COVID-19 Update 2 Aug 2021

COVID-19 Update 2 August 2021

The next update is scheduled for next Monday.

SALEM:

Salem since last update: 15 new cases.
Salem has now had over 3,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Total: 3,007 confirmed cases in Salem
We now have 18 active cases.
1 out of every 10 Salem residents has been infected.
Salem’s new cases per 100K for 14 days: 87
Salem’s Positivity Rate for the past 2 weeks: 5.9%. It was down to zero three weeks ago.

NEW HAMPSHIRE:

New cases of COVID-19 cases in NH rose by 700
Active COVID-19 cases in NH more than doubled to 738. (364 last week)
16 more people were admitted to the hospital because of COVID-19 this week.
3 more people were admitted to the ICU this week. We know that 491 people have been admitted to the ICU. What we don’t know is how many are still in the ICU, how many have been intubated, or how many are still on ventilators.
2 more COVID-19 deaths were reported in NH since the last update; one was from our County.
Total NH individuals fully vaccinated: About 53.7% of our population, a one-week increase of only 0.1%. 58.3% are partially vaccinate, a one-week increase of only 0.3%.

On Tuesday, July 27, 2021, DHHS announced 118 new positive test results for COVID-19. Today’s results include 58 people who tested positive by PCR test and 60 who tested positive by antigen test. There are now 440 current COVID-19 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire. [Rockingham County: 28 (23.7%); Salem: 2 (1.7%)]

On Wednesday, July 28, 2021, DHHS announced 90 new positive test results for COVID-19. Today’s results include 43 people who tested positive by PCR test and 47 who tested positive by antigen test. There are now 489 current COVID-19 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire. [Rockingham County: 25 (27.8%); Salem: 1 (1.1%)]

On Thursday, July 29, 2021, DHHS announced 101 new positive test results for COVID-19. Today’s results include 53 people who tested positive by PCR test and 48 who tested positive by antigen test. There are now 528 current COVID-19 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire. [Rockingham County: 26 (25.7%); Salem: 3 (3%)]

On Friday, July 30, 2021, DHHS announced 118 new positive test results for COVID-19. Today’s results include 76 people who tested positive by PCR test and 42 who tested positive by antigen test. There are now 586 current COVID-19 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire. [Rockingham County: 17 (14.4%); Salem: 2 (1.7%)]

The “daily” press release wasn’t released today. Some date is missing because of that. Since that covers Saturday, Sunday and Monday, it is disappointing that NH DHHS left this out again.

Update:

On Monday, August 2, 2021, DHHS announced 99 new positive test results for COVID-19 for August 1. Today’s results include 63 people who tested positive by PCR test and 36 who tested positive by antigen test. DHHS also announced 133 cases from July 30 (85 by PCR test and 48 by antigen test), and 110 cases from July 31 (65 by PCR test and 45 by antigen test). There are now 738 current COVID-19 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire.

Each day, DHHS says that “Several cases are still under investigation. Additional information from ongoing investigations will be incorporated into future COVID-19 updates.” Percentages shown are % of new cases.

• • • • • • TODAY’S SUMMARY • • • • • •

15 more Salem residents were diagnosed with COVID-19 this week. This brings our total to 3,007 Salem residents who have had confirmed case of COVID-19.
Salem’s active cases increased to 18 people this week.
DHHS says Salem’s new cases for the past two weeks per 100K residents is 87.
Salem’s positivity rate for PCR & antigen results in the past week is 5.9%. 3 weeks ago, it was zero. Last week it was not reported.
NH has added 700 new cases in the past week. (320 new cases the week before, 196 the week before that.)
NH reported 324 more people have “recovered” since my last update. After allowing for those who lost their lives because of COVID-19, NH’s number of active cases went up by 374 since my last report, to 738.
We were able to get down to 155 active cases, on June 28. When things reached the low point for active cases last fall, we got down to 209 on Sept 4.
Of the new cases this week, 62 were healthcare workers, and 27 were in long-term care facilities.
Rockingham has more the doubled the number of active cases. We are now at 178 active cases; we had 85 last week and 40 the previous week.
NH has had 81.3 new cases per 100K residents in the past 14 days. One week ago, it was 44.2, and two weeks ago it was down to 30.2
- Only six communities have numbers reported for Cumulative cases per 100K residents:
  - Rochester (111)
  - Nashua (96)
  - Derry (93)
  - Manchester (89)
  - Dover (87, tied with Salem)
  - Salem (87)

NH’s positivity rate for PCR & antigen results in the past week is 3.3%. One week ago it was 2.1%.
DHHS is reporting a total of 1,654 people who have been hospitalized because of COVID-19, an increase of 16 since last week. A total of 359 Rockingham County residents have been hospitalized because of COVID-19, which is 2 more than what DHHS reported last week.
The number of patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19 is 28 which is 5 more than we had one week ago. We were down to 6 on Sept 12, before things starting escalating. More recently, we were down to 12 on Wednesday, July 7.
The total number of ICU admissions is 491, an increase of 3 ICU admissions in the past week.
There have been 2 deaths in the past week, bringing the total to 1,387 people who have died in NH due to COVID-19. There has been a total of 270 lives lost in Rockingham County, which is one more than last week.

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

Recent CDC recommendations are based on Community Transmissions.

Per NH Department of Health and Human Services some time ago: The overall level of community transmission is defined using three metrics. A community is then assigned an overall level based on the highest-level determination for any specific metric. NH Metrics are:

New Cases per 100k over 14 days: Scale: Minimal: <50; Moderate: 50 – 100; Substantial: >100.

New Hospitalizations per 100k over 14 days: Scale: Minimal: <10; Moderate: 10 – 20; Substantial: >20.

Average PCR Test Positivity Rate over 7 days: Scale: Minimal: <5%; Moderate: 5% – 10; Substantial: >10%

More recently, they stopped the hospital metric, and now only report the New Cases per 100K, and Average PCR Test Positivity Rate.

On the same day last week that the CDC made mask recommendations based on Community Transmission, the State added a new selection on the map dashboard’s list of options: Community Transmission. Unfortunately, when we attempt to see the data, every day it says, “Resource not found.” The colored map on that dashboard shows that Belknap County has substantial community transmission. Sullivan County has minimal community transmission. All other counties, including Manchester and Nashua, have a moderate level of transmission. (On Friday, Belknap was substantial, but only Merrimack, Rockingham and Strafford counties, and Manchester and Nashua were moderate.) NH, shown on the school dashboard, is moderate.

Cases per 100K residents:
- NH: 81.3 (44.2 last week)
- Belknap: 101.1 (75 last week)
- Carroll: 59.3 (45 last week)
- Cheshire: 65.7 (36.8 last week)
- Coos: 53.9 (41.2 last week)
- Grafton: 70.1 (37.8 last week)
- Manchester: 88.6 (33.1 last week)
- Merrimack:68.7 (50.2 last week)
- Nashua:95.9 (48 last week)
- Rest of Hillsborough excluding Manchester and Nashua: 66.7 (32.9 last week)
- Rockingham: 85.5 (44.2 last week)
- Strafford: 78.8 (38.3 last week)
- Sullivan: 39.4 (27.8 last week)
Only six communities have numbers reported for Cumulative Cases per 100K residents:
- Rochester (111)
- Nashua (96)
- Derry (93)
- Manchester (89)
- Dover (87)
- Salem (87)

Positivity Rate:
- NH: 3.3% (was 2.1% last week)
- Belknap: 2.60% (2.90% last week)
- Carroll: 1.80% (2.30% last week)
- Cheshire: 3.60% (1.30% last week)
- Coos: 3.10% (0.80% last week)
- Grafton: 1.60% (0.90% last week)
- Manchester: 4.80% (2.60% last week)
- Merrimack: 3.40% (2.80% last week)
- Nashua: 5.00% (2.50% last week)
- Rest of Hillsborough excluding Manchester and Nashua: 3.80% (1.80% last week)
- Rockingham: 4.40% (3.00% last week)
- Strafford: 3.80% (1.70% last week)
- Sullivan: 1.90% (0.70% last week)
There are 42 NH communities with a positivity rate of more than 0. (21 a week ago, 9 two weeks ago). There are 41 communities with a positivity rate higher than 2%. (20 a week ago). 22 communities have more than 5% (8 a week ago). 6 communities have a positivity rate of more than 10%. (1 a week ago.) 13 communities have a positivity rate higher than Salem’s.
Salem’s neighbors with higher positivity rates
- Atkinson (10.10%)
- Pelham (6.90%)
- Salem (5.90%)
- Londonderry (5.60%)
- Windham (5.20%)
- Nashua (5.00%)
- Manchester (4.80%)
- Derry (4.00%)

• • • • • ACTIVE CASES • • • • • •

NH has 738 active cases. Last week we had 364. We were down to 155 cases as recently as June 28.
Rockingham County has 178 active cases. (85 last week, 40 the previous week.
All counties have active cases:
- Belknap: 30 (13 last week)
- Carroll: 11 (7)
- Cheshire: 15 (10)
- Coos: 2 (11)
- Grafton: 22 (12)
- Manchester: 25 (10)
- Merrimack: 44 (27)
- Nashua: 28 (21)
- Rest of Hillsborough: 39 (38)
- Rockingham: 85 (40)
- Strafford: 25 (18)
- Sullivan: 6 (4)
- Unknown: 32 (13)
37 communities now have 5 or more active cases, accounting for 209 (57.4%) of the 364 total active cases. Last week it was 17 communities, responsible for 209 total active cases (57.4%) of the 364 total active cases. The previous week it was 10 communities, who had 5 or more active cases. (All others have less than 5 active cases.)
Communities with more active cases than Salem are:
- Manchester (66)
- Nashua (63)
- Derry (23)
- Bedford (20)
- Rochester (20)
- Dover (19)
- Londonderry (19)
- Hudson (18; tied with Salem)

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

Total people who have tested positive: 100,986
New positive cases by my math: 700
New positive cases per DHHS: ?

• • • • • • ROCKINGHAM COUNTY (22.78% of NH’s population) • • • • • •

Total people who have tested positive: 24,754
New positive cases: 172
Percentage of today’s new positive cases: 24.6%
Positivity rate: 4.4%

• • • • • • CHANGES BY AGES • • • • • •

Counts of kids under 18 for the past 3 days weren’t available today.
Under 60: 260 new cases; 6 hospitalizations, 0 deaths
60+: 60 new cases; 10 hospitalizations; 3 deaths

(Totals showing changes since my last report, which was last Monday.)

0-9: 6% of Total cases: 5752 (+54); Hospitalizations: 12 (+1); Deaths: 0
10-19: 13% of Total cases: 12641 (+80); Hospitalizations: 13 (+2); Deaths: 0
20-29: 20% of Total cases: 20254 (+160); Hospitalizations: 35; Deaths: 1
30-39: 15% of Total cases: 14874 (+117); Hospitalizations: 70 (+3); Deaths: 7
40-49: 13% of Total cases: 13271 (+96); Hospitalizations: 120 (+2); Deaths: 12
50-59: 15% of Total cases: 15397 (+100); Hospitalizations: 232 (+4); Deaths: 36 (+1)
60-69: 10% of Total cases: 9874 (+57); Hospitalizations: 378 (+2); Deaths: 142
70-79: 5% of Total cases: 4874 (+28); Hospitalizations: 409 (+2); Deaths: 332
80+: 4% of Total cases: 3988 (+8); Hospitalizations: 385; Deaths: 857 (+1)
Unknown: 0% of Total cases: 61 (+0); Hospitalizations: 0; Deaths: 0

• • • • • • ACTIVE CASES • • • • • •

Active cases in NH: 738
Active cases in Rockingham County: 178

• • • • • • RECOVERED • • • • • •

Total recovered: 98,861
Recovered this week: 324
Percentage of diagnosed cases that have recovered: 97.9% (98.3% last week)

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

Currently hospitalized: 28
New people hospitalized from NH: 16
Total hospitalized patients: 1,654
Percentage of those who have been infected that have been hospitalized: 1.64%
Total admitted to ICU: 491
New ICU admissions this week: 3
New hospitalized patients from Rockingham County: 2 since last week
Total hospitalized patients from Rockingham County: 359

• • • • • • DEATHS IN NH • • • • • •

Total fatalities in NH associated with COVID-19: 1,387
Lives lost this week: 2
Persons over 60 years of age who died this week: 1
Persons under 60 years of age who died this week: 1
NH Residents diagnosed with COVID-19 that died: 1.37%
Lives lost in Rockingham County this week: 1
Total lives lost in Rockingham County: 270

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.

Hello, Salem!

Today, Salem parents were sent an email from the Salem School District entitled “Revised 2021-22 Reopening Plan.” In part, it said, “each student and staff member will be required to wear masks when indoors and unable to maintain a separation of three feet or more and acrylic shields are not available. This requirement applies regardless of vaccination status.” The full (revised) reopening plan can be found here.

Here are some random thoughts from this past week:

Outbreaks in NH:

NH DHHS reported institutional outbreaks on Thursday, July 29. There are no new locations. Epsom Health Center remains as the sole institution on the list, with 5 residents, and 2 staff having been infected.

Laconia Rehabilitation Center is closed. All other outbreaks, which can be seen here, were closed as of the 29^th.

Variants:

Concerns continue to grow for the Delta variant of COVID-19.

Some of the symptoms of the new Delta variant are different than the traditional COVID-19 symptoms. They can include:

Sore throat
Runny nose or congestion
Fever
Headaches
Stomach pain
Loss of appetite
Vomiting
Nausea
Joint pain
Hearing loss
Diarrhea
Small blood clots

The Delta variant is now the predominant variant in the US. NH has been blessed with only a small handful of cases so far. (It is important to note that not every positive case in NH is sequenced to determine the variant).

Per WMUR, as of July 30, NH had:

Total individuals fully vaccinated: 729,717 (53.7% of NH population)

Number of B.1.1.7 variant (Alpha; UK) cases: 1,143 (+41 since last week)
Number of B.1.351 variant (Beta; South Africa) cases: 1 (unchanged)
Number of P.1 variant (Gamma; Brazil) cases: 181(+9)
Number of B.1.617.2 variant (Delta; India) cases: 21 (+20)
Number of B.1.427 & B.1.429 variant (Epsilon; California) cases: 106 (unchanged)

Lambda Variant, C.37:

Scientists suspect Lambda SARS-CoV-2 variant is the most dangerous. The Lambda variant belongs to the C.37 lineage, which has been newly designated as a VOI on June 14, 2021, by WHO. This variant is predominantly spreading in South American countries that include Chile, Peru, Argentina, and Ecuador.
Lambda variant shows vaccine resistance – study: The researchers warn that with Lambda being labeled a “Variant of Interest” by the WHO, rather than a “Variant of Concern,” people might not realize it is a serious ongoing threat.

Lambda symptoms:
Currently, the symptoms of the Lambda variant are similar to that of the initial COVID-19 strain. Common symptoms that present themselves with the Lambda variant include the following:

Cough
High fever
Body pain
Loss of taste or smell
Trouble breathing

Additional suggested reading:

Infectious Disease Expert Explains Why Understanding COVID Variants is the Key to Beating COVID-19: Experts have identified each known variant explaining that each mutation offers the virus another opportunity to become more infectious, leading to more spreading. Here it is.
Delta infections among vaccinated likely contagious; Lambda variant shows vaccine resistance in lab is here. Note that although people are being infected with Delta after being vaccinated, 99.9+% of those who are being hospitalized or dying are those who have not yet been vaccinated.
Lambda variant: I’m concerned about this variant, so I suggest reading anything you find about the Lambda variant, including this one.

I plan to be back with another update next Monday night. In the meantime, stay safe, and always, be kind.

~Bonnie