Posted on by Bonnie

COVID-19 Update May 2

COVID-19 Update May 2

Salem: 162 confirmed cases

EDITED: I didn’t proof the numbers provided by the NH Department of Health & Human Services. Neither did they. I realized this morning (May 3) that they didn’t add up properly. DHHS has amended their report, in the number of current cases. The number of active cases should have been reported as 1,328, not 1,238. I have updated my calendar to reflect this correction.

162 Salem residents have tested as positive with COVID-19. That’s 8 more than yesterday; 56 for every 10,000 residents. Three other municipalities (Manchester, Derry, and Nashua) have move cases than Salem. Only Derry and Franklin have a higher percentage of their population with confirmed cases.

There were a few other notable changes in today’s number. One of the biggest surprises is the jump in the number of confirmed cases in Derry. They jumped up by another 21 cases, for a total of 81 in just two days. Derry now has more cases than Nashua, and Manchester has surpassed 500 cases. Concord has now joined the list of the municipalities with 50+ confirmed cases.

The state announced that more than 1,500 individuals were tested on Friday, the State’s highest one-day total. There were 121 new positive test results, including four individuals under the age of 18. Fifty of the new cases were in Rockingham County. DHHS reported the results for 4,044 tests; yesterday’s 2,300 was the first time that count passed 1,000. 7 people were hospitalized in the last 24 hours, but the total number of hospitalizations is the same as yesterday, still just over 100. Today the largest number of negative tests were returned, making 3,925 people relieved. Happily, over 1000 of the people in NH with confirmed cases of COVID-19 have recovered. Three families lost loved ones. All of the deceased were over 60 years old, including one male and one female from Rockingham County.

In the news tonight, it was reported that one American lost their life to this virus every 44 seconds during the month of April. That puts things in perspective.

How are you doing? I really want to know. But know that it’s ok that you aren’t ok, just be sure to listen to the way you are talking to yourself. If you need help, reach out to someone who can help. We will get through this crisis together.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend! Stay safe, and, always, be kind.

Key points covered below in today’s report:

  • That uncomfortable feeling you have? It’s grief.
  • COVID-19: The CIDRAP Viewpoint.
  • Death projections from the CDC.
  • Senator Martha Fuller Clark is recovering.
  • Jealousy! (MA vs. NH)
  • More resources from Congresswoman Kuster.
  • Mental Health Resources.
  • Masks for businesses
  • Childcare issues need to be addressed

Also:

  • Today I updated the chart, COVID tests per 100K residents over six periods, and the graph with a more detailed look at the differences between NH and MA testings.
  • Congresswoman Kuster’s resources and the mental health resources have been added to Resources at the end of every report. The CIDRAP Viewpoint has also been added there.

 

Click on the calendar to enlarge
https://www.bonnie4salem.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/may2-calendar.jpg

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

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mindi does an excellent report daily. You can sign up to get it here.

Could this be the answer?

On April 19, this was posted on Facebook:

The Governor maintains that we don’t have enough supplies (test availability).

Why is this so important?
COVID vs. US Daily Average Cause of Death

By Robert Martin on 15 Apr 2020

The following charts are from NHPR

#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 Statistics:

May 2May 1Change from yesterday
Total Confirmed Cases2,4292,310+119
Recovered 1,01746 (was 42%)
980+37
Deaths Attributed to COVID-19
843% (was 4%) 81+3
Active Cases1,2381,249-11
Total Hospitalized27711% (was 12%)
270+7
Current Hospitalized1031030
Tested Negative25,96422,039+3,925
Persons with specimens submitted to NH PHL10,0979,697+400
Persons with test pending at NH PHL220159+61
Being Monitored (Approximate) 2,8002,750+50
Total Tested (Confirmed Cases + Tested Negative)28,39324,349+4,044

 

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

 

NH Hot Spots
Eight NH municipalities have more than 50 confirmed cases:

  • Manchester: 508 (+27 from yesterday); 45 per 10K residents
  • Derry: 221; (+21); 66 cases per 10K residents
  • Nashua: 215 (+9 from yesterday); 25 per 10K residents
  • Salem: 162 (+8); 56 cases per 10K residents
  • Londonderry: 79 (+5); 30 cases per 10K residents
  • Dover: 70 (no change); 22 cases per 10K residents
  • Bedford: 57 (+0); 25 cases per 10K.

All other municipalities have less than 50 cases.  All of the other municipalities with 20-49 cases are geographically south of Concord/Dover, and east of Concord/Milford, except for Franklin, which has 48 cases.

Counties:

  • Hillsborough (inc. Manchester and Nashua): 1,058 (+46); 25 per 10K residents
  • Rockingham (inc. Salem & Derry): 828 (+49); 27 per 10K

These two counties make up about 77% of all confirmed cases in NH.

Our neighboring towns:

  • Methuen: 610 (+7). 29 deaths. 191 recovered (+10). 154 cases per 10K residents
  • Lawrence: 1,832 (+59). 80 deaths (+3); 228 cases per 10K residents
  • Haverhill: 600 cases (April 29), up 215 from April 23. 101 cases per 10K.

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

 

 

Of the confirmed cases in NH, about 13% 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.

Weekly info has been released for Week of April 20
As of April 20th, 471 healthcare workers have been infected (33% of all confirmed cases). Six kids under 9 years have tested positive. 21% of those infected are 50-59 years old, the largest age group. Those who are 30-39, 40-49, and 60-69 are each 15% of the cases. Surprisingly, only 17% of the confirmed cases are 70 or older, however, the rate per 100,000 for those over 70 is skyrocketing, as there are fewer people in that age range. 54% of all NH cases are female, 46% are male.

Race/Ethnicity: 90% of NH’s population is white; 81% of the confirmed cases are white. Hispanic/Latino are 3.9% of the population, but 6.1% of the cases. Blacks/African Americans are 1.4% of the population, and 5.4% of the cases. Asians are 3.0% of the population, and 3.2% of the cases. All other races are 1.8% of the population, and 4.4% of the population.

NH News relating to COVID-19

Stay at Home 2.0

That uncomfortable feeling you have? It’s grief.  Whether it is from a loss of a loved one, a loss of your job or income, a loss of your freedom, or a loss of your lifestyle, it can all be boiled down one thing: Grief. You are probably experiencing one of the early stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, or depression. It’s ok that you aren’t ok. There are sources that can help; you don’t have to go through this alone. NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness has locations in NH. There are others closer. Share them with me, so I can share them with others. There are also good websites, like this and this.

COVID-19: The CIDRAP Viewpoint. Check out this comprehensive report. “Part 1: The Future of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned from Pandemic Influenza” is 8 pages, including one cover sheet, and 2 pages of references. “Based on the most recent flu pandemics, this outbreak will likely last 18 to 24 months. It likely won’t be halted until 60% to 70% of the population is immune. Depending on control measures and other factors, cases may come in waves of different heights (with high waves signaling major impact) and in different intervals.” They present 3 possibilities of how these intervals might look, and other important info.  Read more.

Death projections from the CDC. The CDC has shared what the models are forecasting for deaths by states. Note that this is without taking Stay At Home 2.0 into consideration.

Senator Martha Fuller Clark is recovering. NH Senator Martha Fuller Clark and her husband, Dr. Geoffrey Clark, have announced that they are recovering from COVID-19. I had the (dubious?) honor of sitting next to Dr. Clark at one of the very last events I attended before the Stay at Home order. Dr. Clark had a mild cough. He dropped his papers several times, and I retrieved them for him. I found out that he had tested positive twelve days after this meeting, and was told to quarantine myself for the remainder of the two weeks. I was relieved to not develop symptoms, and I am very happy to hear that they both are improving.

Jealousy! I wish NH would give us the information that is given to the residents of Massachusetts. What a wealth of information they provide every day!

More resources from Congresswoman Kuster. Congresswoman Annie Kuster has assembled a list of useful resources for those of us in NH, 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

Mental Health Resources. Thanks to Jan Schmidt, Alderman in Nashua, for compiling a list of free online meetings and virtual platforms. (Alderman is a city’s equivalent of a town’s Selectman.) Jan, who is also a State Rep from Nashua, is doing her best to keep the people of Nashua informed about their options during this pandemic.

Masks for Businesses. NH businesses in need of disposable masks may order masks from the State of New Hampshire, to be picked up at any Department of Motor Vehicles. Masks will be provided to New Hampshire businesses at no cost.

Child care issues need to be addressed before the NH economy can fully reopen. State child care advocates say New Hampshire’s essential industries will not be able to operate at full capacity without first expanding access to and affordability of child care. Read more.

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:

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:

Masks:

There is no excuse for not having a mask!!!

Salem:

New Hampshire:

New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services:

Office of the Governor: https://www.governor.nh.gov

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:


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)

The World Health Organization:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

Media with NH COVID-19 news:

Housing

Unemployment

Financial Assistance

Link to other  NH benefits:

Businesses and Employers: Guidance for Small Businesses 

Sources for data included in these reports:

Please report any errors or omissions to bonnie@bonnie4salem.us. Thank you.