By NANCY WEST, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – At 7:42 p.m. Saturday, the state issued a news release showing another 27 new positive tests for COVID-19 in New Hampshire bringing the total to 214. There have been a total two deaths in Hillsborough County from the virus.
The new cases include 11 in Rockingham County which now has the most confirmed diagnoses at 86. Coos County continues to have no cases.
Saturday was the first full day of Gov. Chris Sununu’s emergency Stay-at-Home order. Police can criminally charge people and businesses that don’t comply with the state’s new emergency orders, but Attorney General Gordon MacDonald has urged law enforcement to use great discretion.
See copies of MacDonald’s law enforcement memo, Sununu’s Stay-at-Home order and a list of essential services here. https://indepthnh.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/20200327-law-enforcement-memo-covid19-1.pdf
A call to the press information center seeking more details said it was closed Saturday evening.
The new cases are 17 women, nine men and one male under the age of 18, according to the news release.
The new cases reside in Rockingham (11), Hillsborough other than Manchester and Nashua (4), Merrimack (3), Grafton (2), and Strafford (1) counties, and the cities of Manchester (3) and Nashua (3).
Eight of the new cases have no identified risk factors. Community-based transmission continues to increase in the state and has been identified in all of the counties with cases.
Most of the remaining cases have either had travel to domestic or international locations or have had close contact with a person with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis. Three of the new cases were hospitalized for their illness; thus far, 33 patients of the 214 positive cases (15%) have been hospitalized.
NH DHHS Summary update:
| Number of Persons with COVID-191 | 214 |
| Deaths Attributed to COVID-19 | 2 (1%) |
| Hospitalizations | 33 (15%) |
| Persons Tested Negative at Selected Laboratories 2 | 4,524 |
| Persons with Specimens Submitted to NH PHL | 2,934 |
| Persons with Test Pending at NH PHL 3 | 285 |
| Persons Being Monitored in NH (approximate point in time) | 925 |
1 Includes specimens presumptive-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, 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.