Governor Sununu on the Reopening of the State’s Economy: “About 10% of the People Think I’m Opening Way Too Fast, 10% Think I’m Opening Way Too Slow, and 75-80% Understand That We’re Taking the Right Steps.”
In an interview with WKXL’s Chris Ryan, the Governor of New Hampshire, Chris Sununu, discusses the recent demonstrations in the state to protest the death of George Floyd. Chris and the Governor also discuss the new state guidelines for dealing with COVID-19.
Over the weekend, people gathered and marched in Concord and Nashua and in smaller communities across the state to protest police brutality and racism. Governor Sununu believes in the message of the protestors. There was communication with the Governor’s office to ensure that the protests went off without a hitch—protestors were able to demonstrate and express their concerns and people who were concerned about rioting and looting had nothing about which to worry.
The Governor believes that there are a number of items which need to be addressed: 1) changes in police standards and training; 2) an open and honest discussion of implicit bias and racism in our society on national, state, and local levels.
New Hampshire has put in place new COVID-19 guidelines which have slightly relaxed restaurant restrictions. Governor Sununu believes that there will be a surge in the number of Coronavirus cases, but he is convinced that our health system will be able to deal with an increase. In the meantime, the number of cases seem to be under control, and he encourages everyone to take advantage of the increased availability of COVID testing, even if you are asymptomatic.
The Governor sees the possibility of limited opening of public gathering places in the next few weeks. Nursing homes, assisted living, and long-term care facilities account for 35% of the state’s COVID-19 cases and 85% of the related deaths. Governor Sununu has taken the following steps: 1) a $30 million fund has been set up to maintain their financial stability; 2) a pathway to allow more visitations, so residents can see their loved ones. This involves finding ways to provide testing and PPE-Personal Protection Equipment for visitors to safely see the residents of extended care facilities.
