Published: 6/23/2020 7:34:22 AM
The latest COVID-19 numbers give the first hints that the tally of deaths from the disease in New Hampshire may be slowing.
Monday was the second day in a row with no new COVID-related deaths reported by the state. Thirteen people have died from the disease in the past week, the lowest weekly tally since April 24. At the start of this month, as many as 34 people a week were dying with the disease.
More than three-quarters of the state’s deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities like nursing homes, usually to people over the age of 70. The decline in deaths may reflect new widespread testing protocols at such facilities, which could allow infectious people to be isolated or removed before they infect others.
The number of new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in New Hampshire has been falling for more than two weeks.
As of Monday, 339 people had died while infected with the coronavirus, which is 6% of the 5,500 confirmed cases. There are 929 confirmed cases in the state right now, 54 of whom are in the hospital. That’s a hospitalization rate of about 6%, slightly higher than in recent weeks.