Author: The Hippo Press

Covid-19 news

On Dec. 10, Gov. Chris Sununu issued Emergency Order No. 75, an order authorizing certain qualifying nursing students in the state to obtain temporary licensure to join the frontlines of fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. For the duration of the state of emergency, senior nursing students who are scheduled to graduate on or before May 31, 2021, qualify for the licensure, provided they are practicing under a licensed health care provider.

Also on Dec. 10, the state Attorney General’s office announced in a press release the autopsy results for Speaker of the House Dick Hinch, who died the day before. Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jennie V. Duval determined the cause of Hinch’s death to be Covid-19, according to the release. Hinch had been elected Speaker of the House just one week before his death. He was 71.

During a Dec. 10 press conference, state epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan said that, statewide, New Hampshire has seen around 750 to 800 new infections per day in the last week. The state later reached 30,000 overall infections and 600 deaths — both reported from updates on Dec. 12 — since the start of the pandemic in March.

On Dec. 11, Sununu issued Emergency Order No. 76, so all health care providers administering the vaccine are required to participate in the New Hampshire Immunization Information System, reporting all vaccination events within 24 hours. All patient-level information relating to vaccine administration will then be stored in the system as a medical record. Also on Dec. 11, Sununu issued Executive Order 2020-24, extending the state of emergency in New Hampshire due to the pandemic for another three weeks through at least Jan. 1, 2021.

On Dec. 13, the state Department of Health & Human Services announced in a press release the arrival of the first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to New Hampshire. The vaccine was distributed the following day to at-risk health care workers in the state, including frontline clinical staff providing direct patient care. Two doses of vaccine, administered 21 days apart, demonstrated an efficacy rate of 95 percent during initial trials. According to the release, the timeline for widespread access to a Covid-19 vaccine is expected to be approximately six to 12 months.

Charter schools

Last week, the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee voted to accept the first $10.1 million installment of a $46 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to expand public charter school options in the state, with a focus on at-risk students, according to a press release from the New Hampshire Department of Education. The state was first awarded the grant in August 2019 but had been voted down by the fiscal committee along party lines numerous times. According to a press release from the Office of the Governor, the committee has a new Republican majority. “Charter schools are public schools, and this game-changing grant will open up doors of opportunity for school children across the state,” Gov. Chris Sununu said in a statement. House and Senate Democrats also released a statement after the vote, saying that the grant is unsustainable and is intended to double the number of charter schools in the state, which will create a $17 million gap in funding for the traditional public school system. “With declining enrollments across the state, it is imperative that we invest more in our existing public schools, not create more schools that will be left underfinanced,” Senator Lou D’Allesandro said in a statement. Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut said in a statement that charter schools are an important part of the state’s public school system, giving students non-traditional options to help them thrive. According to the Department of Education, there are 29 public charter schools in the state, seven of which have achieved the federal definition for high-quality charter school replication. The $46 million grant is intended to support efforts to increase the number of high-quality charter schools in New Hampshire, focusing on at-risk, educationally disadvantaged students, according to the press release.

Jury trials

All jury trials in the New Hampshire Superior Court have been canceled through the end of December, according to a press release. Chief Justice of the Superior Court Tina Nadeau made the decision based on the increase in Covid-19 infection rates, noting that there’s more than a 70 percent risk that one person in 25 will be infected in each of the remaining counties where jury trials were to take place in December. “As a result, based on scientific advice provided by the court’s consultant epidemiologist Dr. Erin Bromage, we can no longer conduct jury trial proceedings with adequate protections in place,” Nadeau said in the release. The court will continue to conduct virtual hearings, and as of now, jury trials scheduled to resume in January in Rockingham, Hillsborough Northern District, Cheshire and Merrimack counties will continue.

Here’s something to look forward to in the new year: Winter Fest will be returning to Concord for its third year in a row! Presented by Intown Concord and The Hotel Concord, the event allows spectators to watch ice-carving demonstrations and meet some of New England’s most talented ice carvers on Jan. 29, followed by an ice carving competition on Jan. 30, according to a press release.

The Goffstown and New Boston police departments now have pet microchip readers thanks to a donation from the NH Animal Rescue Alliance. According to a press release, the scanners will allow the police departments to reunite lost pets and their owners.

Several local businesses recently received recognition for being veteran-friendly. According to a press release, the state Department of Military Affairs and Veterans Services and NH Employment Security recognized 19 businesses and organizations as NH Veteran-Friendly Businesses at the first annual recognition event, which was held virtually last week. Among the local businesses that received platinum awards were BAE Systems of Nashua, HydraCor of Windham, New Hampshire Hospital Association in Concord and Veteran and First Responder Healthcare of Manchester.

Voting is now underway for the Manchester Holiday Lights Contest, with 43 registered residences vying to win the city’s first lights contest. An interactive map that shows you where to find the houses is available at manchesternh.gov, where you can also vote for your favorite. Voting is open until Monday, Dec. 21.

Covid-19 news

In line with the CDC’s updated Dec. 2 guidance for quarantining, state epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan announced during a Dec. 3 press conference that the required quarantining period for people in New Hampshire who have potentially been exposed to Covid-19 has been decreased from 14 days to 10 days. If someone has not experienced symptoms after the 10th day, the quarantining period can end. However, because of the continued rates of community transmission in the state, Chan said the state is not adopting the CDC’s option to allow people to end quarantining early with a negative test result. “If we were to start implementing a test out of quarantine option, the risk of missing somebody with Covid-19 and of spreading it … within our communities increases even further,” Chan said, “and that is not acceptable to us at this point in time.”

Later in the press conference, Gov. Chris Sununu reported that the first doses of Covid-19 vaccines will be arriving “very, very shortly” to New Hampshire. “The Pfizer vaccine will be the first one to arrive in the state of New Hampshire, sometime probably in the third week of December, with the Moderna vaccine to arrive likely sometime in the fourth week of December, early in that fourth week,” he said. The first doses will primarily be distributed to health care workers and those in long-term care facilities.

On Dec. 5, the New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services issued a notice of potential community exposures connected to positive virus cases. At least eight people who have tested positive for Covid-19 visited Filotimo Casino & DraftKings Sportsbook in Manchester between Nov. 19 and Nov. 29. At least nine people who tested positive visited MacDougall’s Tavern in Keene between Nov. 20 and Nov. 24, and at least two people who tested positive visited the Chop Shop Pub in Seabrook during a live music event on the night of Nov. 21. Anyone who visited either of the three businesses on any of those days should be monitoring symptoms and should seek testing.

On Dec. 7, state health officials reported 1,045 new positive test results of Covid-19, the greatest number in a single day to date.

Also on Dec. 7, Sununu announced on his Facebook and Twitter pages that a member of his staff has tested positive for the coronavirus. According to Sununu, the individual was last in the governor’s office on Dec. 2. “Contact tracing found only one close contact within the office, who is currently quarantining,” Sununu said. “I will continue to monitor for symptoms, as will all other members of my staff.”

Finally, Sununu has joined several other governors in urging Congress to pass a new Covid-19 relief package immediately, according to a press release.

School funding report

Last week the Commission to Study School Funding released its final report, which includes policy recommendations for the 2021 legislative session. The commission was established in 2019 and was appropriated $500,000 for comprehensive research and public engagement processes, according to a press release. “For the first time in decades, this Commission engaged a national research team with expertise in education, public policy, and data analysis to help us understand the problem,” Commission Chair Representative David Luneau said in a statement. According to the press release, student outcomes “vary widely” based on the amount spent per student, as well as unique student needs and the characteristics of each school district. “For New Hampshire to meet its constitutional responsibility where all students have equal opportunity to an adequate education, its state aid distribution funding formula needs to be altered. Currently, most state aid is allocated to districts as a flat universal cost per student. The state can more effectively use its education funds by distributing higher portions of state aid to districts with greater student needs and less capacity to raise funds due to lower property valuations,” Sen. Jay Kahn said in a statement. The report proposes an Education Cost Model that would “assist state budget decisions regardless of the amount of funding distributed.”

DCYF Data Book

The state Division for Children, Youth and Families has released the second DCYF Annual Data Book, which shows that, for the first time ever, DCYF’s child protection workforce is approaching national caseload standards, according to a press release. Right now, the average number of assessments per Child Protective Service Worker is 16 — down from 90 in 2016. Recent legislation has funded more CPSW and supervisor positions, and DCYF’s staff now includes the largest number of CPSWs and supervisors ever, the release said. The Data Book also shows that there has been a reduction in the number of children in out-of-home care, more children being cared for in their own homes with their own families, more foster homes available, and, for the first time since 2015, fewer assessments involving caregivers struggling with substance use disorder, according to the release.

Manchester is holding its first Holiday Lights Contest this year, with anyone interested in participating asked to fill out a registration form prior to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 10, at manchesternh.gov. According to a press release, all registered lights displays will be included in a Manchester Holiday Lights Map. Any Manchester resident can vote online starting Monday, Dec. 14, and there will be a Virtual Holiday Lights Tour online as well.

Jack Barry of Bedford is being recognized for his work with the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire, where he volunteers as the build manager for a student plane-building program that the museum hosts in partnership with the Manchester School of Technology. According to a press release, Barry, 72, is being honored with an Outstanding Volunteer Service Award from VolunteerNH in the senior category.

Make the most of the shortest day of the year with a Winter Solstice Luminary Walk, being held Sunday, Dec. 20, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Beaver Brook Nature Center in Hollis. There are six time slots for groups of 10 to 12 people, and the cost is $12 per person. Register at beaverbrook.org.

Last week, the City of Nashua held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Dr. Crisp Elementary School and turned on the school’s new 534-panel solar array. According to a press release, that solar array, along with the 1,760 panels that were just installed on the roof of Fairgrounds Middle School, is part of the city’s transition to 100-percent clean energy. The two projects were completed at no cost to taxpayers by ReVision Energy, and they are the first public schools in the state to get all of their annual electricity needs from solar power, the release said.