NH State Representative Steven Smith

NH DHHS Announces Potential Community Exposures Connected to Positive Case of COVID-19 at Restaurant in Portsmouth – October 11, 2020

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is investigating a person with confirmed COVID-19 who may have exposed patrons seated at the bar at Jumpin’ Jay’s Fish Café at 150 Congress Street, Portsmouth, NH, on the following dates:

1. Wednesday September 30, 2020 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM
2. Thursday October 1, 2020 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM
3. Friday, October 2, 2020, from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM
4. Saturday, October 3, 2020, from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM
5. Sunday, October 4, 2020, from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Any individuals who visited Jumpin’ Jay’s Fish Café and sat at the bar during those days and times may have been exposed to COVID-19 and should contact NH DHHS at (603) 271-4496 for further guidance. DHHS has conducted a contact investigation and notified known close contacts directly. However, DHHS is making this public notification because there may be additional individuals at the location during those days and times who were exposed to the coronavirus.

NH DHHS Announces Potential Community Exposures Connected To Positive Cases of COVID-19 at Gate City Church in Nashua – October 7, 2020

The NH Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is investigating a potential outbreak of COVID-19 associated with individuals who have attended events hosted by the Gate City Church, located at 43 Main Street, Nashua, NH 03064. This includes a multi-day prayer session held from September 19th – 28th. To date, seven persons with COVID-19 have been identified with connections to the church community. DHHS and the Nashua Division of Public Health and Community Services are investigating these illnesses further and the church has moved to hosting virtual services only.

Any individuals who attended events associated with Gate City Church since September 19th may have been exposed to COVID-19 and should observe for illness and seek testing. View the multiple testing options available throughout the State .

Mental Health, Stress, and Anxiety Supports During COVID-19

1. 2-1-1: Directs to all information and supports available during COVID-19. Call 2-1-1 or visit www.211nh.org.
2. Family Resource Centers: FRcs as a “front-door” to services – they provide many supports directly and help families navigate to whatever else they might need. Find your local FRC at www.nhchildrenstrust.org/connect.
3. Waypoint Warm Line: Free guidance and support for parents/caregivers. Call: 1-800-640-6486 M-F, 8:30-4:30.
4. Find mental health resources at the NH Community Behavioral Health Association.
5. How Right Now is an initiative to address people’s feelings of grief, loss, and worry during COVID-19. Support for the How Right Now initiative is provided by the CDC Foundation.

Financial & Other Assistance

1. Unemployment Insurance Benefits have been expanded during COVID-19: Call NH Employment Security at 603-271-7700 or visit www.nhes.nh.gov/ to assess eligibility and get further instructions, e.g. call times.
2. Cash and other Assistance: For TANF and other state assistance, visit https://nheasy.nh.gov/#/ or call 1-800-852-3345. Visit www.dhhs.nh.gov/dfa/covid19-changes.htm for temporary eligibility and program changes.

Food & Nutrition

1. Food Pantries: NH Food Bank’s list of local agencies: www.nhfoodbank.org/need-food/agency-list.
2. NH Food Access Map: Crowd-sourced listing of food resources during COVID-19: bit.ly/nhfoodaccessmap
3. WIC: Nutrition support for pregnant-women, new mothers, children 0-5. Services remain accessible by telephone only. More info: www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/nhp/wic/index.htm or 1-800-942-4321.
4. Food Stamps (SNAP): Visit https://nheasy.nh.gov/#/ or call 1-844-275-3447

Housing

1. Housing Assistance: If you are experiencing a housing crisis, call NH 2-1-1, or contact your local city or town welfare office (searchable at https://www.nhmunicipal.org/municipal-directory). Call ahead for current operations.

Crisis Support

1. Domestic Violence Helpline: 24/7 help at 1-866-644-3574 or www.nhcadsv.org for free, confidential support.
2. Crisis Text Line: Text 741741 or visit crisistextline.org for free, 24/7 support from a trained Crisis Counselor.
3. NAMI NH: For more information on a variety of crisis and mental health supports visit www.naminh.org/resources-2/covid-19 or call (800) 950-6264 M-F, 10am-6pm. For 24/7 crisis support text “NAMI” to 741741.
4. Access crisis mental health services in your local community by reaching out to your community mental health center or mobile crisis response team.
5. Read the NH DHHS flyer Behavioral Health During COVID-19 .

Substance Use

1. NH Doorways: Call 2-1-1 for information on substance use disorder treatment during COVID-19, or visit www.thedoorway.nh.gov.

Child Care

1. ChildCare Aware: Visit http://nh.childcareaware.org/ for COVID-19 childcare support for essential workers and others.

COVID-19

1. NH DHHS: Visit www.nh.gov/covid19 or call 2-1-1 for COVID-19 related guidance and resources

Additional Resources

1. Strong Youth Strong Communities New Hampshire Virtual Youth Summit
2. Break The Stigma Intro Video
3. NAMI NH 24/7 Connectedness to Technology: Impact on Health and Well-Being 
4. Coping Strategies for COVID-19 Stress 
5. Supporting Child and Family Wellbeing During the COVID-19 Emergency 
6. Common Warning Signs of Mental Illness 

‘Lives depend on us’: New coronavirus cases are up by at least 50% in 5 states

More than half of U.S. states are seeing an increase in new COVID-19 cases, with five states — Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Tennessee and Vermont — reporting a jump of more than 50% in one week. More at https://www.wmur.com/article/lives-depend-on-us-new-coronavirus-cases-are-up-by-at-least-50-in-5-states/34341798

Battling homelessness in the pandemic

https://www.concordmonitor.com/Battling-homelessness-in-the-pandemic-36720240

New Hampshire 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Summary Report

(data updated as of October 11, 2020 – 9:00 AM)

¹ Includes specimens positive at any laboratory and those confirmed by CDC confirmatory testing.
² Includes specimens tested at the NH Public Health Laboratories (PHL), LabCorp, Quest, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Mako, certain hospital laboratories, the University of New Hampshire and their contracted laboratory, and those sent to CDC prior to NH PHL testing capacity.
³ Includes specimens received and awaiting testing at NH PHL. Does not include tests pending at commercial laboratories.

NH DHHS COVID-19 Update – October 11, 2020

Concord, NH –The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has issued thefollowing update on the new coronavirus, COVID-19.

On Sunday, October 11, 2020, DHHS announced 55 new positive test results for COVID-19, for a daily PCR test positivity rate of 0.8%. Today’s results include 32 people who tested positive by PCR test and 23 who tested positive by antigen test. There are now 685 current COVID-19 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire.

Several cases are still under investigation. Additional information from ongoing investigations will be incorporated into future COVID-19 updates. Of those with complete information, there are fourteen individuals under the age of 18 and the rest are adults with 55% being female and 45% being male. The new cases reside in Rockingham (16), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (11), Strafford (10), Merrimack (5), and Belknap (1) counties, and in the cities of Manchester (6) and Nashua (3). The county of residence is being determined for three new cases.

Two new hospitalized cases were identified. There are currently 22 individuals hospitalized with COVID-

1. None of the new cases had no identified risk factors. Community-based transmission continues to occur in the State and has been identified in all counties. Of those with complete risk information, most of the cases have either had close contact with a person with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis or are associated with an outbreak setting.

DHHS has announced one additional death related to COVID-19. We offer our sympathies to the family and friends.

1 male resident of Hillsborough County, 60 years of age and older

In New Hampshire since the start of the pandemic, there have been a total of 9,143 cases of COVID-19 diagnosed with 752 (8%) of those having been hospitalized.

I know that not everyone is doing literally all that they should to be safe. Most people are doing some things though, and that has worked pretty well. As we go into the holiday season, it is going to be harder. I did not enjoy the early stages. I spent a lot of time helping people with their unemployment claims, navigating travel rules, and figuring out how to apply for the available grants. We don’t ever want to return to life as it was in March, so please don’t relax yet. Continue to wash your hands more than used to, please continue to wear a mask most of the time and always where required, and do what you can. ~ Steve

COVID tracker: Cases are rising faster

By DAVID BROOKSMonitor staffPublished: 10/9/2020 3:11:35 PM

The long-feared autumn rise in New Hampshire COVID-19 has started to arrive, as reflected in a deterioration of the Monitor’s weekly tracking – for the first time in months we are missing two of our goals – as well as the state’s concern that community-wide transmission is happening in more areas.

Part of the issue is New Hampshire’s decision to include rapid antigen testing in daily results, rather than just PCR tests.

Both types of tests are conducted on nasal swabs. PCR tests detect the genetic material of the virus itself. They are more reliable but take several days to be performed by a laboratory.

Antigen tests detect proteins on the outside of the SARS-CoV2 virus and depend on chemical reactions that can be read on site in as little as 15 minutes.

The state said earlier this month antigen tests that have proved reliable enough are now so widely available that they can be included in the daily counts, rather than waiting for their results to be confirmed by PCR tests.

The number of antigen tests is still relatively small compared to PCR tests but should increase. The federal government is expected to provide the state with as many as 400,000 Abbott BinaxNOW antigen tests by the end of the year.

In recent days about one-third of new cases have been detected through antigen tests: on Thursday, for example, there were 55 PCR positives and 24 antigen positives, while Wednesday saw 43 new cases from PCR and 28 from antigen tests. More at https://www.concordmonitor.com/covid-coronavirus-nh-new-hampshire-36674635

PPP loan forgiveness process now simplified, SBA says

By  BOB SANDERSNH Business ReviewPublished: 10/9/2020 4:47:50 PM

Businesses that received less than $50,000 in Paycheck Protection Program funds now have a simplified form to submit to their bank to get forgiveness on that loan, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced Thursday night.

The one-page form asks for such basic information as the number of employees, the amount of the loan and the amount to be forgiven. That’s it. More at https://www.concordmonitor.com/PPP-loan-forgiveness-process-now-simplified-SBA-says-36721292

The Safety Pledge – Keep Kids Safer Online

On September 29, a new campaign led by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the White House was launched to keep kids safe online – Safety Pledge. This campaign aims to provide free resources from the NCMEC to help parents, educators, and other caregivers learn more about the risks that children face online and empower the children in their lives to respond to those risks safely. 

Throughout COVID-19, NCMEC has witnessed dramatic increases in reports of child sexual exploitation to the CyberTipline and increased vulnerability of children. With many children being educated remotely this fall and using virtual devices for school lessons and social interactions, it is essential that we work together to help keep children safe online. 

The website – www.safetypledge.org – contains practical toolkits about internet safety. It also contains a Safety Pledge, which individuals can digitally sign and make their formal commitment to safeguarding children online.

New Hampshire 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Summary Report

(data updated as of October 9, 2020 – 9:00 AM)

¹ Includes specimens positive at any laboratory and those confirmed by CDC confirmatory testing.
² Includes specimens tested at the NH Public Health Laboratories (PHL), LabCorp, Quest, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Mako, certain hospital laboratories, the University of New Hampshire and their contracted laboratory, and those sent to CDC prior to NH PHL testing capacity.
³ Includes specimens received and awaiting testing at NH PHL. Does not include tests pending at commercial laboratories.