Posted on by Bonnie

COVID-19 Update 24 April 2021

COVID-19 Update 24 April 2021

  • Total: 2,848 confirmed cases in Salem
  • Salem today: 5 new cases
  • 58 active cases 
  • 1 out of every 10 Salem residents has been infected
  • Salem’s new cases per 100K for 14 days: 378
  • Salem’s Positivity Rate for the past 2 weeks: 4.6%

On Saturday, April 24, 2021, DHHS announced 334 new positive test results for COVID-19, for a current PCR test positivity rate of 1.5%. Today’s results include 175 people who tested positive by PCR test and 159 who tested positive by antigen test. There are now 3,157 current COVID-19 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire. Of the results reported today: 

  • 4/23: 334 new cases 

Several cases are still under investigation. Additional information from ongoing investigations will be incorporated into future COVID-19 updates. 

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

  • Salem added 5 new cases in the past two days, bringing our total to 2,848 Salem residents who have had confirmed case of COVID-19.
  • Salem’s active cases decreased by 2 from yesterday to 58. Salem had 78 active cases one week ago.
  • Salem’s new cases per 100K residents is 378. Yesterday, it was 392. One week ago, it was 459.
  • Salem’s positivity rate for PCR & antigen results in the past week is 4.6%, a “moderate” level of community transmission. Yesterday it was 4.8%. One week ago, it was 7.5%. This is the lowest since I started tracking this metric on (December 3.
  • Today the new cases “by math” (yesterday vs. today’s cumulative total of positive cases as reported by DHHS) were 311. NH reported 351 people have “recovered” since yesterday’s update. After allowing for those who lost their lives today because of COVID-19, NH’s number of active cases went down by 41 to 3,1557 since yesterday. That’s 17 more active cases than we had a week ago.
  • NH has had 383.2 new cases per 100K residents in the past 14 days. Yesterday, it was 394.1. One week ago, it was 427.4.
  • NH’s positivity rate for PCR & antigen results in the past week is 4.1%. Yesterday it was 4.2%. One week ago, it was 4.8%.
  • NH’s positivity rate for PCR results returned today is 1.5% which is “minimal” community transmission. Yesterday it was 2.4%. A week ago, it was 2.8%.
  • DHHS is reporting a total of 1,297 people who have been hospitalized as of today because of COVID-19.  This is an increase of 1 person since yesterday’s update, and an increase of 18 since last week. There were no new hospitalization today from Rockingham County; our county’s total hospitalizations is been 291.
  • The number of patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19 is 103 which is a decrease of 5 since yesterday, and is 30 less than a week ago. 
  • While we have averaged 2.7 hospitalizations per day over the past week, today’s one is an improvement. However the past week, thre have been 18 patients hospitalized, of which 10 – more than half – have been under the age of 60, including the person hospitalized today who is in their 40’s.
  • The cumulative total of ICU admissions is unchanged since yesterday, leaving the total at 387. We have seen an increase of 4 ICU admissions in the past seven days. 
  • There was 1 life lost due to COVID-19 for the period covered by this report, bringing the total to 1,282 people who have died in NH due to COVID-19. We have lost 12 people in NH due to COVID-19 in the past week. 
  • While we have averaged 1.6 COVID-19 deaths per day over the past week, today’s one is an improvement, but it is concerning that this was a woman in her 30’s. I can’t help but wonder if she was someone’s mother or daughter, sister or aunt. 

• • • • • • Communities • • • • • •

DHHS reports that the new cases reside in the following counties: 
Rockingham (57), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (52), Strafford (39), Grafton (32), Cheshire (19), Merrimack (19), Belknap (17), Coos (13), Carroll (7), and Sullivan (1) counties, and in the cities of Manchester (36) and Nashua (18). The county of residence is being determined for twenty- four new cases. 

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

  • New positive cases by my math (Total of today’s cases minus previous total): 311
  • New positive cases per DHHS: 334
  • Percentage of today’s PCR tests that are positive per DHHS: 1.5%
  • Total people who have tested positive: 93,542
  • New negative results reported: 1,563
  • Total Negative Results: 597,511
  • • • • • • • ROCKINGHAM COUNTY • • • •, • •
  • Total cases in Rockingham County: 23,041
  • New cases in Rockingham County: 57
  • Rockingham County Positivity Rate: 5.0%

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

  • 69 children under 18 are included in today’s new cases.
  • 20.7% of new cases announced by DHHS today are kids under 18 years old.

(Totals, showing changes since yesterday.)

  • 0-9: 5% of Total cases: 4933 (+24); Hospitalizations: 8; Deaths: 0
  • 10-19: 12% of Total cases: 11406 (+56); Hospitalizations: 8; Deaths: 0
  • 20-29: 20% of Total cases: 18759 (+79); Hospitalizations: 31; Deaths: 1
  • 30-39: 15% of Total cases: 13698 (+44); Hospitalizations: 58; Deaths: 6 (+1)
  • 40-49: 13% of Total cases: 12348 (+40); Hospitalizations: 93 (+1); Deaths: 11
  • 50-59: 15% of Total cases: 14490 (+37); Hospitalizations: 162; Deaths: 27
  • 60-69: 10% of Total cases: 9362 (+20); Hospitalizations: 309; Deaths: 115
  • 70-79: 5% of Total cases: 4617 (+6); Hospitalizations: 329; Deaths: 299
  • 80+: 4% of Total cases: 3841 (+4); Hospitalizations: 299; Deaths: 823
  • Unknown: 0% of Total cases: 88 (+1); Hospitalizations: 0; Deaths: 0

• • • • • • ACTIVE CASES • • • • • •                          

  • Active cases in NH: 3,157
  • Active cases in Rockingham County: 583

• • • • • • RECOVERED • • • • • •

  • Recovered today: 351
  • Total recovered: 89,103
  • Percentage of diagnosed cases that have recovered: 95.3% 

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

  • Currently hospitalized: 103
  • New people hospitalized from NH: 1
  • Total hospitalized patients: 1,297
  • Percentage of those who have been infected that have been hospitalized: 1.39%
  • Total admitted to ICU: 387
  • New hospitalized patients from Rockingham County: 0
  • Total hospitalized patients from Rockingham County: 291

• • • • • • DEATHS IN NH • • • • • • 

  • Lives lost today: 1
  • Persons over 60 years of age who died today: 0
  • Persons under 60 years of age who died today: 1
  • Total fatalities in NH associated with COVID-19: 1,282
  • NH Residents diagnosed with COVID-19 that died: 1.37%
  • Lives lost in Rockingham County today: 1
  • Total lives lost in Rockingham County: 242

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!

427. That’s how many days from the last time I saw most of my extended family in person until today. Today we got together. There were six households from NH, one from MA and one from NY. There were 15 of us. Both of my sisters, most of our kids, and some step-family. 13 adults, and two kids, three generations.

Did I feel safe? Yes. No adults were welcome at my sister’s home unless they had been vaccinated. Still, we stayed outside most of the time.

Did it feel good? Heck, yes! There were hugs and tears.

Would I stay away for this long if this happened again? Yes. Zoom is good. Our every-other-week family zoom visits probably brought us closer together than ever, but man, did I miss seeing these people in person! We stayed away so we could keep each other safe. It hurt. But we knew we were doing the right thing.

Despite how careful they had been, my sister and her husband were diagnosed with COVID-19 on New Year’s Day. They may have been contagious at Christmas. She is still feeling the effects which are attributed to long-haul COVID-19: Her thyroid went into overdrive, resulting in an unplanned ambulance ride. Her heart went into overdrive, too. Now, in a few days, she gets radiation to essentially shut down that overactive thyroid. It’s not good, but we are lucky that this is the worst thing that has happened to all of us during these trying times. Not every family has been as lucky.

I’m very thankful that my whole family is now fully vaccinated, and has come out of this pandemic, so far, with just two of us having the virus, and only one having long-term issues.

They say, “Absence makes the heart fonder.” My heart is at peace tonight. 

Whether you see your family or friends regularly or wait over a year to reconnect, please stay safe, and always, be kind.

~Bonnie

On April 15, Governor Sununu announced that he was lifting mask mandates as of 4/16, and then the lifting of “Safer at Home” in early May. Here’s where we were on April 15:

Useful links

Sources used to create these reports:

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