COVID-19 Update April 19
It was a fairly quiet day for news, but I expect tomorrow will be a lot busier. Tomorrow we are looking forward to the report from Chief Larry Best and others from Salem’s Emergency Operations Center. Their presentation will be aired at 7:00 on Channel 23. See below in the “Salem Government” section for additional ways to view the presentation. Also, tomorrow is the hearing on who should have the power of deciding how the $1.25 billion from the Federal stimulus/CARES Act will be spent.
Stay safe, and, always, be kind. Remember, we are all in this together.
Key points covered in today’s report:
Today we added 50 new confirmed cases, 8 more recoveries, and we lost three more souls to this virus. We have a net of 39 more current cases than we had yesterday. There were three new hospitalizations, but a net of six fewer hospitalizations.
I’ve updated the report comparing the confirmed cases in Methuen MA vs. Salem and Manchester. While Methuen is not Manchester or Salem, the close proximity of the three municipalities and the number of confirmed cases in each doesn’t seem to make sense to me.
I’ve updated the table comparing the number of confirmed cases per 100K residents in NY, MA, VT, and NH. The comparison is disturbing..
I’ve added a new registry for those who have recovered, run by Tufts University, in the resource list.
Click on the calendar to enlarge
https://www.bonnie4salem.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/april19-calendar.jpg
Q: How is NH doing in comparison to our neighboring states?
A: We aren’t doing enough tests!
WHY???
Over the last four days, NY’s test per 100,000 residents increased by 42.1%; MA saw a 97.6% increase in test per 100K, and Vermont saw a 32.7% increase. Why was NH’s increase only 1.4%???
#End of NHPR’s charts.
Additional charts can be found at https://www.nhpr.org/post/updated-tracking-covid-19-cases-and-testing-new-hampshire
COVID Symptom Tracker: This is a project of Mass General Hospital. In the absence of proper testing, this may be the best way of tracking how we are doing. I’m keeping it near the top, so I’ll remember to log in each day.
https://covid.joinzoe.com/us?fbclid=IwAR2IsoxZ9RBKC4uPQscKiuUUTJCA3cCt3dUr9tjNSsFqOU1rv10jmysmt4Y
Today’s COVID-19 news:
April 19 April 18 Change from yesterday
Total Confirmed Cases 1,392 1,342 +50
Recovered 521 37% (was 38%)
513 +8
Deaths Attributed to COVID-19
41 3% 38 +3
Active Cases 830
791 +39
Total Hospitalized 198 14% (was 15%)
192 +6
Current Hospitalized 79
85 -6
Tested Negative 12,726 12,082 +644
Persons with specimens submitted to NH PHL 6,472 6,209 +263
Persons with test pending at NH PHL 298 316 -18
Being Monitored (Approximate) 2,300 2,200 +100
Total Tested (Confirmed Cases + Tested Negative) 14,118 13,424 +694
Salem’s confirmed cases:
- April 3: 25 cases (Range 20-40)
- April 6: 33 cases (+8 in 3 days)
- April 8: 20-40 cases
- April 9: 20-49 cases (between +1 and +9 in 1 day)
- April 10: Over 50 (at least +1 in one day, at least +10 in 2 days; at least +25 in 7 days. Possibly +25 more by 4/16, due to outbreak at The Residence at Salem Woods, although the workers there may not be Salem residents, and thus might not be in our numbers.)
Salem, Manchester, Nashua, and Derry remain as the only NH municipalities with more than 50 confirmed cases. With 258 confirmed cases (up +17 from yesterday), Manchester appears to be the municipality in NH with the most confirmed cases. Nashua has 131 (+9) confirmed cases. We don’t have the numbers for the other two hottest spots, Salem and Derry. Bedford, Concord, Dover, Hudson, Londonderry, Pelham, Portsmouth, Windham and now Seabrook are the only communities in New Hampshire with 20-49 confirmed cases.
Hillsborough County, which includes Manchester and Nashua, has 581 (+29) confirmed cases. Rockingham County is second, with 479 (+17) confirmed cases. These two counties make up over 70% of all confirmed cases.
Today, Methuen has 384 confirmed cases (+9) or 1.0% of its 2019 population of 39,498 people. Salem’s population in 2019 was 29,133. If 1.08% of Salem’s population had COVID-19, we would have 283 confirmed cases. How can our neighboring town have so many cases, but we don’t? Massachusetts has much higher testing rates.
I also looked at Manchester NH in comparison to Methuen. Thirty miles away from Methuen, Manchester’s population in 2018 was 112,525. With 258 confirmed cases, only 0.2% of their population has been diagnosed. If Manchester had the same infection rate as Methuen, they would have 1125 cases! New Hampshire NEEDS more testing!
Of the confirmed cases in NH, about 15% have required hospitalization. Over 30% of the confirmed cases are healthcare workers. Most of those with mild symptoms have not been able to get tested.
We need proper testing to fight COVID-19
The NH Division of Public Health Services, Bureau of Infectious Disease Control, has announced a Weekly Summary Report, with more details than I see in the daily reports from the Department of Health & Human Services. See the report or my summary of the key points in my report on April 13.
NH News relating to COVID-19
It was a quiet day. I found no new stories worth sharing.
Salem Government
The Town of Salem’s Emergency Operations Center Team (EOC) will be making weekly reports every Monday evening at 7:00. Their reports can be seen at http://sctv-17.com/CablecastPublicSite/?channel=1
Find other Salem Government board meetings: https://www.townofsalemnh.org/boards
To watch past or live viewings:
- Comcast TV Channel 23
- http://sctv-17.com/CablecastPublicSite/?channel=1
- https://livestream.com/salemnh
- https://www.facebook.com/sctv17
State Representation:
Salem has nine State Representatives. If you are having issues connected to COVID-19, they have access to the people who can get you the help you need. You can find contact info for our reps here: http://gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/default.aspx
Our Senator, Chuck Morse, can be contacted at Chuck.Morse@leg.state.nh.us His Concord office phone is 603.271.3207.
Disclaimer:
On April 7, NH scientist and politician, Mindi Messmer, PG, CG wrote on her Facebook page: “… testing has pretty much stopped at the NH PHL. The testing penetration is so low in NH, only 1/2% of the 1.3M people, meaning 99.5% of the 1.3M have not been tested, that I am not putting up projections or tests for NH because the graphs would be meaningless and I don’t want to give the false impression that we know what’s going on in NH.”
On April 8, the National Academy of Sciences reported that 16 out of 51 tests were inaccurate. (false negatives). Others also have concerns about both false negatives and false positives.
Please keep these ideas in mind as you review the information on this page or any other page.
Resources to help in these challenging times:
Do YOU think you have COVID-19?
To report suspected cases, contact the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control at 603-271-4496, (603-271-5300 for after hours), or nhbidc@dhhs.nhs.gov.
The IRS has released its new app to track stimulus payments, “Get My Payment.” which had been scheduled to be released on April 17. Expect to wait. (And possibly, like me, be disappointed.) If your info isn’t available today, try again tomorrow, as info is going to be updated every night.
How You Can Help Others:
- Stay home, wash hands, wear cloth masks in public, check on neighbors
- Donate food: NH Food Bank: https://www.nhfoodbank.org or call 669-9725
- United Way: http://uwnh.org
- Donate blood: https://www.redcross.org or call 1-800-RED-Cross
- COVID-19 Response in New Hampshire: https://volunteernh.org/covid-19-response/
- Watch out for the kids. Child abuse reports are down, because they aren’t out where they can be observed. If you suspect child abuse call Salem Police Department (603) 893-1911 or the NH child abuse hotline at DCYF (800) 894-5533. You could also go to https://knowandtell.org. In an immediate emergency, dial 911.
Masks:
There is no excuse for not having a mask!!!
- How to make and how to wear: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html
- Directions for a no-sew mask (perhaps using the coffee filter, as suggested by the CDC?) http://blog.japanesecreations.com/no-sew-face-mask-with-handkerchief-and-hair-tie
- I found another option for a new pattern for a no-sew mask, using a t-shirt, and this one with several options.
Salem:
- Free meals for Salem kids under 18: https://sau57.org/covid19/meals
- Town of Salem COVID-29 Info: https://www.townofsalemnh.org/home/covid-19-information
- COVID-19 Salem Community Hotline & Email: https://www.townofsalemnh.org/home/news/covid-19-community-hotline-and-email
- Salem Police: Dial 911 for emergencies or (603) 893-1911 for non-emergency issues.
New Hampshire:
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services:
- https://www.nh.gov/covid19/index.htm
- https://www.nh.gov/covid19/faqs/documents/covid-19-faq.pdf
- https://www.nh.gov/covid19/resources-guidance/index.htm
- https://www.nh.gov/covid19/resources-guidance/other-guidance.htm
- https://www.nh.gov/covid19/documents/terms.pdf
- https://www.nh.gov/covid19/resources-guidance/residents.htm
Office of the Governor: https://www.governor.nh.gov
- List of NH “essential” services: https://www.governor.nh.gov/news-media/emergency-orders/documents/emergency-order-17-ex-a.pdf
Mindi Messmer: A scientist who is reporting frequently on COVID-19, Mindi is also a candidate for Executive Council, District 3 (including Salem). https://www.facebook.com/Mindi4NH/ Sign up for her “Daily or So COVID-19 Updates” https://actionnetwork.org/forms/daily-or-so-covid-19-updates
More info about COVID-19
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/
- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/if-you-are-sick/care-for-someone.html
- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/sick-with-2019-nCoV-fact-sheet.pdf
- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/2019-ncov-factsheet.pdf
- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html
COVID Symptom Tracker:
This is a project of Mass General Hospital. In the absence of proper testing, let’s let them know how we are doing. https://covid.joinzoe.com/us?fbclid=IwAR2IsoxZ9RBKC4uPQscKiuUUTJCA3cCt3dUr9tjNSsFqOU1rv10jmysmt4Y
Tuft’s University: COVID-19 Convalescent (Recovered) Patient Registry
Trackers (Cases)
- COVI-19 Tracker: https://bing.com/covid/local/newhampshire_unitedstates
- Live statistics: https://ncov2019.live/data
- US Coronavirus Tracking https://infection2020.com
- The COVID Tracking Project https://covidtracking.com/data/state/new-hampshire#historical
The World Health Organization:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
Media with NH COVID-19 news:
- WMUR: https://www.wmur.com
- NHPR: https://www.nhpr.org
Housing
- NH landlords cannot start eviction proceedings for any tenant unable to pay due to the impact of the coronavirus. Foreclosures are also frozen. https://www.governor.nh.gov/news-media/emergency-orders/documents/emergency-order-4.pdf
- Housing and Urban Development: https://www.hud.gov/states/new_hampshire
- NH Housing: https://www.nhhfa.org
Unemployment
- If you were working in NH: https://www.nhes.nh.gov
- If you worked in MA: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/department-of-unemployment-assistance
Financial Assistance
- Coronavirus Tax Relief: https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus-tax-relief-and-economic-impact-payments
- SNAP: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Formerly Food Stamps)
Link to other NH benefits:
Businesses and Employers: Guidance for Small Businesses
- New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA): (resources): https://businesshelp.nheconomy.com/hc/en-us
- NH DHHS: https://www.nh.gov/covid19/resources-guidance/businesses.htm
- SBA: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USSBA/bulletins/281d439
- SBA: https://www.sba.gov/page/coronavirus-covid-19-small-business-guidance-loan-resources
- CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/guidance-business-response.html
- CDC: Cleaning: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/organizations/cleaning-disinfection.html
- OSHA: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3990.pdf
- Greater Salem Chamber of Commerce: http://www.gschamber.com
- McLane Middleton: An extensive list of resources for businesses: https://www.mclane.com/Coronavirus-Resource-Center
- The CARES Act: https://www.mclane.com/The-CARES-Act-QA-Webinar-Replay-4/2/2020
- Unemployment: https://www.mclane.com/Coronavirus-Employment-Webinar-3-26-2020
Sources for data included in these reports:
- https://www.nh.gov/covid19/
- https://www.wmur.com
- https://covid19.healthdata.org
- https://www.townofsalemnh.org/
- https://infection2020.com
- https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-updates-and-information
- https://www.nhpr.org/
- https://www.nhpr.org/post/tracking-covid-19-cases-and-testing-new-hampshire#stream/0
- https://www.cityofmethuen.net/health-division/pages/methuen-covid-19-case-count
Please report any errors or omissions to bonnie@bonnie4salem.us. Thank you.