CONCORD — Health officials said Wednesday there have been outbreaks of COVID-19 at three long-term care facilities in New Hampshire, and state leaders expressed frustration about being sent new machines to test for the disease caused by the coronvirus without supplies to use them.

Ten people have died and 90 others have tested positive for COVID-19 at three long-term care facilities in New Hampshire, the state’s health commissioner said Wednesday.

Nineteen assisted living residents and 11 staff members at the Huntington at Nashua have tested positive for the disease caused by the coronavirus, and five residents have died, said Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette.

At the Hanover Hill nursing home in Manchester, there have been four resident deaths among 37 infected residents and 13 infected employees. And at a group home run by the Crotched Mountain Foundation in Greenfield, one resident has died after three residents and 11 staff members were diagnosed.

The New Hampshire Health Care Association, which represents nursing homes, is calling on the state to use federal Medicaid money to support nursing home care as several other New England states have done.

State health officials also reported 41 new positive tests of the coronavirus, raising the state’s total to 788. A total of 118 people (15%) have been hospitalized and a total of 8,763 have been tested. Rockingham County has 268 cases. Strafford County has 48 cases.

For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and the infirm, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.

UNUSABLE TESTING MACHINES

New Hampshire received 15 machines from the federal government that confirm within minutes if someone tests positive for the coronavirus — but it can’t use them due to a lack of test cartridges.

The state expected 1,500 cartridges for the machines, but only received 120.

"I’m banging my head against the wall, I really am," Gov. Chris Sununu said Wednesday. "It’s really frustrating. We’re going to keep pushing on Washington multiple times a day to get what we need."

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen wrote to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, saying she finds it "unacceptable" that the state won’t be able to use the machines to the fullest extent possible.

’STAY VIGILANT’

Sununu said that over the past three days the daily number of reported cases in the state has gone done from a high of 81, an encouraging sign. But he urged the public to remain vigilant.

"This viral epidemic is real and it’s attacking people and families and it’s devastating," Sununu said. "So we hope that some of these numbers continue to decrease but in the meantime we have to stay ever vigilant and understand that we are going to be in this process not just for a few weeks but likely for a couple more months ...."

ELECTION CONCERNS

State officials will issue guidance soon on the coronavirus pandemic's impact on state elections, Gov. Chris Sununu said Wednesday.

Executive Councilor Deborah Pignatelli, D-Nashua, told Sununu she wants to hear from Secretary of State Bill Gardner about the state's primary elections in September and the November general election, including whether voting by mail is an option.

Sununu said state election law doesn't fall under the council's purview.

SPENDING OVERSIGHT

Legislative leaders are trying to assert their authority over spending federal money allocated in response to the pandemic.

Republican Gov. Chris Sununu said Tuesday he will create a Governor’s Office for Emergency Relief and Recovery with "a bipartisan legislative advisory board" to ensure input and transparency.

House Speaker Steve Shurtleff and Senate President Donna Soucy, both Democrats, responded by reminding him that state law expressly requires that the Legislature's joint fiscal committee approves any expenditures during an emergency.

The committee meets Friday.

MORE AID

New Hampshire is getting nearly $3.5 million from the U.S Department of Justice to alleviate public safety challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

State and local governments could use the money for hiring personnel; paying overtime; purchasing protective equipment; and addressing inmates’ medical needs.

INSURANCE ENROLLMENT

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen on Wednesday urged the Trump administration to reopen the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces during the coronavirus pandemic.

Multiple states have started special enrollment periods, and others are urging the administration to open a similar window for more Americans. The White House has said it would reimburse hospitals that treat uninsured patients for COVID-19, and the massive rescue package signed into law last month set aside $100 billion for hospitals for uncompensated care.

Shaheen, a Democrat, said that approach doesn’t make sense.

"If you’re not going to do something for the right reasons, you should do something because it makes economic sense," she told reporters. "It doesn’t make sense to take the billions of dollars that are going to keep our rural hospitals afloat and use it to provide health insurance coverage when people can get health insurance coverage on the market."

REQUEST TO RELEASE INMATES

Dale Holloway, accused of shooting a New Hampshire church pastor and bride during a wedding and later attacking his own lawyer, is among inmates asking to be released from jail on house arrest due to health concerns over the spread of the coronavirus.

Holloway, who requires treatment by inhaler for asthma, has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, assault and other charges related to the October shooting at a Pelham church. A hearing on his request is set for April 14.

Seacoast Media Group staff contributed to this report.

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