These Seacoast Communities Are Seeing More Active COVID-19 Cases
There are some cities and towns on the Seacoast of New Hampshire where the number of active COVID-19 cases have risen over the past five days, according to officials from the NH Department of Health and Human Services.
Seacoast Current rounded up the five Seacoast communities in the Granite State on Aug. 19 using data the state had collected as of Aug. 18.
At that time, Rochester had 41 active cases. There were 57 as of Monday.
Dover had 40 cases. There were 42 on Monday.
Portsmouth had the biggest jump. They went from 33 active cases on Wednesday to 50 active cases on Monday.
The rate of active cases per 100,000 people is only available for those three cities on the state's map if you search for the Seacoast area.
In Rochester, where there are 31,414 people based on the state's data, the rate of active cases per 100,000 was 181.
In Dover, where the latest census numbers show there were 32,741 people, the rate of active cases per 100,000 was 130.
Portsmouth's numbers were the highest with 226 as the rate of active cases per 100,000. The state's map shows 22,171 people live there.
Some other communities had more than 10 active cases as of Monday.
Hampton had 20 active cases.
Raymond and Somersworth both had 19 cases.
Exeter had 18 cases.
Raymond and Exeter each had 22 active cases of COVID on Wednesday, so their numbers went down over the weekend.
Strafford County has had 101 cumulative deaths while Rockingham County has had 274 cumulative deaths, according to the state's map.
A total of 1,402 people have died in New Hampshire due to COVID. As of Monday, 863 of those deaths (or 61.6 percent) were 80 years old and older.
There have been no deaths in people less than 20 years old.
On Monday, officials at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration fully approved the first COVID-19 vaccine.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine will now be marketed as Comirnaty, for the prevention of COVID-19 disease in individuals 16 years of age and older.
The vaccine also continues to be available under emergency use authorization, including for individuals 12 through 15 years of age, and for the administration of the third dose in certain immunocompromised individuals.
Health officials announced last week that all people who were vaccinated should receive a booster shot eight months after their second dose of an mRNA vaccine.
Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna are both mRNA vaccines.
The chair of the Infection Prevention Committee on Wentworth-Douglass Hospital’s Medical Staff is embracing current recommendations that people get a booster shot for their COVID-19 vaccinations.
Dr. Artemio John Mendoza is also an infectious disease physician at Wentworth Health Partners Summit Infectious Disease located on Central Avenue in Dover.
Mendoza said the COVID-19 pandemic is an ongoing thing.
Employees at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover will be required to get vaccinated.
Wentworth-Douglass Hospital is part of Massachusetts General Hospital and last month Mass General Brigham announced that it is requiring its 80,000 employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
The New Hampshire Hospital Association is supporting hospitals and other healthcare facilities that mandate COVID-19 vaccination for their employees.
Portsmouth Regional Hospital and Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester will not be requiring employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19 as a condition of employment.
President Joe Biden said on Monday he hoped employers will now require their workers to take the shot.
"If you’re a business leader, a non-profit leader, a state or local leader who has been waiting for full FDA approval to require vaccinations, I call on you now to do that — require it. Do what I did last month and require your employees to get vaccinated or face strict requirements," Biden said at the White House.
During his COVID-19 press briefing on Aug. 12, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu encouraged employers to speak with employees before mandating vaccination.
"The most important thing is to talk to the employees. Don't just make a decision in a vacuum," Sununu said when asked.
Sununu acknowledged that the decision to get vaccinated is a personal one.
Contact Managing News Editor Kimberley Haas at Kimberley.Haas@townsquaremedia.com.
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