Gov. Phil Scott on Saturday ordered the closing early this week of all hair and nail salons, spas, tattoo parlors, barber shops and gym facilities to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.
The directive specifies all “close contact” businesses should close by 8 p.m. Monday, according to a news release from his office Saturday.
“I don’t make these decisions lightly and my heart goes out to these workers and small business owners who are feeling the negative effects,” Scott wrote in the release.
Over the past week, Scott has signed several executive orders to prevent the spread of the contagious virus, including one that prohibited non-essential gatherings of more than 10 people and another that barred restaurants from serving food and drinks on site.
Scott also required the state’s pre-K through 12th-grade classes be moved to remote instruction through April 6, though he said Friday that date might have to be pushed back “much further.”
The Vermont Department of Health on Saturday announced 16 new cases in the state, including a Windsor County man in his 70s and a Windsor County woman in her 30s.
By Saturday night, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Vermont was 49.
Two senior citizens died from the virus in Vermont this week; one victim, a veteran in his 90s, was being cared for at the White River Junction VA Medical Center.
New Hampshire announced 10 new confirmed cases Saturday, bringing the state total up to 65 by Saturday afternoon, according to a release from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. One of the new cases was confirmed to be an adult in Grafton County.
To cut back on the spread of the virus, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu on Saturday implemented a restriction on reusable bags at stores.
The order, which applies to all retail stores and supermarkets in the state, requires employees to pack items with one-use plastic or paper bags.
“It is important that shoppers keep their reusable bags at home given the potential risk to baggers, grocers and customers,” Sununu said in a news release.
The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services on Friday night announced new recommendations about who should be tested for COVID-19, in part to protect health care providers and first responders.
DHHS said in a news release that more than 80% of people with COVID-19 have mild symptoms, and that given the limited national supply of protective equipment and test kits, the current inventory “should be directed to people with severe illness as well as health care workers.”
“The coronavirus has placed an unprecedented burden on our health care system, and signs of strain are showing,” DHHS Commissioner Lori Shibinette said in the release. “The challenge for our providers and first responders is national shortages in (personal protective equipment such as masks), nasal swabs and retesting agents.
As a result, New Hampshire is going to limit testing to those most at risk of severe symptoms and to frontline health care employees, she said.
Along with social distancing and hand-washing, New Hampshire officials recommend that people 60 or over or with underlying medical conditions should stay at home and avoid travel, and call a provider if they are experiencing symptoms.
People who have mild symptoms of COVID-19, even if not tested, should stay home until at least seven days have passed since symptoms first appeared and they have been fever-free for three days without relying on medication, the release said.
The state also said that people who don’t have symptoms but have been told they may have been exposed through close contact should self-quarantine for 14 days and not seek testing.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center announced this week that they’re accepting homemade masks as a way to “supplement our ever-changing inventory,” according to their website.
The masks must be sewn from fabric that’s unused and 100% cotton, and they must have flat elastic bands. The hospital also asks that anyone who’s suffered shortness of breath, a cough, or has come in contact with someone who has COVID-19 refrain from making the masks.
To help crafters, the hospital is preparing kits with elastic and fabric, and have uploaded instructions on how to make the masks. Donations can be dropped off in plastic bags at the hospital’s service center on 50 LaBombard Road in Lebanon.
Gifford Health Care is barring visitors to Gifford Medical Center in Randolph and its affiliated clinics, with limited exceptions, following similar restrictions already imposed by several other hospitals in the area.
Entrances to all Gifford medical buildings and clinics will be restricted, with exceptions such as one support person for a patient in labor; one parent for pediatric patients; and one person escorting a patient at the hospital for same-day surgery or an ambulatory procedure.
People who are interested in dropping off donations of cleaning supplies, masks, face shields, isolation gowns, gloves and hand sanitizer can still do so at the hospital’s main entrance.
Therapy dogs and related support animals are also barred, though ADA-service animals will be allowed to enter.
New Hampshire State Senator Martha Fuller Clark, 78, announced Saturday that her 81-year-old husband, Dr. Geoffrey Clark, has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a news release from the New Hampshire Senate.
She said Clark received a positive test Saturday after the couple has been in isolation since Tuesday, and that he is not suffering critical symptoms. While the senator is at risk, she has not shown any symptoms of the illness, the release said. Neither Clark nor her husband has traveled internationally or domestically recently, a spokesperson for the state senate said.
Several grocery chains in the area have recently announced reduced shopping hours as a result of the virus.
Hannaford, which has locations in West Lebanon, Claremont, New London and Bradford, said their stores will now be open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. to allow time to restock shelves. They have also paused their Hannaford To Go online shopping service until the end of March. The grocery store will still be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. for seniors and at-risk shoppers.
Market Basket is implementing a similar measure; they announced that they’ll be open with reduced hours from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. The chain, which has a Claremont location, will be open only to seniors from 5:30-7 a.m. every morning.
Staff writer John Gregg contributed to this report.
Anna Merriman can be reached at amerriman@ vnews.com or 603-727-3216.