March 20 NH DHHS COVID-19 update: 344 positive results with 33 in Manchester; 4 deaths reported


CONCORD, NH – On Saturday, March 20, 2021, DHHS announced 344 new positive test results for COVID-19, for a current PCR test positivity rate of 2.5%. Today’s results include 201 people who tested positive by PCR test and 143 who tested positive by antigen test. There are now 2,421 current COVID-19 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire. Of the results reported today:

  • 3/19: 344 new cases

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 55 individuals under the age of 18 and the rest are adults with 45% being female and 55% being male. The new cases reside in Rockingham (79), Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (57), Strafford (49), Merrimack (33), Cheshire (13), Grafton (12), Carroll (8), Belknap (5), Sullivan (4), and Coos (2) counties, and in the cities of Manchester (33) and Nashua (26). The county of residence is being determined for twenty-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 have had close contact with a person with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis.

DHHS has also announced four additional deaths related to COVID-19. We offer our sympathies to the family and friends.

  • 1 female resident of Cheshire County, 60 years of age and older
  • 1 male resident of Cheshire County, 60 years of age and older
  • 1 female resident of Hillsborough County, 60 years of age and older
  • 1 female resident of Rockingham County, 60 years of age and older

There are currently 63 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19. In New Hampshire since the start of the pandemic, there have been a total of 80,316 cases of COVID-19 diagnosed.

Current Situation in New Hampshire

 New Hampshire 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Summary Report (updated March 20, 2021, 9 a.m.)

NH Persons with COVID-19 80,316
Recovered 76,678 (95%)
Deaths Attributed to COVID-19 1,217 (2%)
Total Current COVID-19 Cases 2,421
Current Hospitalizations 63
Total Persons Tested at Selected Laboratories, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) (see 2 below) 647,885
Total Persons Tested at Selected Laboratories, Antibody Laboratory Tests (see 2 below) 38,379
Persons with Specimens Submitted to NH PHL N/A
Persons with Test Pending at NH PHL (see 3 below) 77

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 3/13 3/14 3/15 3/16 3/17 3/18 3/19 Daily Average
NH Public Health Laboratories 362 0 53 269 549 734 645 373
LabCorp 470 216 358 504 510 564 372 428
Quest Diagnostics 442 350 261 279 749 558 479 445
Mako Medical 4 17 0 627 482 65 53 178
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center 379 167 204 524 406 447 423 364
NorDX Laboratory 166 39 66 515 342 377 269 253
Broad Institute 3,932 737 889 4,475 4,868 2,789 5,293 3,283
Other NH Hospital Laboratory 230 260 344 501 699 480 444 423
Other Laboratory* 235 226 309 521 860 624 389 452
University of New Hampshire** 2,047 63 3,742 4,502 2,763 4,636 2,703 2,922
Total 8,267 2,075 6,226 12,717 12,228 11,274 11,070 9,122
Antibody Laboratory Tests
Testing Laboratory 3/13 3/14 3/15 3/16 3/17 3/18 3/19 Daily Average
LabCorp 9 0 4 8 15 10 10 8
Quest Diagnostics 5 0 5 17 18 13 19 11
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center 3 1 4 5 3 10 6 5
NorDX Laboratory 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 1
Other Laboratory* 5 3 4 5 8 3 3 4
Total 22 4 20 35 45 36 38 29

* 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 laboartory and their contracted lab Veritas.