COVID-19 Update May 16 – Bonnie4Salem

COVID-19 Update May 16

Salem: 211 confirmed cases, 117 cases are still active.

Another five Salem residents have been diagnosed with COVID-19, bringing the total up to 211. 71 people out of every 10,000 Salem residents have been diagnosed with this virus. More than half of those here in Salem that have been infected are still waiting to recover.

DHHS announced that there were 98 new positive test results for COVID-19, including three children under the age of 18, for a total of 3,464 cases. (From the number of cases announced yesterday and today, I come up with 92 new cases.). 27 of the new cases were in Rockingham County. DHHS says that community-based transmission continues to occur in the State.

There were 12 new hospitalized cases in NH today, bringing the total of those hospitalized to 347 (10% of all confirmed cases); approximately one-third of all NH hospitalizations (110) are still in the hospital.

The last time we saw a significant increase in the number of people who have recovered was May 8, when we had 1,210 recovered cases. We are at 1,258 now; an increase of only 48 cases in over a week.

Today NH DHHS announced that 12 more people have died, including a male younger than 60. One female over 60 years of age died in Rockingham County from COVID-19, bringing NH’s total fatalities to 171 people. Of those NH residents who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the state reports that 5% have died; I come up with 4.8%. The last day that NH didn’t lose a victim to this disease was May 4.

I am saddened by the number of lives that we have lost so far, and worried about how many more lives will be shattered by this virus, from the loss of their own health and the loss of loved ones, as well as the loss of jobs, income, savings, and other assets. As I process these numbers to share with you, I keep a note to myself to remember that, while I might not know many of these people, someone does. These numbers are not just statistics on a spreadsheet; each number represents a real person — someone’s mother or father, sister or brother, son or daughter, or friend. Some days, like today, it is hard to process. Today, I’m struggling a little. So I ask: How are YOU doing? Send me a PM if you need to talk, or give me a call. I’m here to listen.

Stay safe, and always, be kind.

Key points covered below in today’s report:

Main Street Relief is a grant for small businesses. (Short deadline to file)
COVID-19 Virtual Town Hall: Monday, May 18
More from the Governor and his staff (Press conference Friday afternoon)
- The State of Emergency has been renewed for another three weeks.
- Another healthcare facility will be offering COVID-19 testing and antibody testing. In Salem!
- Another outbreak in a long-term care facility.
- The Governor announced $595 million in new funding commitments:
- Testing
- Reporting data to First Responders
- When will other businesses be opening?
- The connection between farms and food banks
- Masks
- Death and Hospitalization Rates
Governor’s Q&A on WMUR on Friday evening

Also, I updated three visuals:

Salem’s cases
Tests per State for 4 States
MA and NH: Tests vs Positive Cases

Click on the calendar to enlarge
https://www.bonnie4salem.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/may16-calendar.jpg

Q: How much testing is NH doing in comparison to our neighboring states?

A: We aren’t doing enough tests!
WHY???

On April 19, this was posted on Facebook:

NHPR has charts. Lots of charts!
If you want more than what I’m providing, they can be found at NHPR’s website.

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 Statistics:

I have had a table here for weeks, which compared the day to day changes.
If you actually miss it, please let me know, and I’ll bring it back.
Bonnie on May 12.

Salem’s confirmed cases:

March 30 (Range 10-19)

March 31 (Range 20+)

April 3: 25 cases (Range 20+)

April 6: 33 cases (+8 in 3 days)

April 8: 20+ cases

April 9: 20-49

April 10: Over 50

April 23: 116

April 27: 144

April 28: 143 (Huh? Less than yesterday? Triple checked!)

April 30: 146

May 1: 154

May 2: 162

May 3: 173

May 4-5: 175

May 6: 178; 94 active

May 7: 186; 101 active

May 8: 189; 103 active

May 9: 191; 101 active

May 10: 191; 100 active

May 11: 193; 102 active

May 12: 195; 103 active

May 13: 197; 104 active

May 14: 201; 108 active

May 15: 206; 112 active

May 16: 211; 117 active

NH Hot Spots (As of Sat., May 16. Difference from last Saturday, May 9.)
NH has 13 NH municipalities that have more than 50 confirmed cases.

Manchester: 819 (+149); 73 per 10K residents; 528 current

Nashua: 323 (+40); 36 per 10K residents; 188 current

Derry: 267; (+26); 80 cases per 10K residents; 184 current

Salem: 211 (+20); 71 cases per 10K residents; 117 current

Bedford: 130 (+33); 57 cases per 10K; 94 current

Concord: 78 (+15); 18 cases per 10K; 48 current

Dover: 89 (+8); 28 cases per 10K; 51 current

Franklin: 58 (+1); 67 cases per 10K; 50 current

Goffstown: 67 (+44); 37 cases per 10K; 48 current

Hudson: 70 (+8); 27 cases per 10K; 46 current

Londonderry: 104 (+14); 40 cases per 10K; 66 current

Milford: 76 (+5); 47 cases per 10K; 62 current

Portsmouth: 57 (+9); 26 cases per 10K; 34 current

All other municipalities have less than 50 cases. All of the other municipalities with 20-49 cases are geographically south of Concord/Rochester, and east of Concord/Milford, except for Franklin.

Counties (As of Sat., May 16. Increases from last Saturday, May 9.)

Hillsborough (inc. Manchester and Nashua): 1,723 (+330); 41 per 10K residents

Rockingham (inc. Salem & Derry): 1,095 (+131); 35 per 10K

About 79% of all of those in NH who have tested positive to COVID-19 live in these two counties.

Our neighboring towns:

Methuen on May 16: 777 (+92); 153 confirmed cases per 10K residents. 376 recovered (+101). 37 deaths (+5)

Lawrence on May 15: 2,264 (+207). 307 cases per 10K residents. 99 deaths (+4)

Haverhill on May 13: 950 cases up 117 from May 6. 148 cases per 10K; was 130 a week ago.

If more people were tested, the numbers would be higher.
Without better testing and reporting, we can’t know what our real numbers are.

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 are provided in the daily reports from the Department of Health & Human Services. Today, May 7 the NH DHHS has issued its “weekly” report for the week ending May 4. [This is the first weekly report since the week ending April 27, which was issued the same day.].

As of May 4, 713 healthcare workers have been infected (27.6% of all confirmed cases). 24 of the medical care workers were hospitalized; one died.

More women have tested positive than men by about 11%. However, approximately 60% of the hospitalizations and 60% of the deaths are men.

18 kids under 9 years have tested positive. 19% of those infected are 50-59 years old, the largest age group. Those who are 30-39, 40-49, and 60-69 are each 13-14% of the cases. 20% of the confirmed cases are 70 or older, however, these age groups make up almost 40% of the cases, and 85% of the deaths.

Race/Ethnicity: Although 90% of NH’s population is white; they only account for 76.4% of the confirmed infections, 82% of the hospitalizations, and 91.5% of the deaths. Hispanic/Latino make up 3.9% of the population, but 7.4% of the infections, 7.8% of the hospitalizations, and 6.8% of the deaths. Blacks/African Americans are 1.4% of the population, and 5.4% of the infections, 3.7% of hospitalizations, and 1.7% of the deaths. Asians are 3.0% of the population, and 4.1% of the cases; no Asians from NH have died. All other races are 1.8% of the population, and 7.7% of the population, 2.4% of hospitalizations, and 1.7% of deaths.

Persons in Hillsborough County, including Manchester and Nashua, make up 44.7% of all infections, 46.5% of hospitalizations, and 46.5% of the deaths. Persons in Rockingham County (Salem and Derry) make up 33.9% of the total infections, 31.1% of the hospitalizations, and 32.6% of all deaths. The third most impacted county is Merrimack (Concord), which only has 7.7% of all infections.

NH News relating to COVID-19

Main Street Relief is a grant for small businesses.

Anyone who qualifies (because they have lost money because of COVID-19 and the stay at home order) will get funds, but they must fill in the simple application form within 2 weeks. Info can be found at https://www.goferr.nh.gov/covid-expenditures/main-street-relief-fund

COVID-19 Virtual Town Hall: Monday, May 18

Join State Senate Majority Leader and candidate for Governor of NH, Dan Feltes, and Former State Representative and candidate for Executive Council District 3, scientist Mindi Messmer, for a COVID-19 update with special guests from Keene State College: Economics Professor Marie Duggan, and Environmental Studies Professor Nora Traviss. Join Live.

More from the Governor and his staff (Press conference Friday afternoon)

The State of Emergency has been renewed for another three weeks.

This is required for the governor to have the sole discretion of the spending of the $1.25 billion dollars that NH has received from the federal CARES Act. It has to be renewed every 21 days, was renewed today (Friday).

Another healthcare facility will be offering COVID-19 testing and antibody testing. In Salem!

ExpressMed in Salem and Manchester are now offering both COVID-19 diagnostic testing and antibody testing. I am unable to find any information about charges. Their website (at this time) says that there is no appointment required. Salem: 159 North Broadway, Salem, NH 03079. Phone: (603) 898-0961. Hours: Monday-Friday: 8:00am-7:00pm; Saturday: 9:00am-4:00pm

Another outbreak in a long-term care facility.

There was one more outbreak at a long-term care facility: At Villa Crest Nursing Home in Manchester 10 residents and one staff member tested positive. One facility, the Community Resource for Justice Transitional Housing Program, has closed.

75% of the fatalities come from long-term care facilities. The death rate is about 4% of all cases.

The Governor announced $595 million in new funding commitments:

Healthcare Relief Fund: $50,000,000
Non-Profit Relief Fund: $60,000,000
Child Care: $25,000,000
Main Street Relief Fund: $400,000,000 (Grants for small businesses)
Farm and Food: $15,000,000 ($10M to farmers; $5M to NH Food Bank)
Public Higher Education Relief Fund: $15,000,000
Business Finance Authority Safe Harbor Forgivable Loans: $30,000,000
Read more: WMUR

Testing:

As I have been reporting, there are concerns about the reports from NH DHHS. Yesterday, the State’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) pointed out that, as they issued their daily report, that they knew that the report had inaccuracies. They acknowledged that their total number of negative tests included negative results for both diagnostic (PCR) tests and antibody tests. Antibody tests are fairly new, but we still don’t know how long they have been comingling these numbers. This gave an inflated number of negative test results and could throw the ratio of negative tests to positive tests way off. I discussed this at length yesterday.
There have been low positive rates in antibody tests.
They have done 3,913 antibody tests to date including yesterday (Friday).
It takes 14 days from infection to antibody development; the person is usually considered recovered by the time they test positive to the antibody test
DHHS is doing contact tracing for those who have developed the antibodies, but it is challenging, as they are recovered by the time they have the test.
Anyone who has a positive antibody test is not added to the number of confirmed cases; they are considered probable, not confirmed. The number of positive confirmed tests are those who have had a positive PCR diagnostic test.
The Abbott rapid test machines average only 25 tests per day. With the concern about false negatives, they are trying to decide if someone tests negative, should they do a 2^nd PCR test. It requires a bio-safety cabinet to run the test, so it can only be done in limited locations, not nursing homes.
Daily testing at long-term care is not feasible. It takes 15-17 minutes per person to test. Technology has not caught up with the needs. They are currently testing every healthcare worker, and then will create a “sentinel surveillance project,” testing a percentage of staff and residence every week. The goal is to test most staff every 10 days.
“Lack of testing is not a valid concern” (Gov. Sununu) We’ve ramped up testing. “Almost anybody who wants a test is getting a test.”
More fixed sites will be coming.
It is challenging to schedule, due to high levels of no-show and cancellation rates

Reporting data to First Responders

NH has released the name and addresses of people who test positive to law enforcement and other first responders. Memorandums of Understanding were issued to municipalities to how the data could be used. They don’t believe that any protected health info has been released. This protects first responders when going to an emergency. [I’ve said before: COVID-19 is a reportable disease. Giving this info to those who have a need to know, such as police, fire, and emergency rescue teams, supersedes HIPPA privacy rules.]

When will other businesses be opening?

Day camps, summer overnight camps, wedding ceremonies, wedding receptions are all being considered, but all have unique challenges.
Beaches: Looking at neighbors. Not there yet.
Little League, and all sports: Being reviewed. Maybe a short or extended season. Concern about locker rooms, indoor sports, contact sports.
Wait and see the consequences of opening retail facilities, restaurants. It will take a few weeks for the data to come in. We need to look at the data.
Data from states that have opened,
It will take at least 2 weeks to start getting data from other states that have opened.

The connection between farms and food banks

There is a eef, pork, poultry shortage, and fresh vegetable shortage, yet some farms (nationally) are throwing away food. What can be done? Part of the new funding will help the Dept. of Ag make connections to ensure that there is no waste where there is a need.

Masks
“Massachusetts has mandated the use of masks. We are not this point here in the state. If local cities and towns have, can do that, and want to go down that path, it is their choice to do so, but as a state we don’t, I don’t feel it is necessary to do that across the state at this time …”

Death and Hospitalization Rates

“Hospitalization rate is about 10%, which is good.” (Commissioner Shibinette) Case numbers are going up, hospitalization numbers are going down. Current hospitalization numbers have increased because of length of stay, not new hospitalizations. Death rates are at long-term care facilities. Several facilities will be cleared for infection next week.

Governor’s Q&A on WMUR on Friday evening

Part 1

Stay-at-home order extension will remain in some form in the coming weeks and possibly months, we aren’t sure.
Rushing to reopen creates a lot of risks in spreading the virus to places where it hasn’t shown up yet.
Concern about camps

Part 2

Plan for schools in the falls, not determined if masks will be required. Being explored. Determination in the next month.
Busing for schools
He expects to lift the moratorium on rental evictions before too long. More info coming, probably on Monday
Childcare center restrictions

Part 3

When will one-on-one interactions such as tattoo shops, nail parlors, salons, acupuncture open? Guidance announcement probably a week after next.
When will the restaurant indoor dining open? We aren’t rushing into anything. A few weeks or a month we’ll start making the next step.
When will hotels/motels reopen? It’s not a good idea to invite tourists from NY and MA to come to NH right now. Probably not in the near future.

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:

Have Questions?

NH residents can dial the state’s COVID-19 hotline at 2-1-1 or 603-271-4496 for answers to questions related to the outbreak and to be directed to available resources for help.

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.

Resource Compilations:

From Congresswoman Annie Kuster: A list of many resources, including Keeping Safe from COVID-19; New Hampshire Specific COVID-19 Information; Direct Payment to Granite Staters (Economic Impact Payments); Support for Small Businesses; Unemployment Assistance; Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Survivors; Student Loans; Taxes; Traveling Internationally; Veterans. https://kuster.house.gov/covid-19

Mental Health Resources, compiled by Jan Schmidt, Alderman and State Rep in Nashua. http://janschmidt4ward1.com/uncategorized/free-online-meetings-and-virtual-platforms/

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. DHHS has offered a sheet, “Supporting Child and Family Wellbeing during the COVID-19 Emergency:” https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dcyf/documents/family-wellbeing-during-covid-19.pdf

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.

Mask materials: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/best-coronavirus-face-mask-materials-new-study_l_5e99b576c5b6a92100e63129

A tip on how to make any mask (except N95) more efficient. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/04/22/840146830/adding-a-nylon-stocking-layer-could-boost-protection-from-cloth-masks-study-find

I found another good mask video, although I believe that coffee filters are not being recommended any more; they make breathing too hard. It is now in the resource section at the bottom of every report.https://nbclim-f.akamaihd.net/i/Prod/NBCU_LM_VMS/635/99/DIT_20OTS_20NAT_20FEAT_20GIAT_20DIY_20FACE_20MASKS_20040520_20JD_20REV_202_20with_20L3__,935446,886827,037719,116849,460519,061449,.mp4.csmil/master.m3u8

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

COVID-19: The CIDRAP Viewpoint. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/sites/default/files/public/downloads/cidrap-covid19-viewpoint-part1_0.pdfhttps://www.cidrap.umn.edu/sites/default/files/public/downloads/cidrap-covid19-viewpoint-part1_0.pdf

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