NASHUA – As city officials continue to work tirelessly to combat the spread of coronavirus disease, Nashua Fire Rescue is now responding to numerous COVID-19 related calls each day.

FIRE RESCUE

City leaders came together remotely Wednesday for a press conference via a Zoom video conference call to provide a status update on the community’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the call, Nashua Fire Chief Brian Rhodes said his men and women have and will continue to respond to all hazards throughout the city, with one exception. That is their dive team, which is currently out of service with a COVID-19 incident due to concerns about the health and well being of team members. However, Rhodes did announce that the department does not have any members in quarantine or that are sick with COVID-19. The department does have a continuity plan in the event this should change. Early on, Nashua Fire Rescue had set up an incident management team, which has worked to modify and forecast operations and response to the challenges the crisis presents.

“Currently, we are responding to approximately eight confirmed or suspected COVID-19 incidents per day,” Rhodes said.

In addition, the sustainability of the department’s personal protective equipment is an ongoing concern, but right now, Rhodes reports they currently have enough to safely protect their responders.

As it gets warmer, the department also wants to make sure everyone has the opportunity to get out and enjoy fresh air, while social distancing, of course. Rhodes said a process will be rolled out soon that will allow city residents to obtain a fire permit remotely during the crisis. That process will be announced by the city as well as the fire department through various channels.

Also, while firefighters are responding to multiple calls a day relating to the pandemic, there has been a decline in daily Safe Stations requests. This program still is active, but Rhodes said the department is highly encouraging those seeking assistance with their addictions to call 2-1-1 to be connected to the state’s Doorway program. If people are unable to connect via 2-1-1, the department will continue serving those vulnerable citizens struggling with addiction.

POLICE

While the fire department is reporting no members of its team quarantined or sick with COVID-19, Nashua Police Chief Michael Carignan said his department does have officers out due to COVID-19-related encounters.

“We had one office test positive for COVID-19. It was a non-work related exposure. He was quarantined and will be out through the remainder of his recovery.”

Carignan said he is doing well, and that two other officers that were connected with this officer and potentially exposed, have been isolated for 14 days. In addition, seven officers and one civilian are out due to exposure while dealing with a suspect that is positive. Those employees returned to work over the course of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Aside from navigating through these challenges, Carignan said that the Nashua Police Department is still fully functional and answering all calls for service. However, those calls to the department now include a series of questions to see if the caller has been exposed, or in any way could expose officers to COVID-19. In addition to those questions, people seeking assistance will be asked to meet officers outside to have a discussion to solve problems with a distance of at least 6 feet apart. While this is not typical of their procedures, it is to make sure law enforcement do not come in contact with COVID-19.

Officers may also be seen going around local parks to ensure those that are closed remain closed and people are not utilizing them. The department’s philosophy now is to remind people what social distancing is and why it is important. There have been a couple issues at local skate parks, and the department encourages the young kids of Nashua to stay out for the time being for everyone’s safety.

EMERGENCY

MANAGEMENT

There are a number of different task forces working across the community, including the Community Distribution Task Force, which is tasked with distributing meals in the community. The Public Health Response Task Force is continuing efforts to build out the alternative care site at Nashua High School South, contact tracing and public education work.

The Municipal Continuity Task Force is focused around the ability for the city to continue its essential services in the community, such as police, fire and wastewater for example. Director of Emergency Management Justin Kates said the city divisions are doing a great job performing their tasks with new cloth masks. Officials also are working on continuing to provide additional cleaning supplies to essential entities, such as hand sanitizer, as well as personal protective equipment.

“We still are short on personal protective equipment,” Kates said.

He said there still are challenges with the supply chain, but the city’s Administrative Services Department has done a great job trying to get what they can.

The School Issues Task Force is continuing to work toward remote learning and continuing to troubleshoot issues related to the provision of Chromebooks out to the community. Kates said the task force is looking at how they might be able to continue services over a long period of time.

The Economic Recovery Task Force is continuing to work with businesses in the community to look at ways to ensure businesses are strong not just during this crisis, but as the city enters recovery as well.

The Homeless Support Task Force is continuing to work with the state to identify additional surge capacity for shelters within the community.

“We hope to do a walkthrough of a potential site on Monday with the intention to try and get that facility up and running as soon as possible,” Kates said.

Lastly, the Childcare Task Force is continuing to work to identify the status of child-care facilities in the community, as many essential employees still require care for their children.

PUBLIC HEALTH

On Wednesday, during a press conference with Gov. Chris Sununu, the state’s Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette announced an outbreak of COVID-19 at a Nashua facility. The Huntington at Nashua is experiencing an outbreak at their assisted living facility on their campus only, and it has resulted in 19 residents with confirmed cases, 11 staff members and five confirmed COVID-19-related deaths. However, the commissioner also said Wednesday that the facility has not had any new cases in residents over the last three days, but is still seeing staff with positive tests coming out of the facility.

Director of the city’s Division of Public Health and Community Services Bobbie Bagley said the only outbreak that Nashua has had is the cluster outbreak at the Huntington facility.

“We have had cases in different areas and different small groups, like individual families and contacts through the family, individuals that may have been exposed at their workplace at the hospital, but we haven’t had any cluster outbreaks,” Bagley said.

On Thursday, the governor held another briefing, where state Epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan shared updated COVID-19 statistics. As of Thursday, New Hampshire had 819 people with confirmed COVID-19 cases, which is an increase of 31 people from Wednesday. Of those positives, 127 people have required hospitalization. Chan also announced that the state’s death toll is now up to 21. Also, as of Thursday, nearly 10,000 people in the state have already been tested.

“We believe, at this point, as I’ve said in the past, that COVID-19 is widespread in our communities, and so we urge people to heed the recommendations and the precautions for social distancing,” Chan said.

If people in the community have questions and want information the crisis, the city’s COVID-19 hotline is open and available from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. It is staffed by public health nurses and other staff at the division. That number is 603-589-3456.

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