NH State Representative Steven Smith

Concord, NH – Today, Governor Chris Sununu issued Emergency Orders 6, 7, and 8, as part of the state’s efforts to respond to COVID-19.

Emergency Order #6: Temporary authorization for take-out or delivery beer or wine.

All restaurants, diners, bars, saloons, private clubs or any other establishment that have both a restaurant license and on premise license from the New Hampshire liquor commission shall be temporarily authorized to allow for takeout or delivery of beer or wine. https://www.governor.nh.gov/news-media/emergency-orders/documents/emergency-order-6.pdf

“We appreciate the sacrifices many have made throughout COVID-19 developments,” said Governor Chris Sununu. “This emergency order will allow for patrons to also order beer and wine from their favorite restaurants when ordering pickup or delivery.”

Emergency Order #7: Temporary modification of data and privacy governance plans.

“This order will give school districts greater flexibility when developing remote learning software tools,” said Governor Chris Sununu. “Student privacy is paramount, and all applications and software still must meet rigorous Department of Education privacy standards.” https://www.governor.nh.gov/news-media/emergency-orders/documents/emergency-order-7.pdf

Emergency Order #8: Temporary expansion of access to Telehealth Services to protect the public and health care providers.

“Ensuring Granite Staters can receive quality health care without having to increase their exposure to COVID-19 is important,” said Governor Chris Sununu. “This order will ensure health care practices can continue.” https://www.governor.nh.gov/news-media/emergency-orders/documents/emergency-order-8.pdf

Many have been asking “why is this response so radical, when we didn’t do any of this for other viruses like swine flu or H1N1? This simple explanation comes from a fellow Representative who is also a doctor:

“Because there is no natural immunity, this without intervention will be like the 1918 flu, not like swine flu or H1N1 where at least some people had some immunity. Also compare the infection rates in Hong Kong and Singapore compared to the rest of the world. As very dense areas, one would expect rapid spread. But based on their experience with SARS, they adopted suppression from the beginning. This is why I believe our President and our Governor have made the right call in going to suppression, although I agree it is a hard call.”

Issued today:

Emergency Order #3: All providers of electric, gas, water, telephone, cable, VOIP, internet service, and deliverable fuel services will be prohibited from disconnecting or discontinuing service for non-payments for the duration of the State of Emergency.
Emergency Order #4: Landlords will not be allowed to start eviction proceedings for those unable to pay due to their financial situations. To do so would be against the law. All judicial and non-judicial foreclosure actions will also be prohibited during the state of emergency.
Emergency Order #5: Individuals who are unable to work or who have reduced hours due to the COVID-19 pandemic will have immediate access to unemployment benefits. Anyone in the following situations will now be eligible for state unemployment: If your employer temporarily closes due to COVID-19; Individuals that need to self-quarantine or are directed to quarantine at the instruction of a health care provider, employer or government official; Individuals that need to care for a family member that has COVID-19 or is under quarantine; Individuals that need to care for a dependent because of school closures, child care facility closures or other similar types of care programs; Self-employed individuals that are temporarily unable to operate their business because of any of the above listed situations will also be eligible.
Individuals will need to file for each week of temporary unemployment and all of this can and should be done online at www.nhes.nh.gov, or by calling . People can do all of this online from your home internet connection or your phone without ever having to go into a state office. The website to access is www.nhes.nh.gov and the phone number to call is 603-271-7700.
Governor Chris Sununu also officially submitted a request that the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration provide SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans to small businesses across -New Hampshire