Restrictions on motels; Vt. governor predicts bleak time ahead

By KATHY McCORMACK, WILSON RING and PATRICK WHITTLE
Associated Press
Here are the latest coronavirus developments from around New England:

NEW HAMPSHIRE

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu on Monday ordered that hotels, inns and short-term rental services such as AirBnb be restricted to “vulnerable populations and essential workers only” during the coronavirus pandemic, including children in emergency placement, victims of domestic violence, and people receiving specialized medical care.

The order also applies to people made homeless if their hotels or other lodging accommodations are being used as emergency shelters; residents who are self-isolating; people unable to return to their homes outside of the state due to flight cancellations; and workers employed by a business or organization that qualifies as an essential business.

The order does not apply to campgrounds.

The order, in effect through May 4, follows similar orders in Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont.

Prison worker tests positive: An employee who works at the New Hampshire state prison for men in Concord has tested positive for the coronavirus and is now quarantined at home, the Department of Corrections said Monday.

The department learned late Friday that the employee had tested positive, spokeswoman Laura Montenegro said in a news release.

The employee last worked at the prison on March 25 and did not return until Wednesday, April 1, but was denied entry based on the COVID-19 screening process and was directed to follow up with a health care provider, Montenegro said. That follow-up resulted in the positive test confirmation, she said.

The screening for staff includes a temperature and visual check, Montenegro said. The prison suspended visitation and volunteer services on March 16 and is promoting social distancing by reducing movement and transfer with other correctional institutions.

Mobile testing site suspended: A mobile testing site for the coronavirus at the Armory in Manchester was suspended and resources are being pooled to be used at an expected community surge at hospitals, city organizers said.

Shortages in personal protective equipment and testing swabs and the need to clean and service equipment at the site were factors in suspending the site Friday, according to a statement from Manchester’s Emergency Operations Center.

The facility tested more than 1,000 people from March 14 through Friday, the statement said.

Testing capabilities will continue at Catholic Medical Center, Elliot Health System and Dartmouth-Hitchcock, as well as private entities such as ConvenientMD.

The numbers: As of Monday, over 700 people have tested positive for the virus and nine people have died from COVID-19 in New Hampshire. Ninety-two people have been hospitalized for the virus. Of the total cases, about 190, or 26%, are health care workers.

For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.

Hikers’ masks: New Hampshire’s Fish and Game Department is asking hikers to include face masks and latex gloves in their outdoor gear.

“With the current situation of COVID-19, people are putting emergency personnel and volunteers at a great risk when they get injured,” the department said in a statement Monday.

Officials point to the rescue of a man who slipped on some rocks and hurt his ankle while hiking down Mt. Major trail on Saturday. The man was with a group of friends. A fire department crew drove to the site and carried him to their ambulance, which brought him to a hospital.

VERMONT

Vermonters need to prepare for what could be a bleak time over the next several weeks as the state continues its efforts to control the outbreak of COVID-19, but there are glimmers of hope, Gov. Phil Scott said Monday.

Scott reiterated that Vermonters need to stay home and stay isolated from others as most effective tool to stop the spread of the virus.

“This is a once-in-a-century challenge, but with each of us sacrificing for the greater good, with neighbors helping neighbors and using Vermont common sense and ingenuity, and by uniting around the common cause of protecting one another, we will beat this.”

Twenty-three Vermonters have died from COVID-19, and projections for the number of people expected to die range from about 40 to 100, Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine said.

One projection estimates the effort to contain the spread of COVID-19 could save 1,700 lives, Levine said.

“I’d like us to focus on that ideal, because we can’t really say how this is going to play out,” Levine said.

As of Sunday, more than 500 cases have been confirmed in Vermont.

For most people, the virus that leads to COVID-19 causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.

Supplies: Statistics released Sunday showed that in a worst-case scenario, the state of Vermont will run out of supplies of some types of personal protective equipment such as N95 masks, surgical masks, gloves and body protection between April 14 and May 5. But under what are now considered the best and most likely cases, the state’s supply of that equipment will be adequate to cope with the demand.

There are more than 200 ventilators in the state that would be used to help treat the sickest COVID-19 patients, Vermont officials said.

The state is asking the Federal Emergency Management Agency for 600 ventilators. No deliveries have occurred or been promised.

FEMA has asked states to advise when they see a 72-hour critical need that will outstrip state capacity. Vermont planners are monitoring for that period.

Meanwhile, the state, working with hospitals and staff, is in the process of buying 452 ventilators from eight separate suppliers. About 50 have begun arriving or are in transit.

Prison: The Vermont Corrections Department says the state prison in Swanton is operating in a modified lockdown due to a possible coronavirus exposure.

The department says a staff member at the Northwest State Correctional Facility is sick with COVID-19-like symptoms. A preliminary test came back negative, but given the symptoms a second test was ordered.

The staff member was last at the prison March 26 and began to show symptoms March 28.

Staff and inmates will be issued face masks and have their temperatures checked at the end of every shift. The inmates will be fed in their cells and allowed out for recreation in small numbers in accordance with social distancing practices.

MAINE

Public health officials in Maine said Monday there are still no cases of the new coronavirus in Piscataquis County, one of the least densely populated countries in the eastern United States.

The virus has appeared in 15 of the state’s 16 counties, and two counties in southern Maine are in the midst of community transmission of the virus, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention director Nirav Shah said. But Piscataquis, which has a population of about 17,000 and only about four residents per square mile, remains free of cases.

The state has enacted a stay-at-home order to try to limit the spread of the disease, and also issued a rule for travelers to the state to self-quarantine. Maine’s cases are clustered most heavily in Cumberland and York counties. In total, 10 people have died from COVID-19 and at least 499 people have tested positive for the virus in Maine.

Shah said residents shouldn’t develop a false sense of security due to Maine’s relative low number of cases compared to other states.

“I hope that there is not anyone out there who is taking a look at our relatively low numbers compared to Boston, New York and others and saying ‘this is not a risk in Maine,’” Shah said.

Piscataquis is in the interior of Maine and is home to Baxter State Park, one of the most beloved natural areas in New England. The most populated town is Dover-Foxcroft, about two hours north of Portland. It’s one of the geographically largest counties east of the Mississippi River, but is one of only two counties in the northeastern U.S. that has fewer than five residents per square mile.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

Inns are out: Bar Harbor’s suspension of vacation rentals and other accommodations for nonessential travel begins on Wednesday. The order adopted by the Town Council applies to short-term rentals, vacation rentals and campgrounds. It is set to expire at the end of April.

Kennebunkport officials recommend that owners of temporary units like hotels, bed and breakfasts and campgrounds stop allowing rentals. All short-term rental spots in town must remain vacant through May 1, the Select Board said. Seasonal homeowners who arrive in town during the order must self-quarantine for 14 days.

Seafood licenses: Democratic Gov. Janet Mills on Monday issued an executive order to delay the requirement for Maine seafood dealers and processors to renew licenses. She said it’s a way of aiding “a critically important driver of Maine’s economy.”

Unemployment: So many unemployment claims have been made that the state is limiting when people can call in for help. On Monday, people with last names ending in A through H are allowed to call the Maine Department of Labor. People with last names ending in I through Q can call Tuesday, and R through Z on Wednesday. Anyone can call Thursday and Friday.