By Holly Ramer And Lisa Rathke
Associated Press
Here are the latest developments relating to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in New Hampshire and Vermont:
New Hampshire
Struggling New Hampshire towns, cities and counties are both spending more money and expecting less revenue as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Friday.
The Governor’s Office For Emergency Relief and Recovery’s legislative advisory board heard from the New Hampshire Municipal Association, a town administrator, the mayors of Nashua and Manchester, and representatives from county jails and nursing homes as it prepares to spend $1.25 billion in federal relief aid.
Responding to a survey this week, 125 towns and cities described virus-related expenses totaling $7.6 million in the last five weeks, and said they expect that number to rise to $27.2 million by the end of the year, said Margaret Byrnes, the association’s director.
Those costs include everything from overtime pay for police and firefighters to increases in welfare costs as residents lose their jobs.
“The closing of small businesses and the local economies of municipalities are tied directly to local government. It is a fragile ecosystem, and they go hand-in hand,” she said.
Equally worrisome is the likely loss of revenue as the rooms and meals tax drops off and property taxes go unpaid, officials said.
Almost all the survey participants said they have enough cash reserves to operate for six months if 10% of July’s property tax bills go unpaid, but only 30% have enough if delinquency rises to 30%.
Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig said she estimates the state’s largest city could face a $25 million revenue shortfall by the end of the year.
In Nashua, Mayor Jim Donchess said that the city typically collects $200 million per year in property taxes, but that it already has received an informal request from its largest commercial taxpayer, a shopping mall, for a 20% abatement.
At the county level, the pandemic has exacerbated an existing nursing home staffing crisis, said David Ross, administrator of the Hillsborough County Nursing Home.
When one staffer at his facility tested positive for the virus, 10 others quit within two days because they didn’t feel safe, he said. The protective gear required if a patient tests positive would add up to 60,000 gowns in a month for Hillsborough County, but when the facility requested 10,000 from the state, it got only 100.
“Every facility is in that same boat. No one is out of PPE … but no one is really comfortable with their current level of inventory, and if anyone experiences an outbreak like some of the facilities have, it’s a frightening place to be,” he said.
Some nursing homes have stopped accepting new residents, he said. But jails don’t have that kind of discretion, said Carroll County jail Superintendent Jason Henry.
While jails have been under pressure by the Americans for Civil Liberties Union and others to release non-violent offenders, it’s more complicated than that, he said. He described releasing a woman, only to have her return a week later after a drug overdose.
“There’s not a lot of support out in the community for that,” he said. “It’s not as easy as just saying open the doors, let people back out.”
The numbers: As of Friday, nearly 1,300 people in New Hampshire had tested positive for the virus, and 37 have died.
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 the infirm, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.
Reopening of states: Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, said Friday he agrees with the Trump administration’s guidelines for states to reopen their economies.
“The template the president presented yesterday is a good template, it’s a good backbone,” he said. “It’s very much along the same path that New Hampshire’s been going down already.”
On Thursday, the president detailed a three-step set of guidelines for easing restrictions over a span of several weeks in places that have robust testing and are seeing a decrease in COVID-19 cases. Sununu said New Hampshire is not even close to Phase 1.
“You really need about 14 days of better testing results,” he said.
The state has ramped up testing to an adequate capacity, he said, though “we always want more.”
“We will be increasing it,” he said.
Vermont
As Vermont’s growth rate of new COVID-19 cases has slowed, certain professionals who have little or no contact with others and one-to-two-person construction crews may return to work next week, Republican Gov. Phil Scott announced Friday.
Social distancing remains necessary, with a limit of two workers per location who must stay 6 feet apart and wear cloth masks, he said. Hand-washing and disinfecting procedures must be in place, and any employee who has symptoms of sickness must stay home, Scott said.
“No one wants to get Vermont back to work more than me, but as we do, we must also do all we can to beat this virus,” he said.
The growth rate of new cases has averaged below 4% in the last 12 days, Scott said, thanking Vermonters for their hard work and sacrifice to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“While these trends are encouraging, I want to be clear we are not declaring victory, because we’re not out of the woods yet but we are seeing some daylight,” he said. “The state will only continue to see these positive results if people remain committed to social distancing, staying home, avoiding large gatherings and staying 6 feet away from others, wearing a mask, and washing their hands a lot.”
Starting Monday, property managers, one-to-two-person crews in construction and similar trades and professionals who have little or no contact with others, such as appraisers, realtors, municipal clerks and attorneys, may return to work.
More nonessential retailers, such as garden- and construction-supply stores, could open if they can meet certain safety requirements including phone or online ordering only, curbside pickup and delivery, and they must operate with a minimum number of employees, he said. Farmers markets will be permitted to operate starting on May 1 with guidelines that are being developed, he said.
“This will not be an opening of the floodgates,” Scott said. “Instead we will slowly turn on the spigot, a quarter turn at a time, guided by the data and our experts with health as the top priority.”
Unemployment backlog: Scott said he has given the Department of Labor until Saturday night to clear the backlog of eligible unemployment insurance claims, and if it doesn’t, the state will start writing $1,200 checks to those on the list on Sunday.
“I want to tell Vermonters I’m sorry and we’re sorry,” said Labor Commissioner Michael Harrington during the press briefing. “We recognize the situation that we’re in and the struggle that many are going through. I know that too many are having issues, haven’t received benefits or can’t get through to someone to help.”
The department has roughly 34,000 Vermonters who together have over 50,000 issues related to their claims, Harrington said. The department thinks it can resolve 90% of the issues over the next few days, he said.
Starting next week, the department is expanding the number of workers in its call center even more by adding 40 people from other state agencies and up to 70 from an outside vendor, he said.
Vermont has processed more than 78,000 initial unemployment claims since March 15, according to the Labor Department.
The numbers: A total of 779 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in the state and 35 people have died, the Vermont Health Department reported Friday.
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 the infirm, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.
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