NH municipalities get $40M; VT allows some elective health care

By KATHY McCORMACK, HOLLY RAMER
and WILSON RING
Associated Press
A look at developments around New England related to the coronavirus pandemic:

New Hampshire

New Hampshire towns and cities are getting $40 million for costs associated with the coronavirus pandemic, and first responders are getting a temporary boost in pay, Gov. Chris Sununu said Monday.

Towns and cities have seen expenses such as overtime pay for police and welfare costs soar during the pandemic. The new grants can be used for those kinds of expenses, as well as costs associated with cleaning municipal buildings and moving services online.

Full-time firefighters, emergency medical technicians, corrections officers and police will be eligible for an extra $300 per week, while part-time first responders will get $150 for the next eight weeks.

“We’re doing everything we can to make sure that for those who are on the front lines and are putting themselves at risk throughout this COVID-19 crisis, we want to be there for them,” Sununu said.

Some Democrats had been calling for municipal aid and hazard pay for first responders for over a month.

“It’s good to see the governor adopt our idea and move one step closer to putting our proposal into practice,” said Senate Majority Leader Dan Feltes, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor.

Both the weekly stipends for first responders and the municipal grants will be paid for with the state’s $1.25 billion in federal coronavirus relief aid. Meanwhile, a legislative committee advising the governor on spending the money is expected to begin making its initial recommendations this week.

Divided cosmetologists: A task force on reopening New Hampshire’s economy may re-work some of the state’s guidance for hair salons and barbershops.

Hair stylists and barbers can head back to work May 11 with restrictions on the number of clients they can serve and with strict rules regarding cleaning and protective gear.

“There are just some people out there that just don’t feel safe and they don’t want to open,” said task force member Sen. Sharon Carson, a Republican from Londonderry. “And under the plan that we adopted they don’t have to. But many feel that if they don’t open, they’re going to lose their clientele.”

Concerns ranged from providing a better definition of “root touch-up” to making sure the businesses have enough protective equipment. Task force members said they might re-visit the guidance.

The numbers: As of Monday, 2,588 people in New Hampshire have tested positive for the virus, an increase of 72 from the previous day. Eighty-six people 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.

Unemployment update: More than $242 million has been paid in unemployment benefits in New Hampshire in the weeks since the pandemic started, including money from the federal CARES Act, Richard Lavers, deputy commissioner of the Department of Employment Security, said Monday. He said more than 150,000 new claims for unemployment have filed been since that time.

Lavers said the number of new claims in a week peaked at 39,000 in early April and has since been declining. New Hampshire saw an initial spike at a greater rate than surrounding states because it created expanded eligibility for benefits earlier, he said.

Library take-out: Many libraries are closed during the coronavirus pandemic, but some, like Laconia, are providing “take-out” service.

The Laconia Daily Sun reports patrons pick up books and other items in shopping bags outside the front door. When returned, the books are quarantined for a week and sanitized. Patrons are asked to wipe down any items they pick up and return.

Vermont

Vermont is allowing some elective health care procedures to resume as the state emerges from its COVID-19 shutdown, Gov. Phil Scott announced Monday.

Outpatient clinics and surgeries may resume if the providers and the patients comply with measures designed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Elective surgeries that require a hospital stay are not yet allowed, the governor said at his weekly news conference.

The resumption of some medical care and other aspects of the state’s reopening is made possible by Vermont’s expanded program to test for new cases of the virus and try to stop its spread.

“As we find an outbreak, like a brush fire, we are able to put it out before an out-of-control forest fire erupts,” Scott said.

Separately Monday, more Vermont construction and manufacturing workers returned to their jobs after Scott loosened some restrictions.

Crews of as many as 10 people may now be on the job as long as they abide by safety measures. Those businesses may expand to full operation on May 11 if they comply with additional safety requirements, Scott said.

Expanded testing and tracking: Vermont Secretary of Human Services Secretary Michael Smith said the new focus on expanded testing of even people who do not show symptoms of COVID-19 and the tracing of the contacts of new cases has helped change the nature of the public health fight against the coronavirus.

“We are going out and hunting for this virus and using it whenever we find hot spots, through tracing, through testing, to really pounce on trying to contain this virus,” Smith said during the governor’s briefing.

Regional buyers group: Scott said Monday he was surprised to learn about the seven-state group to buy personal protective equipment and other medical equipment that was announced Sunday by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The consortium announced by Cuomo will create a regional supply chain for masks, gowns, ventilators, testing supplies and other equipment vital to fighting the disease.

Last month, after Cuomo proposed an earlier buying consortium, New York did not initially reach out to Vermont, but the next day New York officials reached out to Vermont to apologize, Scott said.

“We said at that point, we’d love to be a part of at least being at the table to understand what they’re doing,” Scott said, because what happens in New York does affect neighboring Vermont.

He said he didn’t have an answer as to why they weren’t included.

“It’s probably an oversight in that they didn’t include us, but at this point we’re trying to work with other states here in our region as well,” Scott said.

A spokesman for Cuomo did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

Separately, Vermont officials have said they have been able to find sufficient stocks of protective equipment and virus testing supplies and Vermont has been working with other states.

Corrections: The Vermont Department of Corrections says a second round of testing of 155 inmates and 154 staff at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans found seven new positive inmates and one positive staff member.

They were all in a section of the prison that only housed inmates who had been potentially exposed to 38 inmates who had previously tested positive for the virus.

All inmates who tested positive were transferred to the Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury, where they could be isolated together.

So far, 45 inmates have tested positive at Northwest State. Of those, 23 have recovered and returned to the St. Albans prison. Four have been released. Eighteen, including the seven new cases, are isolated in St. Johnsbury.

“It is too early to fully understand the data we are receiving on test results, but early indications are that the unprecedented infrastructure built to manage the pandemic is showing success,” interim Corrections Commissioner Jim Baker said in a statement.

The numbers: The Vermont Department of Health on Monday reported five new cases of the virus as the total topped 900. The number of deaths held steady at 52.

For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness.

Maine

The Maine governor’s phased reopening plan that includes an extended stay-at-home order through the end of the month will cost thousands of jobs and spur economic turmoil, Republican members of the state Senate said Monday.

The charge from the GOP came after some Republican members of the Maine House of Representatives called on Democratic leaders to call the state Legislature back into session to end the state of civil emergency declared by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills. Republicans in the state have been signalling growing buyer’s remorse since the Maine Legislature gave Mills more powers with a March vote that passed unanimously without a roll call.

Mills placed the state under a stay-at-home order until May 31 and has announced a phased plan of reopening that began on Friday.

The Senate Republicans said Mills’ decision “could devastate families in our districts” because of the loss of businesses and jobs. They also charged Mills with failing to collaborate with them on managing the response to the outbreak, which has killed 57 people in Maine.

“We must learn to adapt to the new reality that there is now another potentially deadly virus among us with which we must learn to coexist in a way that protects the health of all Mainers,” they said in a statement.

Mills’s office has defended the governor’s plan as the best way to protect both health and the economy.

“Her administration’s goal has always been, and continues to be, to listen to the legislature, both Democrats and Republicans alike, as much as possible amid a constantly changing and dangerous public health crisis,” said Lindsay Crete, a Mills spokesperson.

The numbers: Maine had more than 1,200 total cases of the virus through Monday. The coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.

Travis Mills speaks out: A retired Maine soldier known for his work with fellow injured veterans said the state’s stay-at-home orders are hurting his business. Travis Mills, who is unrelated to the governor, runs Lakeside Lodge & Marina in East Winthrop.

Mills told FOX News he’s concerned about not being able to book rooms until deeper into the summer. He said the virus is worth taking seriously, but Maine needs rules that work for a rural state with a smaller population than New York or Massachusetts.

Defiant business owner: A restaurateur who defied Mills’ emergency orders by opening for dining on Friday said he’s ready to do it again.

Rick Savage said he’s opening his Sunday River Brewing Co. on Tuesday after Sen. Susan Collins’ office did some research and determined that his beer-making license wouldn’t be imperiled. The state already revoked his food and liquor licenses, but he has said he’ll pay the fines.

Savage reiterated his criticism of Mills, saying she needs to act more swiftly to reopen the economy. His restaurant, in Bethel, is independent from the Sunday River ski area

Leather plant closing: A major leather finishing plant in Maine said the pandemic’s “devastating impact” on demand is going to put it out of business.

Continued operations at the former Prime Tanning plant in Hartland are “impossible” because of the loss of business and the lack of clarity on when demand will resume, said Norman Tasman, president of Tasman Leather Group. “We will begin winding down our operations with a goal of closing the plant late in summer,” Tasman said in a statement.

Tasman produces “Made in the USA” leather for footwear, garments, handbags and the military.