CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Coronavirus developments in New Hampshire:
___
NURSING HOME STIPENDS
Nursing home workers will again get a boost in pay as New Hampshire tries to maintain staffing levels at facilities that have been hard hit by the coronavirus.
Frontline health care workers at Medicaid facilities started getting an extra $300 per week in April, but the Long Term Care Stabilization program ended in July. Gov. Chris Sununu reactivated it Monday, and the stipends will continue through the end of the year.
“The State of New Hampshire remains committed to ensuring that long term care facilities have the resources needed to confront the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said in a statement. “Due to the rise in cases in New Hampshire, there remains an acute need to retain our health care workforce, and today’s announcement will help make sure we continue to have the system in place for those who rely on this care.”
As of late last week, the state was monitoring outbreaks at seven long term care facilities. Dozens of others have had past outbreaks, and the vast majority of deaths due to COVID-19 in the state have occurred in residents of such facilities.
___
LOCAL GOVERNMENT RELIEF
Representatives of municipal and county governments in New Hampshire are hoping for another round of coronavirus relief aid as they deal with a number of problems, including rising COVID-19 cases, nursing staff shortages, layoffs and sagging retail sales.
In Coos County, a nursing home in West Stewartstown recently had 26 residents out of about 70 and 33 staff members test positive for the virus.
“It’s just been tough,” said Paul Grenier, a county commissioner, said on a call with U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan on Monday. “We have limited financial resources, and even if we had financial resources, we don’t have the human resources to deal with the issues.”
Grenier, also mayor of Berlin, said if more aid isn’t available in the future, his city might have to lay off firefighters and police.
“I hope that people kind of check their egos at the door and try to put together a package that helps states and communities,” he said. He also hoped that federal aid could be sent directly to counties and municipalities.
Chris Coates, Cheshire County administrator, said the workforce shortage in nursing homes is averaging about 25%.
Strafford County Sheriff David Dubois said 10 law enforcement staff have been laid off.
___
THE NUMBERS
More than 15,000 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in New Hampshire since the start of the pandemic, including 358 new cases announced Monday. One new death was announced, bringing the total to 500.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in New Hampshire has risen over the past two weeks from 127 new cases per day on Nov. 1 to 312 new cases per day on Nov. 15.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.