A Black Lives Matter protest more accessible to those in the disabled community is being organized for next Friday in Portsmouth.
"The trend is discouraging," said Martha Wassell, Director of Infection Prevention at Dover's Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, in emailed comments on Wednesday. She said the increase is "unequivocally driven by insufficient vaccination and booster rates in our community, combined with lack of consistent indoor mask use. Many people gathered indoors for the Thanksgiving holiday, likely unaware of their COVID-19 infection status."
A total of 5,862 health care workers have contracted COVID-19 in New Hampshire since the pandemic began, 87 have been hospitalized and 10 have died, according to state statistics.
But that hasn’t stopped a vocal group of nurses and others in the medical industry from loudly objecting to vaccination requirements, even at the risk of losing their jobs.
Much has been made of the fact that unemployment compensation checks will be reduced by $300 per week in New Hampshire on June 19 because Gov. Chris Sununu is joining other Republican governors in opting out of a federal pandemic aid program.
But what might not be so well known is that about 15,000 people -- nearly half of those receiving unemployment in the state -- will lose all unemployment benefits as of that day because the governor is also taking the state out of other federal programs that expand and extend unemployment benefits.
Despite teachers asking to be moved up in the vaccination cue, it will be seniors and a few others with April appointments for first shots invited to a mass vaccination event at NH Motorspeedway in Loudon this weekend, said Gov. Chris Sununu.
Sununu explained his reasoning on this and a variety of other issues-- including a controversial bill aiming to ban “divisive” training on sex and race and division at the statehouse-- during a recent interview on NH PBS’ digital public affairs show, The State We’re In.
