CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - A jury trial scheduled for this week in Strafford County has been canceled because of rising COVID-19 infection rates and limited air circulation in the Dover courthouse, the chief justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court said Tuesday.
The infection rate in the county is 16.8 cases per 100,000 as of Tuesday.
“This is a difficult decision and it was made to ensure the continued health and safety of court staff, jurors, and parties to the case,” Justice Tina Nadeau said in a statement. The jury had just been picked.
Trials are still scheduled this month in Rockingham, Hillsborough, and Merrimack counties.
Meanwhile, several investigators working on the case of a New Hampshire man charged with capital murder are either in quarantine or have tested positive for COVID-19, causing some delays in gathering reports and in forensic testing, a prosecutor said during a hearing Tuesday.
The lead investigator is among those in quarantine, but “we have had open communications with him” and he hoped to return to the office next week, Assistant Attorney General Scott Chase said. Chase spoke during a virtual hearing before a Cheshire County Superior Court judge on a defense motion to preserve evidence.
Prosecutors said the defendant, who discovered his wife was having an affair, is accused of kidnapping and killing the other man. He’s also accused of forcing his wife to decapitate him. The defendant is also charged with beating and threatening his wife, who awaits trial on a charge of falsifying evidence.
The Associated Press is not naming the couple because doing so could identify the woman, who says she suffered extreme abuse. Both pleaded not guilty.
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FACE MASK ORDINANCE
The city of Berlin is the latest in New Hampshire to consider an ordinance that would require face coverings because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The City Council heard people speak for and against the ordinance on Monday night. WMUR-TV reports the council decided to push back a vote on it for one more week. The council will use the time to adjust the language and get input from the police on possible fines.
Mayor Paul Grenier said last week the city mostly managed to avoid the first wave of the coronavirus over the summer, but over the past couple of weeks, cases have been rising. He said the time has come for a mask ordinance.
Under the proposal, people would have to wear masks in businesses and within 6 feet of someone else.
A similar ordinance is in effect in in a number of cities in New Hampshire.
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CUTTING CHRISTMAS TREES
Visitors to a Christmas tree farm in northern New Hampshire can still cut their own trees this year, but they will need to make a reservation and they’ll be encouraged to wear masks.
The Forest Society’s Rock Christmas Tree Farm in Bethlehem will be welcoming families from Nov. 21 through Dec. 15.
Jack Savage, forest society president, said the organization felt it was extremely important to allow visitors during the holiday season, in the safest way possible.
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THE NUMBERS
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in New Hampshire has risen over the past two weeks from 93 new cases per day on Oct. 26 to 197 new cases per day on Nov. 9.
Nearly 13,000 people have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began in New Hampshire. The state announced 222 new cases Tuesday. The number of deaths remained at 489.
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