CONCORD, NH – On Friday, December 18, 2020, DHHS announced 697 new positive test results for COVID-19, for a daily PCR test positivity rate of 4.6%. Today’s results include 502 people who tested positive by PCR test and 195 who tested positive by antigen test. There are now 6,863 current COVID-19 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire. Of the results reported today:
- 12/14: 163 new cases today, for an updated total of 756 cases
- 12/15: 26 new cases today, for an updated total of 601 cases
- 12/16: 58 new cases today, for an updated total of 472 cases
- 12/17: 450 new cases today
Test results for previous days are still being processed and the total number of new positives for those days are not yet complete. Updated case counts for prior days will be reflected on the COVID-19 interactive dashboard.
Several cases are still under investigation. Additional information from ongoing investigations will be incorporated into future COVID-19 updates. Of those with complete information, there are seventy-one individuals under the age of 18 and the rest are adults with 51% being female and 49% being male. The new cases reside in Rockingham (163), Strafford (153), Merrimack (90), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (76), Belknap (22), Cheshire (16), Coos (14), Carroll (8), Grafton (8), and Sullivan (4) counties, and in the cities of Manchester (68) and Nashua (32). The county of residence is being determined for forty-three new cases.
Community-based transmission continues to occur in the State and has been identified in all counties. Of those with complete risk information, most of the cases are either associated with an outbreak setting or had close contact with a person with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis.
DHHS has also announced nine additional deaths related to COVID-19.
- 1 male resident of Cheshire County, 60 years of age and older
- 1 male resident of Grafton County, 60 years of age and older
- 4 female residents of Hillsborough County, 60 years of age and older
- 2 male residents of Hillsborough County, 60 years of age and older
- 1 female resident of Merrimack County, 60 years of age and older
There are currently 273 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19. In New Hampshire since the start of the pandemic, there have been a total of 34,960 cases of COVID-19 diagnosed with 881 (3%) of those having been hospitalized.
Current Situation in New Hampshire
New Hampshire 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Summary Report (updated December 18, 2020, 9 a.m.)
| NH Persons with COVID-19 | 34,960 |
| Recovered | 27,459 (79%) |
| Deaths Attributed to COVID-19 | 638 (2%) |
| Total Current COVID-19 Cases | 6,863 |
| Persons Who Have Been Hospitalized for COVID-19 | 881 (3%) |
| Current Hospitalizations | 273 |
| Total Persons Tested at Selected Laboratories, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) (see 2 below) | 479,655 |
| Total Persons Tested at Selected Laboratories, Antibody Laboratory Tests (see 2 below) | 34,196 |
| Persons with Specimens Submitted to NH PHL | 61,263 |
| Persons with Test Pending at NH PHL (see 3 below) | 1,763 |
1 Includes specimens positive at any laboratory and those confirmed by CDC confirmatory testing.
2 Includes specimens tested at the NH Public Health Laboratories (PHL), LabCorp, Quest, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and those sent to CDC prior to NH PHL testing capacity.
3 Includes specimens received and awaiting testing at NH PHL. Does not include tests pending at commercial laboratories.
Number of Tests Conducted by Date of Report to NH DHHS
| Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Tests | ||||||||
| Testing Laboratory | 12/11 | 12/12 | 12/13 | 12/14 | 12/15 | 12/16 | 12/17 | Daily Average |
| NH Public Health Laboratories | 1,258 | 1,329 | 999 | 1,253 | 853 | 1,240 | 841 | 1,110 |
| LabCorp | 1,053 | 1,630 | 1,854 | 1,298 | 1,523 | 1,399 | 1,417 | 1,453 |
| Quest Diagnostics | 1,308 | 1,364 | 1,747 | 1,424 | 1,181 | 1,249 | 1,582 | 1,408 |
| Mako Medical | 277 | 131 | 249 | 9 | 113 | 663 | 827 | 324 |
| Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center | 724 | 516 | 423 | 302 | 738 | 900 | 1 | 515 |
| Other NH Hospital Laboratory | 540 | 490 | 435 | 530 | 552 | 485 | 401 | 490 |
| Other Laboratory* | 1,856 | 1,742 | 1,040 | 1,113 | 1,511 | 1,926 | 1,931 | 1,588 |
| University of New Hampshire** | 1,806 | 1 | 0 | 1,917 | 1,512 | 816 | 789 | 977 |
| Total | 8,822 | 7,203 | 6,747 | 7,846 | 7,983 | 8,678 | 7,789 | 7,867 |
| Antibody Laboratory Tests | ||||||||
| Testing Laboratory | 12/11 | 12/12 | 12/13 | 12/14 | 12/15 | 12/16 | 12/17 | Daily Average |
| LabCorp | 20 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 27 | 20 | 0 | 13 |
| Quest Diagnostics | 41 | 34 | 7 | 10 | 18 | 40 | 30 | 26 |
| Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 5 |
| Other Laboratory* | 15 | 7 | 0 | 23 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 11 |
| Total | 86 | 65 | 8 | 42 | 61 | 79 | 38 | 54 |
* Includes out-of-state public health laboratories, out-of-state hospital laboratories, and other commercial laboratories not already listed in the table.
Note: Patients who had both antibody and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are accounted for in both tables.
** Includes tests conducted at the UNH laboratory and their contracted lab Veritas.