New Hampshire officials said they were prepared to deal with coronavirus cases after two people tested presumptive positive for the virus Saturday.
One patient, a man from Grafton County, had contact with a confirmed coronavirus patient at a Hope Bible Fellowship service in West Lebanon on March 5. The church has canceled services and officials said anyone who attended a coffee social at 9 a.m. or services at 10 a.m. should self-quarantine for 14 days.
The second patient, a man from Rockingham County, recently traveled to Italy and has symptoms consistent with the coronavirus, officials said.
Officials said they were ready for a situation like this because of prior flu preparations.
“We’ve been working on influenza preparedness activities which are readily adaptable to the situation before us,” said Beth Daly of the New Hampshire Center for Infectious Diseases. “Among the most important activities is to ensure our state’s capacity to identify a suspected case. This involves communicating with health care providers and making sure they have the capacity to identify a case, isolate the individual and inform our department. The system is clearly working.”
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