New Hampshire’s governor and the four members of its congressional delegation are urging President Donald Trump to take additional action to get critical medical supplies to the state.
In a letter they made public Saturday, Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, Democratic Sens. Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen, and U.S. Reps. Annie Kuster and Chris Pappas thanked Trump for his announcement that he would use the Defense Production Act to expand domestic manufacturing of critical medical supplies.
The letter to the president came as the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services changed its recommendations for who should be tested for COVID-19, focusing on people who could be at highest risk.
The intent of the testing changes is to preserve the state’s inventory of the materials needed to care for patients who will develop severe COVID-19 illness, as well as exposed health care providers and exposed first responders.
“Until national supply chains are able to meet the demand for testing supplies, New Hampshire, like all states, will be forced to limit testing to those most at risk of severe symptoms and those health care employees who are critical to ensuring we can serve our residents’ health needs,” said Health Commissioner Lori Shibinette.
In the letter, the delegation and governor urged Trump to begin distributing existing materials from the National Strategic Stockpile while domestic production ramps up.
“States alone cannot address these shortages, especially when they are competing against each other and the federal government to purchase available resources,” they said in the letter, sent Friday to the president. “We need a coordinated federal response to distribute current inventories, ramp up production, and quickly get needed supplies to states.”
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms such as fever and cough, and the vast majority recover. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.
Sen. Martha Fuller Clark of Portsmouth said Saturday that her husband has tested positive, but that she has not shown any symptoms. Anyone who had contact with Fuller Clark between March 7 and 15 is asked to follow guidelines shared by the state’s Division of Public Health Services Self-Quarantine Guide.
“While my husband is feeling under the weather, his symptoms are not critical and we have been in self-isolation since Tuesday. After my husband received the positive test result today, we felt it was our responsibility to inform the public so that others may take the necessary precautions to self-observe and self-quarantine as necessary.”