New Hampshire is set to begin regular testing of long-term care facilities, which continue to bear the brunt of the state’s COVID-19 toll.
Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette said Wednesday afternoon that testing materials would be sent to select facilities, which will take samples from residents and staff. They will be sent to Mako Medical Labs of North Carolina, which will perform PCR tests for active cases of COVID-19 under contract with the state.
This program, known as the sentinel protocol, is part of the response to the toll that COVID-1 9 has taken in such facilities. About 80% of the 265 deaths that have occurred in the state from COVID-19 have occurred in long-term care facilities, almost always to residents over the age of 70.
Testing hundreds of samples each day will allow other labs to test more samples more quickly, Shibinette said.
“That takes a huge weight off the shoulders of our public health lab,” said Shibinette.
Shibinette also said that a free coronavirus testing facilty had been established at Littleton Regional Hospital, with no referral necessary.
The state announced 9 new deaths related to COVID-19 on Wednesday, following Tuesdays’ tally of 11 deaths, which was the highest single-day total since May 15.
All were people over 60 in Rockingham and Hillsborough counties, which have seen the large majority of deaths in the state.
The tally brings the total number of COVID deaths to 265, about 5% of all confirmed cases.
About 10% of those with the illness have been hospitalized since the pandemic began. Currently, 6.8% of cases are hospitalized.
Election officials encouraged candidates to file their paperwork by mail instead of in person to get on the Sept. 8 state primary ballot because of concerns about spreading the coronavirus.
The filing period opened Wednesday and runs through June 12. Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlan told WMUR-TV that safety procedures are in place for candidates filing in person. There will be a table outside the Statehouse where paperwork can be collected, and those who want to come inside can do so but with restrictions.
Each candidate can be accompanied by no more than five supporters, and they will be screened for fevers and asked to wear face masks.
A group that celebrates hikers who reach the summits of New Hampshire’s 48 tallest mountains will resume counting ascents this weekend after pausing because of the pandemic.
The Appalachian Mountain Club Four Thousand Footer Committee awards patches to those who complete the hikes, but it said in April that it would not count any ascents completed while the state was under a stay-at-home order.
The club now says hikes completed after Friday will count, though the stay-at-home order has been extended to June 15.
The group is urging hikers to abide by restrictions in both New Hampshire and their home states.
Dartmouth College has suspended its SAT requirement for a year for students seeking undergraduate admission because of testing disruptions related to the pandemic.
Dartmouth is now test-optional for the class of 2025, a spokesperson said Wednesday.
Virus-related school closures this year forced the cancellation of spring testing for many first-time SAT test-takers, the majority of them high school juniors planning to enter college in 2021, College Board officials said.
In response to the coronavirus, a number of colleges and universities have made the tests optional only for 2021 applicants.
(Staff writers David Brooks and Ethan DeWitt contributed to this report.)