COVID by the Numbers-August 31 Edition

The first week of August brought a lot with it.  My basement flooded.  The United Kingdom opened to travelers from the US.  And a long-awaited puppy arrived.  Now it is the end of the month, and the basement has been emptied and dried out, I have seen my sister and her family for the first time in two long years, and am nearly over the resultant jet lag, and the puppy is crate trained.  So now it is time to get back to the numbers, which have changed a lot in one month.

At the beginning of August, Walpole had 1-4 active reported cases of COVID.  Today, there are 9 active cases here in town, down from a high of 10 cases yesterday.

In Cheshire County, we were at a seven day average of confirmed cases per 100,000 of 4.1 at the beginning of the month.  We have now risen to an average of 24.0 cases per day.  Confirmed active cases in the county have increased five-fold, from 31 cases on July 20 to 150 today.

Statewide, the seven day average of confirmed cases per 100,000 was 5.3 on August 1.  Today, that number is 22.8.  There were 738 currently active cases statewide as of August 1.  As of August 31, the statewide number is reported as 2,864.  The seven day average of daily reported cases rose from 107 to 326.  Hospitalizations statewide were at 28 at the beginning of the month, and at 121 now. Sadly, we lost 7 more citizens in the first two weeks of the month, and 20 in the last two weeks. 3 of those lost were from Cheshire County.

Only one county, Belnap, was classified as having substantial community transmission at the beginning of the month; today, there is substantial transmission in all counties of the state.

The sharp increases should be a wake-up call to us all.  The CDC recommends indoor masking for everyone in places with substantial community transmission. Many businesses are now calling for masks even for those who are fully vaccinated, so make sure you do not leave those masks behind.

For more statistical information and maps than you can imagine, visit the NH DHHS web site at  https://www.covid19.nh.gov and click on “Active Dashboards.”

Take good care, stay well, and keep dry.

~Rep. Lucy McVitty Weber
217 Old Keene Road
Walpole  NH  03608

Cell: 603-499-0282
lwmcv@comcast.net