Governor Sununu Will Continue with His Planned Reopening of the New Hampshire Economy Even If There Is a Spike in COVID-19 Cases.
In an interview with WKXL’s Chris Ryan and Brian Shactman of NBC 10 Boston, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu explained why the state will not go back to the stay at home order which he put in place six weeks ago at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak. The Governor is confident that New Hampshire’s health care system is now at a point where it can handle a resurgence of Coronavirus cases.
Recently, Governor Sununu announced that there would be a gradual relaxation of his stay at home order. Under the new order, by May 11 some non-essential businesses, like golf courses and hair salons, can reopen if they follow guidelines which are designed to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. By May 18, restaurants may serve customers in outdoor dining areas if they are sitting six feet apart.
Governor Sununu believes that the gradual relaxation will be successful. However, if there is an increase in Coronavirus cases in the coming weeks or in the future, any shutdown measures would not be as extreme as the original stay at home orders. If there is an increase in COVID-19 cases, there would be an analysis of where the increase was occurring before a return to stay at home restrictions would be put in place. An increase of infections in the general population would be considered more serious than an increase in the nursing home population. Geographic factors would also be evaluated if the southern counties had a spike in their number of cases. If the senior population showed a serious increase in COVID-19 infections, there is the possibility of an over the age of 60 stay at home order. Because the Governor is aware that there are a number of legal and enforcement issues with those measures, he stated that any future decision to restrict contact, “Would be made with the intention of have a minimal impact on people’s lives while ensuring that we can mitigate any viral spread.”
Brian Shactman asked about the problems of dealing with our neighbor to the south. Massachusetts has the third highest number of COVID-19 cases behind New York and New Jersey. Many residents of the Bay State have left the severe restrictions of their home state to go to the beach or go shopping in New Hampshire. Governor Sununu admitted that there is little that he can do to stop interstate traffic, but he warned that there is a danger of spreading the disease if people ignore the stay at home guidelines.
In the last part of the interview, the Governor explained why the Granite State is ready for a possible resurgence of the disease. The Governor stated the grim reality of what is ahead of us, “A lot more people are going to get COVID. That is just an unfortunate fact.”
However, Governor Sununu pointed out that New Hampshire has increased its testing capacity to 1,500 per day; and, hopefully, the state will be able to increase that number. Now that we are two months into this struggle, the state’s hospital system has a better handle on how to deal with the Coronavirus. There is a better understanding of how to treat patients who are infected with the virus. Presently, only 5% of hospital beds in New Hampshire are being used by COVID-19 cases. Enough PPE-Personal Protection Equipment has been stockpiled–there are 10 million masks sitting in storage. Despite the threat of an increase of cases, Governor Sununu is confident that the health system in New Hampshire is prepared.
