By Kathy Mccormack{/P}{P}And Wilson Ring
Associated Press
All U.S. adults are now eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine. To register for a vaccine appointment in New Hampshire, please visit vaccines.nh.gov or call 2-1-1. To register for a vaccine appointment in Vermont, please visit healthvermont.gov or call (855) 722-7878.
Here are the latest developments regarding the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic throughout New England:
New Hampshire
Dartmouth College is planning to ease some of its restrictions related to the coronavirus as of June 1.
There will still be COVID-19 screening, mask-wearing and 6 feet of distancing when dining with others and taking part in athletic activities and performances, the college’s COVID-19 Task Force said in a statement Thursday.
Visitors to indoor spaces must have a Dartmouth faculty or staff sponsor who would complete a registration form for them. Events can have more than 25 attendees in pre-approved locations, but should not exceed 100 people indoors or 200 people outdoors without a special exemption. Informal gatherings will continue to be limited to nine or fewer people.
Dartmouth’s goal is to have full access to campus on Aug. 1. That would require all students to be fully vaccinated.
Mental health services: Gov. Chris Sununu issued an order Thursday expanding access to mental health services, in response to a recent state Supreme Court ruling that psychiatric patients being held involuntarily in emergency rooms must be given a chance to contest their detention promptly.
The order adds beds at receiving facilities and ensures services are received from health care providers. It also ensures better community partnerships.
“This order will also review all mental health services across the entire state to determine if the providers we currently utilize are truly equipped and truly capable of meeting the need of New Hampshire citizens, and we are going to be exploring additional opportunities, both in and out state in the private sector,” Sununu said at his weekly news conference.
Walk-in vaccine clinics: Starting next week, New Hampshire will allow people without an appointment to walk into its state-run COVID-19 vaccination sites.
People will be allowed to go to the clinics from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. as of Monday.
Also, two special clinics have been scheduled. The first one, on Friday, May 21, is for residents in New Hampshire and Vermont and will be held in Lancaster. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be administered.
The other clinic is for the deaf and hard of hearing, on Saturday, May 22, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Elliot Health System in Manchester. American Sign Language interpreters will be provided. Appointments can be made through videophone at 603-546-7882, Voice at (603) 271-9097, and email at [email protected].
Unemployment benefit: New Hampshire is planning to end the $300-a-week supplemental federal payment for people collecting state unemployment benefits before it expires on Labor Day, Gov. Chris Sununu said Thursday.
About 10 states have already announced they are planning to stop accepting the $300 benefit.
On May 23, the state will require those receiving unemployment benefits to show they are actively searching for work.
The numbers: More than 97,000 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in New Hampshire, including 222 cases announced Thursday. Four new deaths were announced, with the total reaching 1,326.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in New Hampshire decreased over the past two weeks, going from 252 new cases per day on April 28 to 167 new cases per day on Wednesday.
VermontVermont will comply with new federal guidance and eliminate the mask mandate for people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Gov. Phil Scott said Friday.
Complying with that guidance, which says those who have not been vaccinated or those whose vaccination is not yet complete should to continue to wear masks, will be done on the honor system, Scott said during his regular virus briefing.
Scott is also moving up the state’s reopening plans by two weeks. Effective Friday, there will no longer be a testing requirement for travel, and capacity limits will increase for both indoor and outdoor gatherings.
“It’s time to reward all the hard work you’ve done over the past 14 months to help make Vermont’s pandemic response the best in the country,” Scott said.
The state is currently planning to lift all restrictions by July 4, and that date could be moved up if the number of people in Vermont getting vaccinated continues to increase.
Of all Vermonters aged 12 and up, 71.6% have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Of all Vermonters, 63.2% have received at least one dose, Secretary of Human Services Mike Smith said.
But Scott said his concern is that the 18- to 29-year-old age group lags in being vaccinated. The health department’s vaccine dashboard said Friday that 43% of that age group has received at least one dose.
12-15 vaccine registration: About 7,300 appointments were made for adolescents ages 12 to 15 on the first day the age group was eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in Vermont, officials said Friday.
The state estimates there are about 27,000 people in Vermont in that age group.
Registration for the age group opened on Thursday, after federal officials cleared the use of the Pfizer vaccine for people ages 12 to 15.
Vermont is encouraging parents and caregivers to vaccinate the young Vermonters. Parental or caregiver consent is required and can be given when registering online or in-person at a clinic.
Walk-in appointments are available at some locations.
The numbers: On Friday the Vermont Department of Health reported 58 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19, bringing the statewide total since the pandemic began to just under 23,800. The number of deaths remained unchanged at 252.
For the first time since November, the University of Vermont Medical Center — the state’s largest hospital — had no COVID-19 inpatients, Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine said.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Vermont did not increase over the past two weeks, going from 71.29 new cases per day on April 28 to 61.14 new cases per day on May 12.
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