NH Now: Chris Sununu 4-27-20

Q: Will you extend the stay at home order beyond Monday, May 4th?

A: “The stay at home order will remain in place. Our numbers are still not going down, and we are not meeting the gating threshold set by the President and the CDC-Center for Disease Control.”

In an interview with Chris Ryan, Governor Sununu discussed how the State of New Hampshire has been able to control the COVID-19 pandemic. The discussion included the following topics: how decisions to reopen the state are being decided; which geographical areas might open before other areas; what are the effects of federal stimulus legislation; how well has distance learning worked; and will there be NHL playoff games held in New Hampshire?

The Granite State’s stay at home order was set to expire one week from today on Monday, May 4th. Unfortunately, the number of COVID infections have not decreased. If they go down in the next 14 days, the Governor and his Open New Hampshire Task Force can consider opening a few areas of the economy. The northern part of the state has a lower number of COVID cases. However, if that area is opened for business, it is likely to attract visitors from Massachusetts, New York, etc. which have much higher infection rates than New Hampshire. Every decision to open an aspect of the economy is made more difficult by the need to take the health implications into account. For instance, to reopen colleges in New Hampshire, Governor Sununu wants to know how they would maintain social distancing in dorms, cafeterias, or sporting events. Decisions will be made in the next few weeks to reopen some businesses. The Governor explained why the decisions will take into account the recommendations by the CDC-Center for Disease Control and the State Department of Public Health, “They are the experts on epidemiology and viral spread, the impact of physical distancing…how the interaction of a business with customers or a business with their own employees can result in viral spread.”

Governor Sununu described how the CARES Act-Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act and supplemental bills which have been passed recently have positively affected the economic problems caused by the stay at home order. Despite some glitches in getting money to the intended recipients, the Governor believes that many of the financial problems of individuals and small businesses will be eased.

New Hampshire’s quick transition to distance learning was in Governor Sununu’s opinion successful, overall, especially compared to other states. He is concerned that there may be some learners who may have fallen through the cracks, such as special education students. He is calling on districts to be flexible and to find ways to fill in those gaps through other remote learning programs or perhaps summer programs.

Governor Sununu has had conversations with the NHL-National Hockey League about playoff games being held in Manchester; but, as of now, they have not decided.