, 2021, DHHS announced 363 new positive test results for COVID-19 for Monday, November 8. Today’s results include 197 people who tested positive by PCR test and 166 who tested positive by antigen test. DHHS also announced an additional 21 new cases from Friday, November 5 (7 by PCR and 14 by antigen test, for a new total of 611); and an additional 6 new cases from Saturday, November 6 (6 by PCR and 0 by antigen test, for a new total of 912). There are now 5,029 current COVID-19 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire. 

On Tuesday, DHHS also reported five more deaths that occurred from the week of August 16 to the week of October 18. Two were under 60 and three were 60+. One was from Rockingham County.

On Wednesday, November 10, 2021, DHHS announced 736 new positive test results for COVID-19 for Tuesday, November 9. Today’s results include 428 people who tested positive by PCR test and 308 who tested positive by antigen test. DHHS also announced an additional 18 new cases from Friday, November 5 (9 by PCR and 9 by antigen test) for a new total of 629; an additional 33 new cases from Saturday, November 6 (16 by PCR and 17 by antigen test) for a new total of 945; an additional 13 new cases from Sunday, November 7 (11 by PCR and 2 by antigen test) for a new total of 438; and an additional 1 new case from Monday, November 8 (0 by PCR and 1 by antigen test) for a new total of 364. There are now 5,455 current COVID-19 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire. 

No numbers were reported on Thursday, November 11, because of Veteran’s Day.

The press report, expected on Friday, November 12 was not published, although the dashboards were updated as expected. As of 9:00 am on Monday, November 15, the last press release published was dated Wednesday, November 10. Later on Monday, Friday’s report was issued: On Friday, November 12, 2021, DHHS announced 1,007 new positive test results for COVID-19 for Thursday, November 11. Today’s results include 735 people who tested positive by PCR test and 272 who tested positive by antigen test. DHHS also announced 822 cases from Wednesday, November 10 (544 by PCR and 278 by antigen test). Additionally, DHHS announced an additional 23 new cases from Sunday, November 7 (12 by PCR and 11 by antigen test) for a new total of 456; an additional 151 new cases from Monday, November 8 (84 by PCR and 67 by antigen test) for a new total of 511; and an additional 157 new cases from Tuesday, November 9 (90 by PCR and 67 by antigen test) for a new total of 893. There are now 6,466 current COVID-19 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire. 

On Monday, November 15, 2021, DHHS announced 479 new positive test results for COVID-19 for Sunday, November 14. Today’s results include 374 people who tested positive by PCR test and 105 who tested positive by antigen test. DHHS also announced 675 cases from Friday, November 12 (463 by PCR and 212 by antigen test); and 916 cases from Saturday, November 13 (704 by PCR and 212 by antigen test). Additionally, DHHS announced an additional 128 new cases from Wednesday, November 10 (60 by PCR and 68 by antigen test) for a new total of 950; and an additional 46 new cases from Thursday, November 11 (19 by PCR and 27 by antigen test) for a new total of 1,053. There are now 6,295 current COVID-19 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire. 

Each day, DHHS says that “Test results for previous days are still being processed and updated case counts for prior days will be reflected on the COVID-19 interactive dashboard.” And, “Several cases are still under investigation. Additional information from ongoing investigations will be incorporated into future COVID-19 updates.” 

• • • • • • DIAGNOSTIC TESTS IN NH • • • • • •

  • Total people who have tested positive: 146,834 (141,317) last week)
  • New positive cases reported this week by math (Comparison of total number of cases last week to now): 5,517 (4,542 last week)
  • New positive cases per DHHS: 5,595 (4,725 last week)

• • • • • ACTIVE CASES • • • • • • 

  • NH has 6,295 active cases. Last week we had 5,164. We were down to 214 cases as recently as June 28. Peak was 6,994 on December 27, 2020. We have more active cases today than we had on December 26.
  • As of Friday, 11 NH communities — Manchester, Nashua, Concord, Claremont, Rochester, Derry, Durham, Londonderry, Dover, Merrimack and Bedford — had more active cases than Salem, and Conway was tied with us.

• • • • • CUMULATIVE CASES • • • • • • 

  • As of Friday, 4 communities — Manchester, Nashua, Concord and Derry — had more total cases than Salem.
  • 1 out of every 8 Salem residents has been infected 
  • 1 out of every 9 residents of Rockingham County (1:10 last week)
  • 1 out of every 9 residents of NH have been infected. (1:10 last week)
  • Of the communities with a population of more than 10,000, four have a worse ratio than Salem: Durham, Berlin, Manchester, and Pelham. They range from 1:5 to 1:7. There are nine communities, including Salem, are 1:8. 
  • Of all NH Communities, nine have a worse ratio than Salem: Waterville Valley, Durham, Stewartstown, Plymouth, Tilton, Errol, Berlin, Manchester and Pelham. They range from 1:5 to 1:7. 22 communities, including Salem, are 1:8. 

• • • • • • RECOVERED • • • • • •

  • Total recovered: 138,909 (134,554 last week)
  • Recovered this week: 4,355 (3,295 last week)
  • Percentage of diagnosed cases that have recovered: 94.6% (98.3% in late July.) 

• • • • • COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION • • • • • • 

  • Every county in NH, as well as Manchester and Nashua, are at Substantial risk for community transmission.
  • Cases per 100K NH residents: 584 (519 last week.
  • Positivity Rate for NH: 7.2% (6.8% last week)

• • • • • • HOSPITALIZATIONS IN NH • • • • • • 

  • Currently hospitalized: 260 (Last week: 212)
  • Friday’s hospitalization was 255. We last saw this level on January 15. Peak was reached on January 2, with 335 COVID hospitalizations.
  • Staffed hospital beds available: 12.8%
  • Total hospitalized patients: 2,015 (1,994 last week) 
  • New patients hospitalized this week because of COVID-19: 21. (80 last week)
  • Percentage of those who have been infected that have been hospitalized: 1.4% 
  • Total ICU patients: 576
  • New admissions to ICU this week because of COVID-19: Minus 2 (15 last week)
  • Staffed adult ICU beds available: 6.7%
  • Ventilators available: 72.7% 

• • • • • • DEATHS IN NH • • • • • • 

  • Total fatalities in NH associated with COVID-19: 1,630
  • New deaths attributed to COVID-19 reported in NH this week: 31
  • NH Residents diagnosed with COVID-19 that died: 1.11% 

• • • • • • TOTALS BY AGES • • • • • •

(Showing changes since week — Friday to Friday)

  • 0-9: Infections: 10967 (+726); Hospitalizations: 22 (+3); Deaths: 0 (+0)
  • 10-19: Infections: 19714 (+931); Hospitalizations: 16 (+1); Deaths: 0 (+0)
  • 20-29: Infections: 26755 (+693); Hospitalizations: 48 (+2); Deaths: 2 (+0)
  • 30-39: Infections: 21493 (+752); Hospitalizations: 89 (+2); Deaths: 12 (+1)
  • 40-49: Infections: 18693 (+654); Hospitalizations: 154 (+7); Deaths: 26 (+2)
  • 50-59: Infections: 20758 (+604); Hospitalizations: 282 (+10); Deaths: 55 (+1)
  • 60-69: Infections: 13964 (+501); Hospitalizations: 459 (+27); Deaths: 180 (+4)
  • 70-79: Infections: 6896 (+200); Hospitalizations: 481 (+13); Deaths: 389 (+3)
  • 80+: Infections: 5180 (+167); Hospitalizations: 460 (+11); Deaths: 958 (+14)
  • Unknown: Infections: 206 (+74); Hospitalizations: 0 (+0); Deaths: 0 (+0)
  • Total: Infections: 144626 (+5302); Hospitalizations: 2011 (+76); Deaths: 1622 (+25)

New Infections in the Past 4 Weeks vs. All NH Cases 

  • 0-9: 12.8% vs. 7.6% (+5.2%)
  • 10-19: 16.6% vs. 13.6% (+3%)
  • 20-29: 13.1% vs. 18.5% (-5.4%)
  • 30-39: 14.4% vs. 14.9% (-0.5%)
  • 40-49: 12.5% vs. 12.9% (-0.4%)
  • 50-59: 12.2% vs. 14.4% (-2.2%)
  • 60-69: 9.7% vs. 9.7% (0%)
  • 70-79: 4.9% vs. 4.8% (+0.1%)
  • 80+: 3.2% vs. 3.6% (-0.4%)
  • Unknown: 0.5% vs. 0.1% (+0.4%)

Additional Age Stats

  • 1,577 children under 18 are included in this week’s new cases.  (1,303 last week)
  • 28.2% of new cases announced by DHHS this week are kids under 18 years old. 
  • Under 60, this week: 4,553 new cases; 6 hospitalizations; 4 deaths
  • 60+, this week: 897 new cases; 15 hospitalizations; 27 deaths

• • • • • • Institutional Outbreaks in NH • • • • • •  

  • NH DHHS reported 23 institutional outbreaks as of Wednesday, Nov. 10. Last week there were 17 outbreaks. The numbers at the Hillsborough County Department of Corrections, continues to grow, now reporting 148 residents infected, an increase of 12 since last week.
  • Details about these active outbreaks, and all closed outbreaks, can be seen here.
  • This week: 182 people from long-term care facilities were diagnosed, 5 were hospitalized, 16 died. (Total: 7,842 cases; 349 hospitalizations, 987 deaths.)
  • This week: 128 healthcare workers were diagnosed, 2 were hospitalized, 0 died. (Total: 6,263 cases; 94 hospitalizations, 11 deaths.) (2 of the 11 deaths were in the last  2 weeks).

• • • • • • VARIANTS IN NH • • • • • •  

Per WMUR, NH has had:

  • Number of B.1.1.7 variant (Alpha; UK) cases: 1,259 No change) 
  • Number of B.1.351 variant (Beta; South Africa) cases: 2 (No change)
  • Number of P.1 variant (Gamma; Brazil) cases: 203 (No change)
  • Number of B.1.617.2 variant (Delta; India) cases: 2,144 (2,090 last week)

These are not simply numbers. We must not forget that these are all someone’s husband or wife, mother or father, sister or brother, son or daughter, friend or neighbor.

The chart above was published in the September issue of the AARP Bulletin. It is based on information from the article, “Vital Statistics: Provisional Life Expectancy Estimates for 2020,” which was published by the CDC.

FINDING INFORMATION:

The State lists information on where to get vaccinated, where to get tested, and what to do if you test positive or were exposed to COVID on their website.

COVID-19 SYMPTOMS – Updated early September 2021

Concerns continue to grow for the Delta variant of COVID-19, which now accounts for 93% of all new COVID-19 infections. Descriptions of symptoms have been updated:

Ranking of Symptoms for Covid-19 Infection in the Unvaccinated

  1. Headache
  2. Sore Throat
  3. Runny Nose
  4. Fever
  5. Persistent cough 

Loss of smell now comes in at number 9, and shortness of breath is way down the list at number 30.

Ranking of Symptoms for Covid-19 Infection in the Partially Vaccinated

  1. Headache
  2. Runny Nose
  3. Sore throat
  4. Sneezing
  5. Persistent Cough

Sneezing, which was never thought to be a symptom in the original Covid strain, is now ranked more common than a cough, for a reported symptom in those with only one dose of the vaccine.

Ranking of Symptoms for Covid-19 Infection in the Fully Vaccinated

  1. Headache
  2. Runny Nose
  3. Sneezing
  4. Sore throat
  5. Loss of smell

A cough ranks 8 on the list for fully vaccinated people, and a fever ranks 12. Shortness of breath is way down the list at number 29.

Breakthrough COVID-19 symptoms:

  • While some vaccinated people are getting COVID, it is still rare, and 99.9% of all recent hospitalizations and deaths associated with COVID-19 are people who are not vaccinated.
  • CDC reports that 79% of those who are found to have breakthrough infections have a cough, headache, sore throat, myalgia and fever. 
  • NBC says approximately 1 in 900 vaccinated people have had breakthrough infections. The vast majority of those had mild or no symptoms. 

A new study shows that unvaccinated people are 17x more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than people who are fully vaccinated.

Useful links

Sources used to create these reports:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *