COVID-19 Update December 19

COVID-19 Update December 19

  • Total: 1,189 confirmed cases in Salem
  • Salem’s Positivity Rate for the past 2 weeks: 12.6%
  • 1 out of 25 Salem residents have been infected 
  • Salem today: 28 new cases since yesterday; 225 active cases

• • • • • • Report from NH Department of Health and Human Services (NH DHHS) • • • • • • 

From today’s Press Release from NH DHHS: On Saturday, December 19, 2020, DHHS announced 676 new positive test results for COVID-19, for a daily PCR test positivity rate of 5.2%. Today’s results include 359 people who tested positive by PCR test and 317 who tested positive by antigen test. There are now 6,725 current COVID-19 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire. Of the results reported today: 

  • 12/1438 new cases today, for an updated total of 794 cases 
  • 12/15189 new cases today, for an updated total of 790 cases 
  • 12/16: 134 new case today, for an updated total of 606 cases 
  • 12/17: 153 new cases today, for an updated total of 603 cases 
  • 12/18: 162 new cases today 

Test results for previous days are still being processed and the total number of new positives for those days are not yet complete. Updated case counts for prior days will be reflected on the COVID-19 interactive dashboard.”

• • • • • • Community Transmission • • • • • •

Community Transmission (per NH Department of Health and Human Services)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%

  • Average of New Cases per 100K people over 14 days: 
    • New Hampshire: 757.1
    • Rockingham County: 835.8
    • Salem: 1,112
    • All 10 counties and our two biggest cities are all at the substantial level ranging from 187.7 (Sullivan County) to 1,087 (Manchester).
  • Average of New Hospitalization per 100K people over 14 days: 
    • New Hampshire: 1.9
    • Rockingham County: 1.1
    • Nashua: 8.9
  • Average Positivity Rate over 7 days: 
    • New Hampshire: 8.5%
    • Rockingham County: 10.4%
    • Salem: 12.6%
    • Manchester: 11.0%
    • Nashua: 10.4%
    • 20 communities have a positivity rate higher than Salem.
    • 50 communities have a positivity rate of more than 10%.
    • 114 communities have a positivity rate of more than 5%.
    • 127 communities have a positivity rate of more than 2%.

• • • • • • TODAY’S SPOTLIGHT • • • • • •

  • With another 28 people infected in Salem today, have added 99 new people in the past four days. We added as many new cases just today as we had for a total of active cases on Oct 24, less than two months ago.
  • The number of people with active cases in Salem is back up to 225, the second-highest.
  • Over 35,000 residents of NH have been infected with COVID-19. That’s more than the entire population of Salem.
  • Another 775 people were reported today as recovered. The number of active cases went down to 6,725, the 11th day in a row when this count has been over 6,000. Four days have been higher.
  • NH’s positivity rate for today is 5.2. The one-week average for NH’s positivity rate is 8.5%. 
  • Two more NH people were admitted to the ICU, making a total of 8 over the past week. ­­
  • A variant of COVID-19 has been identified in the United Kingdom. The scientists are reporting that this strain is spreading faster, possibly as much as 70% faster. The good news is that they don’t think it is any more deadly than the strain found here in the US.
  • I have updated the long-term care report, which can be found in the section below the calendar.

• • • • • • Communities • • • • • •

  • NH DHHS says that the new cases reside in Rockingham (163), Strafford (153), Merrimack (90), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (76), Belknap (22), Cheshire (16), Coos (14), Carroll (8), Grafton (8), and Sullivan (4) counties, and in the cities of Manchester (68) and Nashua (32). The county of residence is being determined for forty-three new cases.   
  • Active cases:
    • An additional 775 people were reported as “recovered” today; these are reflected in today’s changes. 
    • One community has added enough new cases bringing them to 50 or more active cases. 
    • One community dropped by enough cases to bring them under 50 active cases. 
    • There are 25 NH communities with more than 50 active cases. Between them, these communities have 4,062 active cases, accounting for 60% of all active cases.
    • Manchester, Nashua, and Concord are the only communities with more active cases than Salem. 
    • Communities with more than 50 active cases, showing changes in active cases since yesterday: Manchester: 767 (-15). Nashua: 483 (+2). Concord: 398 (-13). Salem: 225 (+6). Derry: 175 (-33). Hudson: 171 (-4). Dover: 167 (+12). Londonderry: 139 (-15). Windham: 128 (-3). Merrimack: 118 (+0). Durham: 114 (-1). Rochester: 108 (+8). Portsmouth: 103 (-3). Pelham: 103 (+3). Hooksett: 101 (+3). Laconia: 95 (+7). Bedford: 94 (-5). Goffstown: 94 (-3). Keene: 89 (-1). Milford: 81 (+1). Hampton: 79 (-10). Newmarket: 69 (+1). Belmont: 60 (+5). Farmington: 51 (+8). Epsom: 50 (+0). 
    • Other communities with an increase or decrease by five or more people: Atkinson: 35 (-9). Berlin: 46 (+9). Chester: 19 (-5). Exeter: 34 (-13). Gilford: 38 (+6). Lincoln: 5 (+5). Plaistow: 41 (-6). Sandown: 35 (-8). Seabrook: 45 (-5). Somersworth: 39 (-7).  
  • Cumulative Cases
    • There are now 101 communities that have had 50 or more cases.
    • Goffstown is no longer one of the top ten communities with the most total cases; Dover is now on this list.
    • 33 communities have 5 or more new cases than they had yesterday.
    • Only Manchester, Nashua, and Concord have had more total cases than Salem. 
    • The ten communities with the highest number of cumulative cases, showing changes from yesterday: Manchester: 5,726 (+82). Nashua: 3,204 (+78). Concord: 1,300 (+21). Salem: 1,189 (+28). Derry: 1,170 (+10). Bedford: 919 (+6). Londonderry: 857 (+7). Hudson: 817 (+19). Dover: 708 (+25). Merrimack: 692 (+11). 
    • Other communities with 5 or more new cases, showing changes from yesterday: Amherst: 196 (+8). Belmont: 194 (+8). Berlin: 142 (+15). Epping: 186 (+5). Epsom: 161 (+5). Farmington: 143 (+9). Gilford: 139 (+9). Goffstown: 678 (+6). Hampstead: 234 (+5). Hampton: 495 (+10). Hollis: 143 (+6). Hooksett: 550 (+10). Laconia: 349 (+14). Meredith: 190 (+6). Milford: 433 (+11). New Boston: 123 (+6). Newmarket: 182 (+7). Nottingham: 93 (+5). Pelham: 462 (+12). Portsmouth: 560 (+10). Rochester: 573 (+22). Windham: 571 (+10).  

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

  • New positive cases by my math (Total of today’s cases minus previous total): 649
  • New positive cases per DHHS: 676
    • 359 PCR tests
    • 317 Antigen tests
  • Children under 18 in new cases: 64
  • Total positive cases in NH: 35,609
  • Percentage of today’s tests that are positive per DHHS: 5.2%
  • Total PCR test results reported today (Positive results plus negative results): 3,292
  • The daily average of diagnostic (PCR) tests reported from 7 days ago to today: 2,638
  • New negative results reported today: 2,643
  • Total negative cases in NH: 447,338

• • • • • • ROCKINGHAM COUNTY • • • • • • 

  • Total cases in Rockingham County: 8,945
  • New cases in Rockingham County: 136
  • Rockingham County: New cases per 100K residents: 43.9
  • Rockingham County 1-week average per 100K residents: 63.8
  • Rockingham County Positivity Rate: 10.4%
  • Percent of all cases from Rockingham County: 24.8%
  • Percent of all cases from either Hillsborough County or Rockingham County: 66% 

• • • • • • ACTIVE CASES • • • • • •

  • Active cases in NH: 6,725
  • Active cases in Rockingham County: 1,645
  • Percent of NH’s active cases that are in Rockingham County: 24.5% 

• • • • • • OTHER TEST RESULTS • • • • • • 

  • New antibody tests: 49
  • Total antibody tests (No break downs of positive vs. negative): 34,245
  • The daily average of antibody tests reported from 7 days ago to today: 50

• • • • • • CHANGES BY AGES • • • • • •  
(Shown: Total infections, percentage of all infections, and increase since yesterday.)

  • 0-9: 1432 = 4% (+19).
  • 10-19: 3507 = 10% (+61).
  • 20-29: 6912 = 19% (+124).
  • 30-39: 5288 = 15% (+109).
  • 40-49: 4771 = 13% (+74).
  • 50-59: 5682 = 16% (+117).
  • 60-69: 3885 = 11% (+81).
  • 70-79: 2027 = 6% (+38).
  • 80+: 2069 = 6% (+26).
  • Unknown: 36 = 0% (+0).

• • • • • • RECOVERED IN NH • • • • • • 

  • Announced today: 775
  • Total Recovered: 28,234
  • Percentage of diagnosed cases that have recovered: 79.3% 

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

  • New people hospitalized from NH: 5
  • Currently hospitalized: 258
  • Total hospitalized patients: 886
  • Percentage of those who have been infected that have been hospitalized: 2.49%
  • Total admitted to ICU: 297
  • New hospitalized patients from Rockingham County: 1
  • Total hospitalized patients from Rockingham County: 207

• • • • • • DEATHS IN NH • • • • • • 

  • Lives lost today: 12
  • Persons over 60 years of age who died today: 12
  • Persons under 60 years of age who died today: 0
  • Total fatalities in NH associated with COVID-19: 650
  • NH Residents diagnosed with COVID-19 that died: 1.83%
  • Lives lost in Rockingham County today: 1
  • Total lives lost in Rockingham County: 124

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.


“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.”

-Aristotle

Hello, Salem!

I have made the decision to not report on the COVID-19 vaccination, unless NH DHHS adds this information to their daily reports. If you would like vaccination updates, there is a lot of information out there about them. My friend suggests the tracker on Bloomberg. Other resources include NHPRWMUR,  and will likely be reported in the Eagle-Tribune, Concord Monitor, and the Union Leader. 

Stay positive, stay safe, and always, be kind.

~Bonnie




This video was posted almost two months ago. Things have changed in that time. On October 2, US deaths were 1,035,451, according to the video. (My records say 1,033,174 per WorldOmeter.) WorldOMeter now says the global death rate is 1,446,889, an increase of 413,715 in less than two months. Just please remember that there is a lot more between COVID->Death vs. COVID->Recovery. More and more, long-haulers are making the news, as are other consequences of COVID-19.


From the beginning of the pandemic, it took 43 days before NH reached it’s first 1,000 confirmed diagnoses. It took 31 days to go from 10,000 to 18,000. In another 5 days, we added another 2,000.


Outbreaks at Long-Term Care Facilities, as of 12/17/20.





This screenshot comes from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6942e2.htm?s_cid=mm6942e2_w

This report is explained here:
https://www.clickondetroit.com/health/2020/10/20/cdc-from-january-to-october-us-had-299k-more-deaths-than-in-previous-years/



Useful links


Sources used to create these reports:

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