By Holly Ramer And Wilson Ring
Associated Press
Here are the latest developments regarding the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic throughout New England:
New Hampshire
A review of nursing homes that experienced coronavirus outbreaks found no correlation between their ventilation systems and how the virus spread through the facilities, the state health commissioner said Tuesday.
The state hired outside investigators to review ventilation at 28 long-term care facilities, including the hourly air exchange rate and how often filters were replaced. The systems varied widely in age and design, but the results showed no patterns in terms of the virus, said Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette.
“We have some facilities that have very modern air exchange systems where you have regular cycling of the air, and you have some facilities that don’t have a robust air exchange system, and both had outbreaks,” she said. “I thought that was going to make a significant difference, and it didn’t seem to have the impact that I thought it was going to have.”
Investigators did recommend increasing the air exchange in residents’ rooms and common areas, and adding ultraviolet light protection in duct systems, Shibinette said. And the state is still encouraging schools and businesses to review their own systems. The requirement that federal virus relief aid be spent by the end of the year may make it difficult for schools to complete major upgrades, but the state is exploring how it could help fund such projects, said Gov. Chris Sununu.
“There’s no doubt that clean air, fresh air and a well-functioning air exchange system is really important to individuals’ health and being able to mitigate the virus,” he said.
Trump rally: Gov. Chris Sununu said Tuesday he will greet President Donald Trump on Friday but won’t stick around for his rally.
Trump canceled a scheduled rally in Portsmouth last month citing concerns about a tropical storm that never materialized. The rescheduled event is set for Friday evening in a hangar at Manchester Boston Regional Airport.
“As the governor, I’ll always be there to greet the president. I’m not planning on going to the rally,” Sununu said. “I don’t know how big it is, but my guess is there’s going to be a lot of people, and when I can, I try to avoid large crowds, to be honest,” he said.
Sununu recently issued an order requiring face coverings to be worn at events with more than 100 people. He said he is confident the Trump campaign will comply.
“The first thing they said when they announced the event is masks are required. Hopefully, the individuals will abide by that,” he said. “I think they understand the importance of social distancing. I think they’re doing what they need to do to ensure it’s a successful event from a health and safety perspective.”
The White House says the president and vice president observe federal health guidelines, as well as those in place in the states they visit. But there have been multiple recent events at which the candidates and their audiences at times took public health precautions lightly and at worst ignored them. Earlier this month, hundreds of Trump supporters, some not wearing masks, stood and sat shoulder to shoulder in a packed airplane hangar in Arizona. And Vice President Mike Pence went mask-less in Iowa as he reached across a barrier to sign autographs.
Absentee voting: About 30,000 New Hampshire voters already have cast their ballots for the Sept. 8 primary thanks to the temporary expansion of absentee voting because of the coronavirus.
About 72,000 absentee ballots have been requested for the primary so far, and roughly 30,000 have been turned in, the secretary of state’s office told WMUR-TV.
Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlan is urging voters to get their ballots in the mail by Tuesday, Sept. 1, to ensure they arrive on time, or to consider dropping them off with town and city clerks in person. No mail will be delivered the day before the primary because it is Labor Day.
In a typical year, absentee ballots make up 10% of the total. This year, anyone concerned about COVID-19 is allowed to vote absentee.
The numbers: As of Tuesday, 7,150 people had tested positive for the virus in New Hampshire, an increase of 16 from the previous day. The number of deaths stood at 429. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in New Hampshire decreased over the past two weeks from 29 new cases per day on Aug. 10 to 19 new cases per day on Aug. 24.
The state announced an outbreak Tuesday at the Rockingham County jail, where 10 inmates and one staff member testing positive.
For most people, the 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 or death.
Vermont
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said Tuesday that most of the state’s schools are going to begin the school year having students studying at home and in school.
Scott, speaking during his regular virus briefing from Montpelier, said the low rate of infection in Vermont should make it possible for students to return to school safely.
In a normal year, students would be headed back to school this week. But the start of the school year was delayed two weeks, until Sept. 8, to give schools time to prepare for the year while keeping children healthy and minimizing the possibility of spreading the virus.
In many districts, teachers are at work this week preparing their classrooms and testing the equipment they will use for remote teaching.
“We all share the goal of making sure kids safely get the same high quality education they would have had before the pandemic,” Scott said.
The hybrid approach would have students studying remotely at home some days and in classes other days until conditions allow the resumption of full-time, in-person education.
Motor vehicles: On Tuesday Scott also announced that the Department of Motor Vehicles would be expanding its services.
On Aug. 31 the DMV offices in Montpelier, South Burlington and Rutland will reopen for in-person services for people who have appointments.
People will be able to schedule those appointments online beginning Thursday.
Many DMV services continue to be available online or through the mail.
DMV Commissioner Wanda Minoli said her department has been aware that Vermonters need DMV’s services.
While DMV employees have continued to work daily covering mail, online, and email requests, our goal always has been to reopen as quickly as possible with health and safety protocols in place,” she said.
The numbers: Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine said the state last week once again had the the lowest number of new cases per 100,000 at six, as compared with the national average of 93. Vermont also had the lowest percentage of people testing positive for the virus, less than 1%.
“The virus is still very present and widespread throughout the state,” Levine said.
On Tuesday, the health department reported seven new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19, bringing the total since the pandemic began to just over 1,570.
There are currently three people hospitalized with COVID-19.
The number of deaths remains at 58.
Maine
A pair of outbreaks in the state of Maine that originated more than 200 miles apart appear to be related, public health authorities in the state said Tuesday.
Maine health authorities have been battling outbreaks that originated at a wedding in Millinocket and the York County Jail. Those places are about 230 miles (370 kilometers) apart, but appear linked by a staff member from the jail who attended the wedding and tested positive, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention director Nirav Shah said.
The overlap shows “how aggressively and how opportunistically this virus can spread,” Shah said.
“It can be the uninvited guest at every single wedding, party and event here in Maine,” he said.
The state has been working to control both outbreaks. The jail outbreak has sickened at least 18 people and the wedding outbreak has sickened at least 60.
One person who tested positive as a result of the wedding outbreak has died. The person who died didn’t attend the event, public health authorities have said.
Low hospitalization rate: The state’s rate of hospitalization due to to coronavirus is far lower than the national average, Shah said. The state’s rate is less than one per 100,000 people, he said. The national average is 15 per 100,000 people, he said.
The state’s percent positivity rate for the last week is 0.74%, Shah said. The national average is about ten times that, he said.
Back to school: Maine officials are offering a back-to-school toolkit to help schools navigate reopening during the coronavirus pandemic.
The materials will include videos, posters and resources about coronavirus, the Maine Department of Labor said. The materials will help identify symptoms and provide information about preventing the spread of COVID-19.
The toolkit will be “a multitude of resources that will help students with hand hygiene, wearing face coverings at school, and social/physical distancing,” the labor department said in a statement.
The materials are also designed to help employees and students handle the stress of the upcoming school year, the department said in a statement.
The numbers: Twelve additional people have tested positive for the coronavirus, the Maine CDC said Tuesday. The state has had more than 4,300 reported cases of the virus. It has also been the site of 131 deaths. No new deaths were reported on Tuesday.
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.
Ranked voting: Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said the ongoing legal wrangling over the use of ranked-choice voting for president won’t delay the printing of absentee ballots.
Ranked-choice voting won’t be used in the presidential race in Maine this November after a judge allowed a Republican-led referendum that would let voters decide whether to use the voting system in future presidential elections. The judge made the ruling on Monday.
“We don’t expect that matter to delay distribution of absentee ballots,” Mills said.
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