New Hampshire reports 4 more coronavirus deaths

CONCORD – Four more people in New Hampshire have died from the new coronavirus, including a resident of Rockingham County, state health officials announced Tuesday.

Three men and one woman were among the people who died, bringing the state’s death total to 13 from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

All of the people who died were age 60 or older. Two were residents of Hillsborough County and one was a resident of Cheshire County, according to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.

Officials on Tuesday announced 32 new positive test results for COVID-19 in the state, raising the state’s total to 747.

Several of the new cases are still under investigation. Of those with complete information, all are adults with 53% women and 47% men. The new cases reside in Rockingham (8), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (6), Merrimack (4), and Belknap (3) counties, and in the cities of Manchester (7) and Nashua (3). The county of residence is being determined for one new case.

Three new COVID-19-related hospitalizations were reported, bringing the total to 108 people (14%) of the 747 positive cases.

There have now been 255 confirmed cases in Rockingham County and 46 in Strafford County.

COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.

MORE MASKS

All patients and visitors to Dartmouth-Hitchcock medical center and the health system's clinics around the state are required to wear cloth masks to reduce transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19 by people who aren't showing symptoms.

Masks will be handed out at entrances, Dr. Antonia Altomare said Monday. The decision follows the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation that people wear cloth face coverings in public settings.

AIRPORT FUNDING

Gov. Chris Sununu said Tuesday he worries that Manchester-Boston Regional Airport could be harmed by provisions of the federal coronavirus relief bill.

In a letter to transportation officials, the Republican governor said the act allows airlines to request permission to consolidate operations to a single airport within a 150-mile area. That might make sense in cities with multiple airports, he said, but it doesn't not make sense in New England.

Sununu said he worries that even a temporary shifting of capacity will result in federal money flowing out of New Hampshire and into Massachusetts.

"The combined loss of access to the national airspace system and the lost federal and local dollars that would not be reinvested into local communities will result in further erosion of economic activity across the Granite State and delay our return to economic prosperity," he wrote.

SCAM PROTECTION

U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., is co-sponsoring legislation aimed at protecting the public from scams related to the pandemic.

The bill would require the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Postal Service and the Internet Crime Complaint Center to inform the public about such scams. Bad actors are taking advantage of public fear and anxiety related to the pandemic to steal money and obtain personal financial information, Kuster said.

The legislation is co-sponsored by Reps. Earl Carter, R-Georgia; Richard Hudson, R-North Carolina; and Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Delaware.

POLICE

Four police officers in New Hampshire's largest city have tested positive for the coronavirus.

A spokeswoman for the Manchester Police Department said other officers also are out of work while they await test results.

Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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