Posted on by Bonnie

COVID-19 Update May 5

COVID-19 Update May 5

Salem: 175 confirmed cases

For the first time in a week, Salem did not have an increase in the number of confirmed cases in our town. However, the number of tests reported today is lower due to specimens collected during Saturday or Sunday, when healthcare providers typically see fewer patients.

48 people in NH were diagnosed with COVID-19, including four individuals under the age of 18. 11 of the cases were in Rockingham County. There were 9 new hospitalizations, resulting in a total of 4 more patients. Six people lost their lives, with COVID-19 being considered a key factor in their death. All six were over 60. Included in the six were one male and one female from Rockingham County. Another 86 people received the good news that they have recovered from their COVID-19 infection.

Franklin now has become the 10th New Hampshire municipality with more than 50 confirmed cases. Four municipalities have more than 50 cases per 10,000 residents: Hudson (76), Derry (69), Franklin (60), Salem (60).

I have not yet heard back from the Dept of Health and Human Services regarding the discrepancies in their reports.

The NH COVID-19 news is light again. That’s probably a good thing. There are some inspiring stories about kids, though.

Look for the good stories. They are there. We can all see them, every day, if we open our eyes and our hearts. Stay safe, and, always, be kind.

Key points covered below in today’s report:

  • Boys and Girls Club of Greater Salem needs your help!
  • Kids can still have fun!
  • SEA/SEIU concerns.
  • Masks in Court.

Click on the calendar to enlarge
https://www.bonnie4salem.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/may5-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 5May 4Change from yesterday
Total Confirmed Cases2,6362,588+48
Recovered 1,19542% (was 39%)
1,019+86
Deaths Attributed to COVID-19
924% (was 3%)86+6
Active Cases1,4391,483-44
Total Hospitalized29511%286+9
Current Hospitalized115111+4
Tested Negative25,09724,282+815
Persons with specimens submitted to NH PHL10,61910,519+100
Persons with test pending at NH PHL79790
Being Monitored (Approximate) 2,8752,925-50
Total Tested (Confirmed Cases + Tested Negative)27,73326,870???+863

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

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

  • Manchester: 568 (+15 from yesterday); 50 per 10K residents
  • Nashua: 242 (+3 from yesterday); 29 per 10K residents
  • Derry: 231; (+2); 69 cases per 10K residents
  • Salem: 175 (0); 60 cases per 10K residents
  • Londonderry: 86 (+2); 33 cases per 10K residents
  • Dover: 74 (+1); 23 cases per 10K residents
  • Bedford: 64 (0); 29 cases per 10K.
  • Concord: 56 (+1); 29 cases pr 10K
  • Hudson: 56 (+1); 76 cases per 10K
  • Franklin: 51 (+3); 60 cases per 10K

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

Counties:

  • Hillsborough (inc. Manchester and Nashua): 1,181 (+24); 28 per 10K residents
  • Rockingham (inc. Salem & Derry): 888 (+10); 29 per 10K

These two counties make up about 78% of all confirmed cases in NH.

Our neighboring towns:

  • Methuen: 632 (+10); 238 recovered (+14). 31 deaths (+1); 160 confirmed cases per 10K residents
  • Lawrence: 1,917 (+38). 82 deaths (0); 239 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

Boys and Girls Club of Greater Salem needs your help! With the abrupt closure of schools, families in need are scrambling to find childcare for parents who must remain working on our front lines. Our Club has been approved by the state of NH to offer this service to our essential workers. Beginning mid-May, we will begin offering emergency childcare services under Governor Sununu’s Emergency Childcare Program. We will be following all of the safety guidelines provided by the state of NH in regard to disinfecting, social distancing, screening children & staff, PPE, and proper hand-washing & sanitation. Please consider a donation, of any amount, to ensure that our essential workers have a safe place for their children. They need our support now. Please donate at www.salembgc.org   Read more.

Kids can still have fun! COVID-19 is not stopping some kids, who are using programs like Zoom to connect for a band concert, and dance classes. My granddaughter has continued with virtual online karate classes, and just received her blue belt from Karate International of Windham!

SEA/SEIU concerns. Members of the Service Employees International Union, SEA/SEIU Local 1984, which represents about 10,000 state and municipal workers in New Hampshire, have asked the state to improve working conditions. They are looking for increased job-safety measures, hazard pay, fair treatment, COVID-19 testing, and more, including free protective gear and more consistent guidelines on teleworking. Workers in the employment security offices are not allowed to work remotely, even though staff from other agencies are. The union claims that this contradicts Gov. Chris Sununu’s guidance in March for all state agencies to help employees work from home when possible. Story from NHPR. Read more.

Masks in Court. The State’s Supreme Court has ordered that all people entering a court in New Hampshire must now wear a face mask. 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.