By Holly Ramer And Wilson Ring
Associated Press
Here are the latest developments regarding the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic:
New HampshireGov. Chris Sununu on Tuesday signed a bill establishing a broadband matching grant initiative and fund for New Hampshire.
It will be funded with state appropriations, gifts, grants, donations, and available federal funds. Grants will be awarded to projects to expand broadband coverage.
During the coronavirus pandemic, nearly $13 million was invested in broadband projects using federal CARES Act funds to connect nearly 4,500 previously unserved properties.
Funeral gatherings: Now that the coronavirus pandemic has eased, New Hampshire families are once again getting together, including for funeral services.
“We had a family that held off for a year, with a family reunion. This is their first chance to kind of get together,” Katie Roan, owner of Roan Family Funeral Homes, told New Hampshire Public Radio. she has locations in Epsom and Pembroke.
Buddy Phaneuf, president of Phaneuf Funeral Homes & Crematorium, said the business had nearly 100 delayed services across New Hampshire and Vermont at one point.
“It’s been an extremely busy three to four months as the weather has been getting nicer,” he said. ”We’re seeing the tail end of the backlog of delayed services.”
The numbers: More than 99,000 people have tested positive for the virus in New Hampshire, including 27 cases on Tuesday. One new death was announced, bringing the total number to 1,381.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in New Hampshire has risen over the past two weeks from 18 new cases per day on June 27 to 3‘1 new cases per day on Sunday.
VermontThe best protection against the new, more transmissible strain of the coronavirus remains vaccination, Vermont officials said Tuesday.
The number of new cases of COVID-19 reported in Vermont is up slightly and testing is underway to determine how many of those cases are from the so-called delta variant, Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine said Tuesday.
Despite the slight increases — there were 16 more virus cases in Vermont the last week than in the preceding week — Vermont continues to lead the country in a number of measures, including the top vaccination rate of 82.8% of the eligible population, those aged 12 and over, which has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
The state also leads in the percentage of the eligible population that is fully vaccinated, 73.7%, and the full population, which includes those under 12, that is fully vaccinated at 65.1%.
Levine said he doesn’t expect the delta strain will create the problems in Vermont it has in other parts of the country because of the state’s high vaccination rate.
“What we are seeing in some of the western and midwestern states are real clusters and pockets of intense activity of the virus, which almost universally correlates with low vaccination rates,” he said during the state’s weekly virus briefing.
Scholarship program: Vermont Gov. Phil Scott says the state is going to use federal funds appropriated in response to the coronavirus pandemic to help unemployed and underemployed state residents who are seeking new opportunities through career change or advancement take college courses.
The Upskill Vermont Scholarship Program will cover the cost of two free education and training courses per Vermont resident at the University of Vermont and Community College of Vermont. The program has a goal of enrolling 500 Vermont residents through the fall 2021 and spring 2022 semesters.
The focus of the courses being offered are in three areas, the digital economy, healthcare, and leadership and management.
“This program is a perfect example of an impactful, important tool in our toolbox that will help provide more Vermonters the skills needed to successfully reenter the workforce or advance in their current field and rise on the economic ladder,” Scott said in a statement.
For more information and to begin the registration process people should visit the program’s website, upskillvermont.org.
The numbers: On Tuesday, the Vermont Department of Health reported eight new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the statewide total since the pandemic began to just under 24,500.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Vermont has risen over the past two weeks from 4.86 new cases per day on June 27 to 10 new cases per day on July 11.
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