CONCORD — With the holidays approaching and coronavirus cases rising in New Hampshire, Gov. Chris Sununu on Thursday issued updated travel guidance for residents, giving them an option on testing and quarantine time.
If people are traveling outside of New England, they are being asked to quarantine for 14 days upon their return, or quarantine for seven days upon their return, followed by a negative COVID-19 test.
Social gatherings with people not wearing masks, including those with immediate family, are still big spreader events for the virus, Sununu said.
“We want everyone to think carefully about it,” he said.
Regarding holiday gatherings at home, state officials aren’t going to give formal guidance on that, but are asking families to be very cautious and consider wearing a mask, especially if there are elderly people or people with underlying conditions present.
“Obviously, we’re not going to tell people that they can’t have a family gathering at Thanksgiving,” Sununu said.
New Hampshire is changing its priorities for contact tracing, with its public health division no longer handling every case, and bringing in outside partners to help out.
Health Commissioner Lori Shibinette said staff are reaching about 40% to 50% of positive cases on the first call. “Because of that, we want to equip our providers, our physicians, nurse practitioners, our hospital staff with the tools to help everyone keep themselves safe and their community safe.” She said people who are told they have tested positive usually hear the news from their health care providers.
Priorities for contact tracing for public health officials include people under age 18 and over 60; disproportionately impacted racial or ethnic minority groups; cases associated with a cluster or outbreak; congregate living settings; and health care workers.
Some other organizations like school districts also are taking on contract tracing, and that’s going well, Sununu said.
CLAREMONT — Valley Regional Hospital is set to restrict visitors beginning Friday in light of increasing numbers of cases of COVID-19 in Sullivan County and across New Hampshire.
Under the new rules, no visitors or caregivers will be allowed unless they qualify under an exemption, according to a Thursday news release.
Exemptions include patients requiring assistance to get to their appointments, pediatric patients, prenatal patients, same-day surgery patients, family meetings, end-of-life visits, and emergency department and urgent care. No visitors under age 12 are allowed.
In addition, all those entering Valley Regional buildings are screened for COVID-19 and required to wear face masks.
WOODSVILLE — A staff member at the Woodsville branch of the Ammonoosuc Community Health Services, a nonprofit family medicine practice, has tested positive for COVID-19.
“Upon learning of the result, following CDC and NH DHHS guidelines, we immediately contacted the state and closed our ACHS-Woodsville site to patients so we can perform additional sanitizing and disinfecting procedures in all areas where that employee had worked,” Ammonoosuc CEO Ed Shanshala wrote in a post on the organization’s Facebook page on Thursday.
Staff have also started contact tracing for employees and patients who may have been in contact with the person who tested positive. The practice reopened Thursday.
Anyone with questions or concerns can email Shanshala at ed.shanshala@achs-inc.org.
The governors in the six New England states and in New Jersey have suspended interstate youth hockey competitions through the end of the year because of rising coronavirus cases.
The suspension, which starts Saturday, affects public schools, private schools and youth leagues. It does not apply to collegiate hockey teams, professional hockey teams, or the U.S. national hockey teams, which are subject to existing COVID-19 protocols.
“As case numbers increase in many states across the country, it is critical that neighboring states coordinate a regional approach to limit further community spread of the virus,” the governors said in a statement Thursday.
Ice rinks in some states had been shut down for a while earlier this fall because of clusters of COVID-19 linked to games and practices. The states have issued new guidance on games, fan numbers, and face coverings.
Thursday’s decision does not significantly affect Upper Valley youth hockey programs, including the Hanover Hockey Association, based out of Campion Rink in West Lebanon, and the Upper Valley Hockey Association, which uses Wendell A. Barwood Arena in White River Junction. Both had already made changes to what games were being played.
HHA president Adrienne Peraza said the organization made the decision last month to not play any games in November and reassess on Dec. 1, and it had already started to cancel games scheduled against out-of-state opponents.
“Our main concern is to keep the kids on the ice, safe and playing,” Peraza said. “Not traveling outside of the state is totally workable, and we’re happy to comply with the governors’ new restrictions.”
BURLINGTON — Amid a record surge in virus cases, the Vermont Health Department is looking for people who attended two Halloween parties and others who participated in a bowling league so they can be tested for the virus that causes COVID-19.
The department says contact tracers have been unsuccessful in getting all the information they need about the people who attended the Oct. 31 parties in Marshfield and Milton.
They are also looking for people who took part in bowling leagues at Spare Time in Colchester on Nov. 3 and 4.
People who attended those events should be tested and follow public health guidelines for preventing the spread of the virus.
The state’s ability to contain the spread of COVID-19 relies heavily on the cooperation of Vermonters who have tested positive and their close contacts, said Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine.
“When the contact tracing team is not getting the information it needs, then people who may have been exposed to the virus and don’t know it might be unintentionally transmitting it to others,” Levine said. “That’s how an outbreak starts.”
State officials say a number of recent cases have been traced to social gatherings like baby showers, Halloween parties, deer camps and other small gatherings where masking and physical distancing broke down.
State health officials have warned of possible community exposure to COVID-19 on Election Day in four New Hampshire polling places.
Shibinette, the state’s health commissioner, said Thursday that the individuals who voted at Souhegan High School in Amherst, Pembroke Academy, Belmont High School, and Newfields Elementary School have tested positive for the virus.
Shibinette said anyone who stood in line at these locations, or at others and wasn’t able to practice social distancing should monitor for coronavirus symptoms.
As of Thursday, there were 67 active cases in Sullivan County, as well as 109 in Grafton County. There were a total of 2,528 active cases in New Hampshire. In Vermont, there were 693 active cases, with 39 new cases in Orange County and 20 new cases in Windsor County reported in the past two weeks.
More than 13,000 people in New Hampshire have tested positive for the virus since the start of the pandemic. The state announced 323 new cases Thursday. Three deaths were announced, bringing the total to 495.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in New Hampshire has risen over the past two weeks from 103 new cases per day on Oct. 28 to 226 new cases per day on Nov. 11.
On Thursday, for the second consecutive day, statistics showed Vermont set single-day records for new infections.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Vermont has risen over the past two weeks from 21 new cases per day on Oct. 28 to 38 new cases per day on Nov. 11.
Even though the number of cases in Vermont is increasing, the state still has the nation’s lowest rate of new COVID-19 cases per capita in the last 14 days.
Statistics reported Thursday showed there were 19 people hospitalized in the state with COVID-19 and five were in the intensive care unit.
More than 2,650 cases have been reported since the pandemic began. The number of deaths remains at 59.
The city of Burlington is setting up pop-up clinics in the New North End to test for the virus that causes COVID-19 after the virus was found in wastewater.
The free tests will be offered Thursday and Friday at the Robert Miller Community and Recreation Center.
City officials say wastewater monitoring shows the virus may be on the rise in the area. Detection of the virus in wastewater can occur as much as three to seven days before it is found in positive tests.
On Thursday, the tests will be offered from 1 to 4 p.m. On Friday, they will be offered from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
While the tests are free, appointments are required.
Like much of the region and the country, Vermont is seeing a surge in virus cases.
Gov. Phil Scott and other state officials are reiterating their calls for Vermonters to comply with virus guidance, including wearing masks, staying 6 feet apart, avoiding crowds and quarantining.