By Holly Ramer And Wilson Ring
Associated Press
Here are the latest developments regarding the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic throughout New England:
New Hampshire
New Hampshire will not require any schools to reopen this fall, but is offering guidance on how districts can do so safely.
Gov. Chris Sununu on Tuesday outlined recommendations for screening, social distancing, hygiene and other safety measures aimed at preventing further spread of the coronavirus. While President Donald Trump is demanding that schools resume in-person instruction, New Hampshire is leaving it to each school district to decide whether to fully return to the classroom, continue with remote instruction or combine those two options.
“We feel very confident that all students can come back to the classroom in a safe, health and productive manner, in a practical way,” he said. “We also appreciate that in some districts, it could be because of staffing, it could be because of public health anxiety — maybe the rate of COVID starts to skyrocket in one town versus another — we want them to have that flexibility.”
The 54-page roadmap released Tuesday includes information about rearranging classrooms to maximize social distancing, screening of staff and visitors and other precautions. Schools that do reopen must provide accommodations for students and educators who are not able to return due to underlying health concerns. Masks will be required for all outside visitors, including parents, and strongly encouraged for staff and students under certain circumstances, for example, when within 3 feet (1 meter) of each other during group activities.
Dr. Ben Chan, the state epidemiologist, acknowledged that some of the recommendations are inconsistent with previous advise to wear face coverings when within 6 feet (2 meters) of others. But he said, taken as a whole, the guidance is built upon layers of protection.
“I almost think about this as a Swiss cheese model. Each layer has holes. No layer is going to be 100% effective at preventing transmission, but when you put the layers together, the goal is to minimize the risk to staff, to children in the classroom, while trying to maximize the educational benefit of bringing students back to class,” Chan said.
The Republican governor initially ordered all schools to close for three weeks, starting March 16, and later extended that for the remainder of the academic year. The new guidance emphasizes that the pandemic “has created a traumatic event in the lives of students and educators” and urges school staff to support their social and emotional needs.
“Schools will need to model a sense of calmness and self-assurance to their students as they enter the school year,” the guidance states.
Required face coverings: The city of Portsmouth is moving toward requiring the use of face coverings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The Portsmouth Herald reports that the City Council voted 9-0 in favor of a mask mandate resolution Monday night and will meet with the city attorney later this week to write a formal ordinance.
Momentum for such a mandate grew after Trump announced plans to hold a campaign rally at the Portsmouth International Airport at Pease on July 11. The president later postponed the rally, citing the threat of bad weather, and Gov. Chris Sununu said Tuesday he has not heard from the president about rescheduling.
The resolution calls for the wearing of face coverings when people are within 6 feet (2 meters) of each other. It wouldn’t apply to children ages 6 or younger, people with a medical condition where wearing a mask may pose a risk, or individuals walking, biking or exercising as long as social distancing is maintained.
A judge this week refused to strike down Nashua’s mask ordinance while it’s being challenged in court.
Unemployment rate: New Hampshire’s 11.8% unemployment rate for June reflects the impact of the pandemic, officials say.
The rate was a decrease of 3.6% from May, which increased to 15.4% after revision. The June 2019 seasonally adjusted rate was 2.5%.
The number of employed residents for June was 656,580, an increase of 35,460 from the previous month and a decrease of 97,190 from June 2019.
Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for June was 11.1 %, a decrease of 2.2% from the May rate, and an increase of 7.4% from the June 2019 rate.
Nashua ordinance: Nashua’s face-covering ordinance and the governor’s declaration of a state of emergency because of the coronavirus will stand while they’re being challenged in court, a judge ruled Monday.
Andrew Cooper, a Nashua resident, had filed a request for a preliminary injunction as part of his lawsuit seeing to end Gov. Chris Sununu’s emergency declaration and the city’s rules requiring members of the public ages 10 and older to wear face masks when entering any business, work site or government building.
He argued that Sununu lacked the authority to make the declaration because “there is no ‘emergency’ in New Hampshire,” a claim that Hillsborough County Superior Court Judge Jacalyn Colburn said defied common sense.
“As anyone not living in a cave for the past few months would know, the State, the Country, and the entire world are in the midst of a once-in-a-century pandemic event,” she wrote in denying the motion.
The judge was equally blunt in rejecting Cooper’s claim that the mask ordinance infringes on his freedom of speech. She noted that the U.S. Supreme Court established more than a century ago that actions taken in response to a public health emergency should be upheld as long as they have a substantial relation to public health and safety and do not constitute a “plain, palpable invasion of rights.”
“Here, it is plain-as-day that the ordinance bears a substantial relation to public health and safety,” she wrote. “It seems common sense — to everyone except the plaintiff, his attorney, and his expert — that requiring individuals to cover their faces while indoors will help reduce the transmission of a highly contagious virus that is spread through the air.”
Business survey: Maintaining sales and customers is by far the top concern of New Hampshire businesses struggling through the coronavirus pandemic, according to a recent survey.
The New Hampshire Small Business Development Center used some of its $1.28 million in federal virus aid funding to survey 1,549 businesses in 172 cities and towns between June 10 and 24. More than four out of five said they are very or somewhat concerned with maintaining sales, customers. A majority of respondents also are very or somewhat concerned about access to capital, supply chain disruptions, timely payment of bills, liability and workplace cleaning.
More than of the businesses have seen their revenue decrease by 50% or more, especially those with few employees and those in the arts, entertainment and recreation industry or the accommodation and food service industry.
Only 19% of respondents said they had a resiliency plan in place before the pandemic, prompting the development center to schedule several “Small Business Resiliency Academies” across the state. The center is cooperative venture of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the state Department of Business and Economic Affairs, the University of New Hampshire and the private sector.
Virtual fair: Organizers of the 87th annual League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair say the only thing missing this year will be the bugs.
The weeklong event usually is spread out among dozens of tents at the base of Mount Sunapee but this year will be held online because of the coronavirus pandemic. From Aug. 1 through Aug. 9, online visitors will be able to communicate with and purchase items from more than 140 Virtual Fair participants and view live-demonstrations and musical performances.
Miriam Carter, the league’s executive director, says staff members and crafters have worked hard to provide a comprehensive experience that “will capture the excitement of the annual trek to the fairgrounds.”
The numbers: As of Tuesday, nearly 6,100 people had tested positive for the virus in New Hampshire, and 392 had died. The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.
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
The Vermont Health Department is reporting 30 possible cases of the virus that causes COVID-19 among people who were tested at a clinic in Manchester.
The cases that came back positive used antigen tests that were conducted at the Manchester Medical Center and are faster but less reliable that the diagnostic tests used more commonly in Vermont, Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine said Tuesday.
Vermont does not count tests as positive unless they are done with the more reliable system, but followup is being conducted with the people who tested positive, both to confirm the initial diagnosis and trace any possible route of infection.
A testing site for people without symptoms has been set up for Wednesday at the Flood Brook School in Londonderry where many of the people who were tested in Manchester live.
“Maybe by the end of the week we will actually have a bunch of positive cases,” Levine said during the regular virus briefing along with Gov. Phil Scott.
In introducing Levine, Human Services Secretary Michael Smith reminded people not to travel to out-of-state locations that are not within the state’s trusted travel designation regions and then return to Vermont without quarantining.
He said he had seen such reports, although he wouldn’t specifically say if they were linked to the outbreak in Manchester and the nearby town of Londonderry.
“All I’m trying to do here is deliver a reminder to Vermonters that we all need to do our part, that we continually need to be vigilant and we have to do our part to contain this virus,” Smith said.
Agricultural assistance: Scott announced Tuesday a $25 million program to help Vermont dairy farmers and dairy processors whose operations have been hurt by the pandemic. The program will begin accepting applications on Friday.
Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts said that since March 1, 25 Vermont dairy farms have shut down. The rolling average before COVID was the loss of 1.5 farms a month.
“The figures are pretty sobering,” Tebbetts said.
As of Tuesday, Vermont had 636 cow dairies, 47 goat dairies and five sheep dairies.
In addition to the assistance for dairies, the Agriculture Agency is preparing grant programs, $5 million for non-dairy farmers, farmers’ markets and slaughterhouses and a $500,000 program to help operators of country fairs and field days.
The numbers: On Tuesday, the Health Department reported four new positive cases of the virus that causes COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to just over 1,300. Three people are hospitalized with COVID-19 across the state.
However the numbers did not count any cases that would be part of the potential outbreak in the Manchester and Londonderry. Any positive cases will be counted once they have been confirmed.
The number of deaths remains at 56, where it has been since mid-June.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. But for others, especially older adults and people with health problems, it can cause severe symptoms like pneumonia, or death.
Maine
Maine officials said Tuesday that health organizations in the state will launch 18 “swab and send” testing sites to help make coronavirus testing more accessible to residents.
The new collection sites are designed to send samples to the Maine State Lab for testing, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement. The sites will use a “drive-through, drive up and mobile specimen collection” model, the department said.
Some of the sites are up and running and others will open within two weeks, officials said.
“Creating Maine-based testing capacity is especially important as national laboratories struggle to handle other states’ surge of COVID-19 cases,” health and human services commissioner Jeanne Lambrew said.
The sites will be available all over the state, with locations planned for Portland, Fort Kent, Bar Harbor and many other cities and towns, officials said.
The numbers: Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said she’s heartened by the slow growth of reported cases of the virus in Maine, but added the state must continue following safety protocols.
Maine officials reported eight new cases of the virus on Tuesday. Mills said she’s “very excited” about the low number, but it’s not time to celebrate or ease off precautions.
“We’ve got to remind ourselves that Maine is not immune. We’re not out of danger,” Mills said.
Maine officials have reported more than 3,500 cases of the virus in the state since the start of the pandemic. They’ve also reported 114 deaths. For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. But for others, especially older adults and people with health problems, it can cause severe symptoms like pneumonia.
Primary day: Tuesday was primary election day in Maine. Mills said residents responded to her request to utilize absentee ballots to ease the strain on the polling locations.
More than 200,000 residents took out absentee ballots. That was a record for a Maine primary.
Mills, Lambrew and Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention director Nirav Shah all said they voted via absentee.
Small farms: A federal program designed to help farmers weather supply chain disruptions amid the coronavirus pandemic needs to do more for small farms, a Maine congresswoman said.
Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree called on U.S. Department of Agriculture secretary Sonny Perdue on Monday to make the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program more inclusive of small farms that rely on local markets and direct sales. The program is intended to help farmers that have suffered economic hardship due to the pandemic.
Pingree, who is an organic farmer, said the USDA should allow for payments on total revenue losses rather than price losses for individual commodities. She said the program’s rules “have meant many of these farms are struggling to access relief or are entirely ineligible for assistance through this program.”
Pingree worked with Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska on the proposal.
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