Credit Casey McDermott / NHPR
As New Hampshire continues to loosen nearly all public health restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic, one sector remains on alert. Many long-term care facilities across the state have kept up limits on residents and visitors in recent weeks, even as vaccination rates rise and COVID-19 cases have fallen sharply in those settings. NHPR s health and equity reporter Alli Fam spoke with All Things Considered host Peter Biello about the tension within long-term care facilities.
Peter Biello: So what s been going on this week?
Alli Fam: This week s been kind of confusing, especially when it comes to guidelines for long-term care facilities. Last Monday, the state came out with some updated guidance for these facilities, an in-depth 16-page document. It outlined different phases of reopening. A lot of these were based on metrics like county case rates that dictated guidelines on things like trips outside the facility that aren t medically necessary
Sununu Drops Mask Mandate, Will Lift Most Other Pandemic Restrictions nhpr.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nhpr.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Credit Dan Tuohy/NHPR
Virtually all statewide limits on businesses and public activities due to the pandemic will be lifted in New Hampshire within a matter of weeks, Gov. Chris Sununu announced Thursday.
The statewide mask mandate will expire on Friday, April 16. And on May 7, all required business restrictions – such as capacity limits and cleaning requirements – will be lifted, replaced with voluntary guidance.
In making the announcement, Sununu pointed to rising vaccination rates especially among healthcare workers and the elderly and a decline in COVID-19 deaths. He struck an upbeat note and said his decision was informed by public health data.
A year of COVID: A grim milestone for nursing homes in New Hampshire concordmonitor.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from concordmonitor.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
There are four coronavirus variants in the US that are more infectious than the original strain.
Fauci said March 28 that they’re partly to blame for a fresh wave of coronavirus cases.
Social distancing, hand-washing, mask wearing, and avoiding crowds can stop variants from spreading.
The US is facing a fresh COVID-19 surge: The number of new infections topped 68,000 new cases on Wednesday, up from fewer than 50,000 on March 11.
Often, small genetic changes that a virus makes when it replicates – called mutations – don’t affect its behavior. But certain coronavirus variants have evolved mutations that mean they spread more easily, make people sicker, escape immune responses, evade tests, and render treatments ineffective.