CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and state and health care officials met with their counterparts in Kentucky on Monday to hear about the state’s most recent surge of COVID-19 cases and how they are handling it.
“Like New Hampshire, Kentucky is a rural state with small cities,” Sununu said in a news release. “Today, I joined New Hampshire state officials in visiting Kentucky to help inform our decision making in the weeks and months ahead to see how they are handling their COVID surge, how hospitals are managing through this crisis, and to hear what tools they have found to be effective in battling this most recent wave virus.”
Sununu and staff were visiting Frankfort Regional Medical Center and the University of Louisville Hospital. Sununu also met with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and staff.
In answer to a question asked by the New Hampshire Democratic Party, a spokesperson for Sununu said the trip was scheduled last week.
On Friday, Beshear said more than half of his state’s hospitals are struggling with “critical staffing shortages” as medical teams treat record numbers of COVID-19 patients. He noted that 90% of virus-related hospitalizations and ICU admissions are among the unvaccinated.
As of Friday, there were 2,129 virus patients in hospitals, 592 in intensive care and 349 on ventilators. The escalation has been precipitous since July 14, when Kentucky had 239 COVID patients hospitalized, including 60 in intensive care and 25 patients on ventilators.
The state reported 4,815 new COVID-19 cases Friday. Kentucky had 56% of its population fully vaccinated as of Sunday; New Hampshire had 54%.
In other coronavirus-related news:
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DARTMOUTH COLLEGE EMPLOYEES
Dartmouth College is asking employees who have not yet returned to campus to keep working remotely until Oct. 4.
The previous plan was for workers to return at the start of September, but the college is adjusting its plans as COVID-19 cases increase regionally and nationally, said Scott Bemis, chief human resources officer.
Many of those who have already returned “can continue to work on-site,” Bemis said in an email to the community on Friday.
He said the date is being pushed back a month “to help slow the increase in the density of people on campus, with the goal of interrupting COVID-19 transmission wherever possible.”
Bemis also said that weekly surveillance testing will be conducted for vaccinated employees, instead of every 30 days. Unvaccinated employees who are coming to campus are still required to test twice a week.
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THE NUMBERS
More than 106,000 people have tested positive for the virus in New Hampshire, including nearly 360 new confirmed cases announced Friday. Five new deaths were announced, bringing the total to 1,415.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in New Hampshire has risen over the past two weeks from 177 new cases per day on Aug. 14 to 279 new cases per day on Saturday.
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