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HHS SAYS IT IS WORKING WITH COMMUNITIES, HOSPITALS AND ITS PUBLIC HEALTH PARTNERS TO PREVENT FURTHER COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION. THE NEW HAMPSHIRE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES ANNOUNCES TWO NEW PRESUMPTIVE POSITIVE CASES OF COVID-19 IN THE GRANITE STATE. <CLIP:2330 :27;42- :27;47"THESE INDIVIDUALS ARE EITHER TRAVEL RELATED OR WE CAN TRACE THEIR EXPOSURE BACK TO ANOTHER PERSON."> ONE IS A MAN FROM ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, WHO RECENTLY RETURNED HOME FROM ITALY. THE OTHER IS A MAN FROM GRAFTON COUNTY WHO IS BELIEVED TO HAVE CONTRACTED THE VIRUS THROUGH CONTACT HE HAD WITH A PERSON DURING SERVICES AT THE HOPE BIBLE FELLOWSHIP CHURCH IN WEST LEBANON ON MARCH FIRST. THE PERSON THAT THE MAN HAD CONTACT WITH LATER TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID- 19, BECOMING THE SECOND PERSON IN THE STATE TO BE DIAGNOSED. <21:15- THE CHURCH SERVICE WAS JUST BEFORE THEY HAD DEVELOPED SYMPTOMS AND NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED FOR TESTING AT THAT POINT. 21:20> THE RESULTS STILL NEED OFFICIAL CONFIRMATION BY THE CDC. <3:03- WE ARE ACTIVELY CONDUCTING INVESTIGATIONS ON BOTH INDIVIDUALS, BUT BOTH INDIVIDUALS ARE CURRENTLY ISOLATED AT HOME, AS ARE THEIR CLOSE CONTACTS AND THEY DO NOT CURRENTLY POSE A RISK TO PUBLIC HEALTH. 3;15> THE THREE GRAFTON COUNTY CASES ARE ALL RELATED. AT THIS POINT, HHS SAYS IT HAS NOT IDENTIFIED BROADER COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION. <CLIP:2330 :28;25-:28;41 "WE DO NOT WANT OUR COMMUNITIES TO PANIC. WE WANT THEM TO FEEL LIKE THEY CAN GO ABOUT THEIR EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES. BUT I DO WANT TO STRESS THAT PEOPLE HAVE HEIGHTENED AWARENESS OF THE SITUATION AND TAKE PRECAUTIONS TO PREVENT TRANSMISSION."> HHS SAYS IT HAS THE ABILITY TO RECOMMEND CANCELLATIONS OF PUBLIC EVENTS, BUT RIGHT NOW THEY

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New Hampshire health officials gave an update Sunday on two new presumptive positive cases of the coronavirus in the state, saying that an additional 150 people are under public health monitoring for the virus.The two new cases, one in Grafton County and one in Rockingham County, are in addition to two confirmed cases in Grafton County, bringing the total number of cases in the state to four. >> COVID-19 in New Hampshire: What you need to knowThe new Grafton County case was identified in a man who contracted the virus through contact he had with a person at a service at the Hope Bible Fellowship Church in West Lebanon on March 1. The person that the man had contact with later tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the second person in the state to be diagnosed, but was unaware that they had the virus at the time of the church service.All three of the Grafton County cases are related, as the person with the virus who attended the church service and spread it to the newly diagnosed man had initially contracted it through contact with the first person in the state to test positive. That first person was diagnosed with the virus after returning from a trip to Italy. About 60 people were at the church service. Health officials said all of them have been asked to stay at home. The church canceled its services for this week. The presumptive positive case in Rockingham County was identified in a man who recently traveled to Italy. Health officials said that man stayed at home for several days before testing positive, and that there was little risk that he could spread the virus.“We are actively conducting investigations on both individuals, but both individuals are currently isolated at home, as are their close household contacts, and they do not currently pose a risk to public health," State Epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan said at a press conference on Sunday about the two new cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still needs to confirm the new cases.Chan said that "the new detections do not indicate wider-spread community transmission." In addition to the four cases, about 150 people in the state are currently being monitored for any symptoms of the virus. “This includes both travelers that we’ve been monitoring, as well as people who have been identified as close contacts to (the presumptive positive) cases," said Beth Daly, chief of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control at the state Department of Health and Human Services.Chan said the state currently has the capacity to test 150 people for the virus.Officials said they're not recommending that any large public gatherings, such as this week's town meetings, be canceled. Instead, they said, residents' awareness of the virus should remain heightened. The first two people to test positive for the virus in the state are employees of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, but hospital officials said neither had contact with patients. The newly diagnosed person in Grafton County is not employed by the health system, hospital officials said Sunday. For more information from DHHS on COVID-19, click here.