As of yesterday, Grafton county (~90,000 people) has 22 identified active cases of COVID-19. Lyme has 1-4 active cases, Hanover has 1-4 active cases, and Lebanon has five active cases.
Dr. Deborah Birx, the United States Coronavirus Response Coordinator, spent this weekend in New Hampshire and Vermont. She reminded us about the rising covid-cases across rural America and the burden these cases place on rural communities and on rural health systems. Dr. Birx is pleased with our state’s low-threshold for testing and how well the colleges in New Hampshire are doing in mitigating transmission on campuses. Where she sees the potential for rising COVID-cases is when the people of the rural communities let their guards down: start having people in closer indoor spaces as the weather cools and sports gear up, with the potential of carpools and the potential of half-mask wearing. If I may assure you, the faculty and staff at Crossroads have been and will continue to be disciplined in our mitigation efforts while at school. Please, let us all heed Dr. Birx’s warnings about rural communities and be mindful of our own personal and social choices outside of school.
