NH reports 557 new cases over weekend as downward trend continues
Mar. 1—New Hampshire's health department announced 287 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday and 270 on Sunday, along with three new deaths related to the viral disease.
The people who died — two men and one woman age, all age 60 or older — were residents of Hillsborough, Merrimack and Rockingham counties. Since the start of the pandemic, 1,170 New Hampshire residents have died as a result of the coronavirus, according to state statistics.
The rate of new COVID cases has continued to fall in New Hampshire, though at a slower pace than in January.
After topping 800 new cases per day for parts of December and the first half of January, the seven-day average fell to around 400 per day by early February.
Over the past month, that metric drifted down to about 300 new cases per day, according to data from the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services.
Hospitalization numbers have continued to fall, too. As of Sunday, New Hampshire's hospitals held 87 COVID-19 patients, down from 109 a week earlier and more than 330 at the height of the winter surge in early January.
Health experts have said the numbers are headed in the right direction, but continued precautions are needed to prevent another surge.
The new cases announced over the weekend included at least 39 in Cheshire County, 13 in Sullivan County and 77 in Hillsborough County outside of Manchester and Nashua.
About 2,500 state residents are considered actively infected, including 149 in Cheshire County, 44 in Sullivan County and 353 in Hillsborough County outside of the cities of Manchester and Nashua.
About 17 percent of the state's population, or 233,437 individuals, has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Paul Cuno-Booth can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1409, or pbooth@keenesentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @PCunoBoothKS.
