By Steve Leblanc, Mark Pratt, Holly Ramer And Wilson Ring
Associated Press
Here are the latest developments regarding the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic throughout New England:
New Hampshire
When it comes to this fall’s elections, officials are worried about both safety and soggy ballots.
The secretary of state’s office hosted an online meeting Thursday for town moderators to discuss preparations for the Sept. 8 state primary and Nov. 3 general election. While voters will be allowed to vote by absentee ballot if they’re concerned about the coronavirus, the state also is making plans to ensure those who show up at the polls in person stay safe.
Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlan said the state will provide N95 masks for poll workers interacting with voters, face shields for moderators and others who may be walking around the site, disposable surgical masks to offer to voters and tall plastic sneeze guards to separate workers from voters.
Each voter will be given a pen and a paper pad to place under their ballot while marking it. That way, the table surfaces in the voting booths won’t have to be wiped down after each voter, which could create wet surfaces that mar the ballots, said Bud Fitch, attorney for the secretary of state’s office. Likewise, voters won’t be offered hand sanitizer until after they drop off their completed ballots because the moisture could jam the machines.
“Then you can drown your hands as much as you want,” he said. “But we don’t want them getting the ballots wet.”
Welcome, New Englanders: Residents of other New England states can now stay in New Hampshire hotels, inns and other lodging properties without quarantining at home first.
Properties that had shut down in March because of the coronavirus were allowed to reopen June 5, but out-of-state guests have had to attest to having quarantined in their home states for 14 days before arriving. Gov. Chris Sununu on Thursday removed that restriction for residents of Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
“We’re just trying to open opportunities in a safe and sound way,” Sununu said. “If we see our numbers go up we can always pull back, but right now we’re in a good place.”
Other states have similar rules, though they differ on which states are exempt and where potential visitors must quarantine. For example, Maine exempts New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont from its requirement that visitors quarantine in Maine upon arrival.
Hospitals & nursing homes: Hospitals can begin scheduling more routine surgeries and procedures, and some nursing home residents can resume eating and socializing together, the state health commissioner said Thursday.
Patients hospitalized for COVID-19 have dropped significantly in recent weeks, with only 34 statewide as of Thursday. Hospitals also report having reliable sources of personal protective equipment and the ability to quickly test patients for the virus before surgeries and other procedures, said Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette.
“Right now, we feel like this is a safe step for us to take,” she said.
At nursing homes, where residents have largely been confined to their rooms during the pandemic, plans are in place to resume communal dining and activities, she said. That won’t be allowed, however, in the two hardest hit counties — Hillsborough and Rockingham — or in facilities that have outbreaks. Seven facilities currently have outbreaks, while the virus is no longer present in 23 that previously had outbreaks.
Unemployment: More than 4,800 initial unemployment claims were filed in New Hampshire last week, down by more than 500 from the previous week, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday.
The latest number covers new claims through June 27. The number of new claims in a week peaked at 39,000 in early April and has since been declining.
The numbers: As of Thursday, 5,822 people in New Hampshire had tested positive for the virus, an increase of 21 from the previous day. Two new deaths were announced, bringing the total to 375.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and the infirm, it can cause more severe illness and can lead to death.
Vermont
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said Thursday he’s allowing a bill to allow mail in voting during the November presidential to become law without his signature.
In a letter to members of the Vermont Legislature, Scott said there appeared to be a technical problem with the law that creates an ambiguity in how the Secretary of State deals with ballot returns.
“This is particularly concerning in light of the concerns expressed by many regarding the return process for ballots mailed to all Vermonters,” the Republican governor wrote.
Scott said he hoped the Legislature would fix the problem when lawmakers return in August to deal with economic issues.
Under the new law all voters will receive ballots in the mail and they can return them by mail, take them to their local town or city clerk or bring the ballot to their polling place on Election Day.
Legislature: Separately, Scott signed three bills into law Thursday that provide $575.7 million to help Vermont cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Wednesday, Vermont House Speaker Mitzi Johnson, a Democrat, urged Scott to sign the bills, which were given final approval by the Legislature last Friday.
“Vermonters need this money now,” said Johnson’s statement, sent before the governor signed the bills.
On June 16, the Legislature passed a bill that contained $93 million in relief. That bill was signed by the governor June 19. The governor announced Wednesday the state would begin accepting applications July 6 for grants to businesses of up to $50,000 each.
Speaking of the money from the bill passed June 16, Scott said he’d instructed state officials to make it as easy as possible for businesses to apply for and receive the funds.
Bars warned: Four Burlington bars have been issued warnings for not following rules intended to limit the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, the city’s mayor said.
In a Wednesday statement, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger did not identify the bars or say which of the COVID-19 rules were not followed.
But the guidance for safe operation of bars during the pandemic includes limiting indoor operations to 50% capacity, limiting outdoor operations to a maximum of 150 people, having all patrons seated and prohibiting seating at the actual bar.
Weinberger says the presence of the coronavirus in Vermont is low, but the spike in cases elsewhere in the country shows “how fragile our success is.”
“Going forward, we will be watching bar activity very closely,” the statement said. “Bars need to comply proactively themselves, or we will be forced to take further action.”
The numbers: On Thursday, the Vermont Health Department reported 17 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total since the pandemic began to just under 1,230. The number of people who have died remained steady at 56.
The number of positive cases reported Thursday is high relative to recent trends in Vermont, but Health Department spokesman Bennett Truman said swings in the numbers, spread among six of Vermont’s 14 counties, are not unexpected.
“Some of these are among people who have a history of traveling,” Truman said in an email.
One case was connected to the ongoing outbreak in Winooski.
Maine
The state of Maine canceled tens of thousands of fraudulent unemployment claims during a period of less than a month, its labor department said Thursday.
The Maine Department of Labor has spent weeks investigating unemployment impostor fraud in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Labor commissioner Laura Fortman said the department cancelled about 24,600 initial claims and 44,000 weekly certifications between May 30 and June 27.
The labor department said it has also reinstated nearly 11,000 claims that had been flagged for potential fraud.
“We continue to refine the fraud filters so that we prevent fraudulent claims while at the same time provide the least disruption for Maine people who need these funds,” Fortman said.
Unemployment claims have fallen from their spring heights, but more than 4,000 Maine residents still filed new claims for jobless benefits last week, the Portland Press Herald reported.
Maine has reported more than 3,300 cases of coronavirus since the pandemic began.
CONCERT SHUTDOWN
Promoters of a 48-hour live music and camping festival said the event has been shut down by the state.
Summer Jam Camp Out 2020 was set to begin on Friday in Brunswick. The campground owner and festival promoter told the Portland Press Herald a representative of the state told them they couldn’t move ahead with the festival because it was likely to draw too many people.
Brunswick Town Manager John Eldridge said numerous people in the community had expressed concerns about the concert being a bad idea.
Observatory reopening: The world’s tallest public bridge observatory is set to open for the season in Maine.
The Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory stretches from Prospect to Verona Island and includes a 420-foot tower. The Maine Department of Transportation said the observatory will reopen on Friday.
Visitors to the observatory will be required to wear masks, and no more than two household groups will be permitted on the observatory level at a time, the agency said.
Ferry assistance: The Casco Bay ferry system will receive more than $2.7 million through the CARES Act for operating, administrative and preventive maintenance costs during the pandemic.
The money is going to the Casco Bay Island Transit District. The district has had to make costly adaptations to protect passengers and crew members during the pandemic, said Hank Berg, general manager of the district.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins said the federal money will “help ensure that Casco Bay Lines continues to provide safe and reliable transportation to passengers during this unprecedented time.”
Massachusetts
Gyms, casinos, museums, movie theaters and guided tours are some of the businesses and cultural activities that can begin welcoming back customers and visitors in Massachusetts as the state launches Phase 3 of its reopening plan on Monday.
In order to open, the facilities will have to meet specific safety protocols, including limiting capacity or instituting timed entries to control how many people are allowed in at a given time, Gov. Baker said Thursday. Tour buses and duck boats will be limited to 50% capacity.
In Boston, the Phase 3 reopening will begin a full week later, on July 13.
Professional sports will also be able to resume playing games under Phase 3, but with no spectators in the stands.
Bars and nightclubs will remain closed for now.
Also during Phase 3, nursing homes and assisted living facilities can ease some restrictions on visitors provided that there are no new positive cases among staff or residents in a 14-day period.
Baker said Phase 3 will take much longer than prior phases as the state continues to monitor efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus and look for any spikes in cases.
“We’ve made progress but we are far from being out of the woods,” Baker said during a Statehouse press conference Thursday. “The last thing we want to do is to move backward as some states have been forced to do.”
Baker also said he hopes everyone can enjoy the Fourth of July holiday while also remaining safe by avoiding large crowds and continuing to wear face masks in public.
Businesses that have been able to survive after being closed for months are looking forward to reopening said Christopher Carlozzi, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business in Massachusetts,
“Unfortunately, the prolonged Massachusetts shutdown has led to many shops and restaurants closing their doors permanently,” he said Thursday in a press release.
The numbers: Massachusetts health officials reported another 51 confirmed and probable COVID-19-related deaths in the state on Thursday, bringing the total number of confirmed and presumed deaths in the state to 8,123 since the start of the pandemic.
There were 195 newly confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 reported Thursday — pushing the total number of confirmed and probable cases to more than 109,300 in Massachusetts.
The number of people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 fell to 681 compared to 760 reported Wednesday.
The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care ticked down to 113 compared to the 123 reported Wednesday.
The number of probable and confirmed COVID-19 deaths at long-term care homes rose to 5,141, or more than 63% of all deaths in Massachusetts attributed to the disease.
Reopening schools: School committees across Massachusetts are asking the state to cover all costs associated with protecting students and staff from the coronavirus when classes restart.
More than 100 school committees have passed identical resolutions seeking full state reimbursement for all COVID-19-related costs, including masks and other protective equipment and additional teachers, bus drivers, and other staffers who might be necessary so students can practice social distancing, The Boston Globe reported.
“It is the responsibility of the state to ensure that each school district is able to pay for the enormous additional staffing, transportation, and material expenses required to do this,” according to the resolution.
“If the state is going to come out with a mandate to open school safely, they need to make sure we have the money to do it.” said Peter Demling, a member of the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee, who oversaw the drafting of the resolution.
Gov. Charlie Baker said last week he would allocate approximately $200 million from the state’s federal Coronavirus Relief Fund for costs related to reopening public schools, but it’s unclear if that’s enough.
Pop-up drive-ins: The city of Boston is holding a series of free, family-friendly drive-in movies this month.
The drive-in double features will be set up in parking lots at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center and Wentworth Institute of Technology.
Pre-registration is required.
The city will be using an LED screen that is visible during the day and at night.
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