Use of hydroxychloroquine in New Hampshire is being limited to patients with lupus or rhumatoid arthritis under an order from the state Department of Health and Human Services in contrast to a belief that the medicine can treat COVID-19, a position supported strongly by President Trump.
The order also limits use of chloroquine and albuterol inhalers to “high-risk” patients, saying that the DHHS “has been monitoring reported drug shortages and finds that there is a statewide shortage and/or threatened shortage of the following medications that may be used to treat COVID-19.”
“The commissioner has determined individuals diagnosed with lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, those hospitalized patients with COVID-19, and those patients with COVID-19 enrolled in a clinical trial are high risk,” the order states.
“No prescriptions of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine shall be issued or dispensed as prophylaxis treatment for COVID-19,” it says. “Prophylaxis” means preventative.
People diagnosed with COVID-19 already established on albuterol inhalers are considered “high-risk,” and will receive the medicine. The order also limits refills of albuterol inhalers, commonly used to treat asthma, to three at a time, with only one inhaler per patient.
The order was signed by DHHS Commissioner Lori Shibinette on April 3.
The president and some members of his administration have aggressively promoted the idea that chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine, developed to treat malaria, can prevent or treat COVID-19, an idea that has limited support in the medical community because of a shortage of controlled tests on its efficacy.
The administration’s statements have led to concerns about shortages of the drugs for people with existing diseases that they are known to treat.
A civilian worker at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard died from complications associated with COVID-19, the Navy said.
The employee, who died on Sunday, was assigned to Submarine Maintenance Engineering, Planning and Procurement Activity at the shipyard in Kittery, the Navy said.
On Monday, the Navy issued new guidance requiring the wearing of face coverings for uniformed personnel, civilian employees, family members, contractors and all other individuals on Department of Defense property, installations and facilities.
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is located on the Piscataqua River, which divides New Hampshire and Maine. The shipyard, which overhauls nuclear submarines, was deemed essential to the nation’s defense by the Trump administration.
Concord Hospital Medical Group has closed its COVID-19 screening and testing site at Epsom Family Medicine “due to lack of volume.”
The site will be reopened as needed, Concord Hospital said in a press release. The practice itself, Epsom Family Medicine, remains open.
Concord Hospital Medical Group has two dedicated COVID-19 screening/testing sites.
Overall, the hospital said it has received results for 723 patients, which includes 37 COVID-19 positive results. Of those, four patients are currently hospitalized at Concord Hospital.
COVID-19 screening is available in Parking Lot E on the Concord Hospital campus for anybody with a fever or non-critical respiratory symptoms, such as a cough or shortness of breath. The screening tent is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. To date, 107 patients have been triaged at this site.
The number of new cases of COVID continues to rise but at a slightly slower pace. The newest cases include four people under the age of 18.
On Monday, April 6, DHHS announced 46 new positive test results for COVID-19, compared to 48 cases the day before. The figures on both those days are well be low the 81 announced on Saturday, 61 announced on Friday and 64 announced on Thursday, although it is far too early to say whether the lower numbers are a trend or a function of more testing.
There have been 9 deaths in New Hampshire from the disease. The first five were reported to have “underlying” medical or health issues, but no such report was made for the most recent four deaths.
“The omission was not in error,” the DHHS information office said. “Aside from that, we do not have any additional information to release.”
As of Monday, New Hampshire had 715 confirmed cases of COVID-19. One quarter of those are health-care workers, according to DHHS. Health-care workers are much more likely to be tested and exposed than the population as a whole, so positive cases are more likely to be found.
So far, DHHS says it knows of 151 people who have completely recovered from COVID-19, about one-fifth of those who have been diagnosed.
Nine new COVID-19 related hospitalizations were reported. The ratio of hospitalizations continues steadily at 14% of positive cases.
A family hiking close to home during the coronavirus pandemic made quite the discovery — a stone crypt from the 1850s.
Krystin Cooney, of Deerfield, and her family went looking for a moose behind their home after a neighbor spotted one. Instead, they came across what Cooney’s fourth-grade daughter, Ellie, described as “a really cool fort.”
After doing some research, they realized they had stumbled upon a crypt of former residents, the Norris family.
Ellie said she found it creepy at first, but she’s gotten used to it and told her classmates about the discovery during a virtual class meeting.