MANCHESTER, N.H. – Manchester Health Department Director Anna Thomas came before the Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) on Tuesday night painting a grim picture when it comes to the city and its current COVID-19 infection rate status, stating that the city is now well above its peak infection rates last year.
At the most recent data release on Dec. 2, Manchester reported just over 1,000 new cases per 100,000 people over the past 14 days, a rate nearly 20 times the threshold for “substantial” transmission as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The most recent 7-day test positivity rate through PCR and Antigen tests were 13.9 percent, also well above the “substantial” threshold.
With the surge of COVID-19 cases, Thomas said that the State of New Hampshire is close to running out of intensive care beds
Thomas said that since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 18,000 cases of COVID-19 in Manchester and 254 Manchester residents have died from COVID-19.
She added that there are currently 934 cases of COVID-19 among staff and students in Manchester’s public schools, including COVID-19 clusters at Green Acres Elementary School, Goffs Falls Elementary School and McLaughlin Middle School as well as multiple clusters at Hillside Middle School.
There are also 93 individuals infected with COVID-19 in the city’s hospitals. When asked by members of the BMA, she said that the exact ratio of unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals needing care for COVID-19 at the city’s hospitals changes daily, but said the majority each day are unvaccinated. On Tuesday night, she said that 60 percent of those patients were unvaccinated and more patients that did not report their vaccination status to hospital staff could also be unvaccinated as well. Among those patients who were vaccinated, she said the majority of those individuals had received their vaccination more than six months ago, although she did not have a figure immediately available for this set of patients.
Thomas also said that unlike last year, deaths have shifted from concentrating in elder care facilities to a wider range of individuals, with significant growth in the 0 to 9-year-old and 10-to-19-year-old cohorts.
She also told the board that the best way to reduce the spread of COVID-19 is wearing a mask while indoors around people who may not be vaccinated or while around a large group of people who may not be vaccinated.
Solution Health, an integrated health system consisting of Elliot Hospital and Southern New Hampshire Medical Center in Nashua, also issued a release on Tuesday citing unprecedented COVID-19 patient volumes.
In the release, there were 400 hospitalizations across the state due to COVID-19 as of Tuesday, causing a ripple effect for anyone in New Hampshire needing medical care ranging from long lines in Emergency Departments to cancellation of elective procedures.
Solution Health indicated that the ongoing surge has resulted in a demand for staff it has trouble meeting, leading to salary increases across the system. The organization has also joined several other hospitals across the state, including Manchester’s Catholic Medical Center, for requiring employees to become vaccinated as of Dec. 15, a mandate it expects will be largely complied with by the deadline.
The City of Manchester Health Department has free COVID-19 vaccine clinic at 1528 Elm St. on Mondays from 9 to 11 a.m. and Wednesdays from 2 to 4 p.m. with additional days possibly added in the near future.
Local pharmacies also have vaccinations available upon appointment.
More information can be obtained by calling the Manchester Health Department from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays at 603-624-6466. Vaccine locations can be found at www.vaccines.gov/search.
