Gov. Sununu takes his best shot
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu received his COVID-19 vaccine Saturday at the state’s mass vaccination site at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.
The Republican, driving an orange convertible, got the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine in his left arm.
He never got out of the vehicle, and he gave a thumbs-up when it was all done.
“Just got my COVID-19 vaccine at the @NHMS,” Sununu tweeted. “A big THANK YOU to all of the incredible volunteers, state employees, and staff who make the process so seamless!”
Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette and Bureau of Infectious Disease Control Chief Beth Daly also received their vaccines. Thousands of New Hampshire residents have been vaccinated at the site.
Also, the University of New Hampshire women’s soccer team has pulled out of the America East tournament “in accordance with COVID19 protocols within the program,” the school said Saturday.
The Wildcats (5-2, 2-2 America East) had qualified for the four-team tournament as the second-place finisher in Division A.
No additional information was released.
Massachusetts
The College of the Holy Cross has restricted all in-person activities, including varsity sports, until at least Wednesday in response to dozens of new COVID-19 cases on campus.
Contact tracing shows that of at least 40 new cases, most are linked to outdoor gatherings of students during warmer weather and Easter break travel, the Jesuit school in Worcester said Friday.
Classes will be held remotely, the library is closed, and Sunday Mass will be livestreamed.
Students who live off campus will not be allowed on, except for coronavirus testing and visits to health services, or to pick up food from the dining hall.
Students who violate the restrictions face “serious consequences,” the school said.
“We’ve noticed more close contacts converting to positive cases than earlier in the year. More students who test positive are also reporting more serious symptoms than in the past,” the school said.
The college, with about 3,000 students, will reevaluate restrictions Wednesday.
Vermont
Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine says wearing masks, physically distancing and staying out of crowded spaces are more important than ever now with rising cases and the presence of virus variants in the state.
In addition to the variants which are more easily transmissible, the increase is driven by a willingness by some to take more risk and by pandemic fatigue, Levine said Friday during the governor’s virus briefing.
“This pandemic is not yet over,” Levine said. “We can’t let the virus spread faster than we can get Vermonters vaccinated.”
High coronavirus case counts and outbreaks are likely to continue in the very near future with the presence of virus variants in the state, affecting those who are not fully vaccinated, he said.
The state is finding the strain first detected in the United Kingdom much more frequently now, he said. The state has also detected the vari-ant first found California, and the strain first detected in Brazil was recently detected in a New Hampshire resident who was being tested in Vermont, Levine said.
The Vermont Department of Health on Saturday reported 133 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, but no additional virus-related fatalities.
There have now been almost 21,000 confirmed cases on the state, while deaths stayed steady at 231.
The number of people in the state’s hospitals with the disease rose slightly to 25, of whom eight were in intensive care.
Maine
More than 300 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Maine, but there have been no additional deaths caused by the disease, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday.
It was the fourth consecutive day of new case counts over 300, many of them in people under 30, the agency said.
The seven-day average of new daily cases was almost 334 on Saturday.
Rhode Island
Al Fresco on the Hill is returning to Providence.
The program to allow struggling restaurants on Federal Hill to set up up tables on the street in a safe manner is scheduled to start May 14 and run for about 20 weeks through early October, Mayor Jorge Elorza said Friday
Under the program, a portion of Atwells Avenue will close to motor vehicles on Fridays and Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Rick Simone of the Federal Hill Commerce Association said about 25 restaurants are planning on participating, but he expects that number to grow.