Gov. Chris Sununu takes a selfie with an unidentified worker. Courtesy photo

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Gov. Chris Sununu said New Hampshire will not be issuing new mask guidance following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation that even fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors in areas where COVID-19 transmission is substantial or high.

Four of New Hampshire’s 10 counties and the city of Nashua are experiencing moderate transmission, while the rest of the state is seeing minimal transmission, according to figures released by the Department of Health and Human Services.

“At this point, it isn’t about the government providing that bubble of safety around individuals,” Sununu told WMUR-TV on Wednesday.

Instead, he said it’s about the individual taking on personal responsibility.

“It is your choice,” Sununu said. “We have all the power to protect ourselves and the community, and that’s getting the vaccine. It’s safe. It’s easy.”

Over 53% of the state has been fully vaccinated. Sununu said he’s frustrated that more residents are not vaccinated, given the extensive effort made by the state to get vaccines out to the public, but he said he understands it is a personal choice.

In other coronavirus-related developments:

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MENTAL HEALTH-GRANT

Plymouth State University has been awarded a $1.9 million federal grant to expand its professional counseling and school psychology programs to recruit more students by offering them stipends during their internships.

The university will be placing interns in 116 training sites across the state over four years. All but 12 of the sites are in rural areas.

“The needs are great for all populations. We’ve been fielding calls regarding college-age students who are really struggling with anxiety and depression and trying to find qualified individuals to support them is challenging,” Robin Hausheer, school counseling program coordinator, said in a statement. “One of our focus areas is addressing mental health issues post-COVID-19.”

The grant is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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THE NUMBERS

More than 100,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in New Hampshire, including 118 cases announced Tuesday. One new death was announced, for a total of 1,386.

The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in New Hampshire has risen over the past two weeks from 25 new cases a day on July 12 to 53 new cases a day on Monday.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic.

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