Posted on by Bonnie

COVID-19 Update December 28

COVID-19 Update December 28

  • Total: 1,382 confirmed cases in Salem
  • Salem’s Positivity Rate for the past 2 weeks: 10.0%
  • 1 out of 22 Salem residents have been infected 
  • Salem today: 18 new cases since yesterday; 159 active cases

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

On Monday, December 28, 2020, DHHS announced 861 new positive test results for COVID-19, for a current PCR test positivity rate of 9.3%. Today’s results include 658 people who tested positive by PCR test and 203 who tested positive by antigen test. There are now 5,508 current COVID-19 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire. Of the results reported today: 

  • 12/22: 82 new cases today, for an updated total of 561 cases
  • 12/25: 205 new cases today, for an updated total of 288 cases
  • 12/26: 472 new cases today, for an updated total of 478 cases
  • 12/27: 102 new cases 

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%

  • New Cases per 100K: State of NH: 605.8 (+-165.3). Belknap: 870.2 (+-52.4). Carroll: 358.8 (+-77.9). Cheshire: 363.4 (+-83.7). Coos: 582.5 (+180.5). Grafton: 230.5 (+-37.9). Manchester: 909.7 (+-171). Merrimack: 707.3 (+-199.9). Nashua: 860.5 (+-87.3). Rest of Hillsborough excluding Manchester and Nashua: 621.4 (+-117.6). Rockingham: 695.7 (+-154.9). Strafford: 713.4 (+24.6). Sullivan: 166.9 (+-30.1). Salem: 966 (+-186). 
  • Positivity Rate (Antigen+PCR): State of NH: 7.5% (-1.7%). Belknap County: 10.1% (0%). Carroll County: 6.1% (-0.9%). Cheshire County: 3.9% (-1.6%). Coos County: 6.9% (-0.1%). Grafton County: 3.2% (1%). Manchester: 10.1% (-1.7%). Merrimack County: 7.1% (-4.4%). Nashua: 9.3% (-3.9%). Rest of Hillsborough County excluding Manchester and Nashua: 7.9% (-1.8%). Rockingham County: 7.7% (-3.5%). Strafford County: 9% (-1.4%). Sullivan County: 3.8% (-0.2%). Unknown: 6.2% (-2%). Salem: 10% (-3.6%)  
  • Antigen+PCR Test Positivity Rates for towns: 34 communities higher than Salem (+7). 101 communities 2% or higher (-28). 85 communities 5% or higher ( -35). 34 communities 10% or higher (-23) 
  • Cumulative Antigen & PCR Tests: Belknap County: 54,557 (+2,675). Carroll County: 31,496 (+1,136). Cheshire County: 83,683 (+2,602). Coos County: 27,133 (+949). Grafton County: 123,722 (+3,913). Manchester: 96,263 (+4,166). Merrimack County: 117,803 (+4,740). Nashua: 56,485 (+2,900). OOS: 2,135 (+470). Rest of Hillsborough County excluding Manchester and Nashua: 149,221 (+6,445). Rockingham County: 190,586 (+9,322). Strafford County: 64,751 (+4,199). Sullivan County: 29,582 (+1,016). Unknown: 33,575 (+1,396). Salem Cumulative: 17,846 (+1,022).  

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

  • Today, NH DHHS announced a record-breaking 2,340 people who have “recovered.” Overnight, we have gone from a recovery rate of 81.1% to 85.1%. Over 35,000 people have “recovered,” although there is no way of knowing how many are long-haulers who are experiencing long-term side effects.
  • NH had 861 new cases reported today. The daily average is 714 over the past week.
  • 18 of today’s new infections were health care workers, bringing the total for the week up to 119.
  • 78 were residents of long-term care facilities, bringing that total up to 390 over the past week.
  • 99 kids under 18 were diagnosed today, bringing the total over the past week to 514 kids.
  • The number of active cases in Salem has gone down by 91 today.
  • Yesterday, Salem’s “Average PCR Test Positivity Rate over 7 Days” dropped down below 10%, but today it is back to 10%, a substantial community transmission level.
  • NH’s positivity rate for today’s PCR results is 9.3%, which is another new record.
  • Yesterday, NH had 6,994 people with active infections. Today we have 5,508, a decrease of 1,486 people, and a daily average of 6,234 people over the past week.
  • There were no new hospitalizations in the 24-hours covered by this report. Currently 269 people are in NH hospitals because of COVID. The daily average for the past week is 286, so this is heading in the right direction.
  • Seven more people died from COVID-19 in the 24-hour period covered by this report. NH has lost 59 people this week because of COVID-19.

• • • • • • Communities • • • • • •

  • NH DHHS says that the new cases reside in Rockingham (158), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (132), Merrimack (94), Strafford (85), Belknap (51), Cheshire (38), Grafton (31), Coos (28), Carroll (17), and Sullivan (12) counties, and in the cities of Manchester (105) and Nashua (66). The county of residence is being determined for forty-four new cases. 
  • Active cases:
    • An additional 2,340 people were reported as “recovered” today; these are reflected in today’s changes. 
    • There are 21 NH communities with more than 50 active cases. Between them, these communities have 3,171 active cases, accounting for 54% of all active cases.
    • Only 18 communities have more active cases than they had yesterday. Between them, they have a total of 34 new cases. 123 communities have fewer active cases than yesterday.
    • Six communities have dropped down to less than 50 active cases. Durham went down by 68, and Gilford, Hampton, Keene, Newmarket and Raymond have also dropped to less than 50 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: 614 (-167). Nashua: 451 (-119). Concord: 204 (-72). Hudson: 172 (-48). Dover: 168 (-43). Salem: 159 (-73). Derry: 159 (-34). Rochester: 138 (-11). Londonderry: 132 (-22). Berlin: 107 (-5). Windham: 104 (-19). Bedford: 102 (-19). Merrimack: 96 (-26). Meredith: 84 (-4). Hooksett: 81 (-23). Portsmouth: 78 (-25). Pelham: 72 (-33). Goffstown: 72 (-24). Laconia: 66 (-16). Milford: 56 (-16). Exeter: 56 (-10).  
  • Cumulative Cases
    • There are now 112 communities that have had 50 or more cases, and 82 that have had 100 or more.
    • One community — Winchester — now has 50 or more total cases.
    • Three more communities — Barnstead, Claremont and Rye — now have 100 or more total cases.
    • 41 communities have 5 or more new cases than they had yesterday.
    • Only Manchester, Nashua, and Concord have had more total cases than Salem.

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

  • New positive cases by my math (Total of today’s cases minus previous total): 861
  • New positive cases per DHHS: 861
    • 658 PCR tests
    • 203 Antigen tests
  • Children under 18 in new cases: 99
  • Total positive cases in NH: 41,670
  • Percentage of today’s tests that are positive per DHHS: 9.3%
  • Total PCR test results reported today (Positive results plus negative results): 3,000
  • The daily average of diagnostic (PCR) tests reported from 7 days ago to today: 2,411
  • New negative results reported today: 2,139
  • Total negative cases in NH: 464,470

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

  • Total cases in Rockingham County: 10,353
  • New cases in Rockingham County: 158
  • Rockingham County: New cases per 100K residents: 51.0
  • Rockingham County 1-week average per 100K residents: 57.8
  • Rockingham County Positivity Rate: 7.7%
  • Percent of all cases from Rockingham County: 24.8%
  • Percent of all cases from either Hillsborough County or Rockingham County: 65% 

• • • • • • ACTIVE CASES • • • • • •

  • Active cases in NH: 5,508
  • Active cases in Rockingham County: 1,264
  • Percent of NH’s active cases that are in Rockingham County: 22.9% 

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

  • New antibody tests: 10
  • Total antibody tests (No break downs of positive vs. negative): 34,577
  • The daily average of antibody tests reported from 7 days ago to today: 42

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

  • 0-9: 1770 = 4% (+44).
  • 10-19: 4057 = 10% (+74).
  • 20-29: 7919 = 19% (+131).
  • 30-39: 6218 = 15% (+120).
  • 40-49: 5592 = 13% (+126).
  • 50-59: 6699 = 16% (+139).
  • 60-69: 4547 = 11% (+96).
  • 70-79: 2433 = 6% (+68).
  • 80+: 2392 = 6% (+62).
  • Unknown: 43 = 0% (+1).

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

  • Announced today: 2,340
  • Total Recovered: 35,447
  • Percentage of diagnosed cases that have recovered: 85.1% 

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

  • New people hospitalized from NH: 0
  • Currently hospitalized: 269
  • Total hospitalized patients: 895
  • Percentage of those who have been infected that have been hospitalized: 2.15%
  • Total admitted to ICU: 297
  • New hospitalized patients from Rockingham County: 0
  • Total hospitalized patients from Rockingham County: 209

• • • • • • DEATHS IN NH • • • • • • 

  • Lives lost today: 7
  • Persons over 60 years of age who died today: 7
  • Persons under 60 years of age who died today: 0
  • Total fatalities in NH associated with COVID-19: 715
  • NH Residents diagnosed with COVID-19 that died: 1.72%
  • Lives lost in Rockingham County today: 1
  • Total lives lost in Rockingham County: 137

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.

“I wake up every morning believing today is going to be better than yesterday.”

~ Will Smith

Hello, Salem!

Right now, our new case numbers look like they could be heading in the right direction. That is something to recognize as a minor victory and gives us something to look forward to. However, we need to be mindful that numbers can change easily, and experts think that January will be worse than December, at least for the United States as a whole. Let’s hope that this isn’t the calm before the storm. Don’t let down your guard, because there are still a lot of people out there with this virus. 

Right after writing this, I read a message from DJ Bettencourt, who I believe is still Governor Sununu’s policy director. DJ says, “While the second surge of COVID-19 in New Hampshire (and across the country) has been a very difficult stretch, we are seeing some promising data. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in our state has decreased over the past two weeks from 884 new cases per day on Dec. 13 to 610 new cases per day on Dec. 27. The number of current hospitalizations (269) has dropped four days in a row.

“We will have a long way to go and vigilance is needed now more than ever but there is some light at the end of the tunnel.”

While we dig our way out of this, and we will, stay safe, and always, be kind. 

~Bonnie

Compiled by Bonnie Wright, based on data obtained from NH DHHS.

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:

2 Replies to “COVID-19 Update December 28”

    1. Thank you, Judy!
      I miss your special gifs, but the Admin of the group where you used to post them are requiring me to close comments. Thanks for keeping in touch! Happy New Year! <3

      Reply

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