Enna Prak, 16, of Hanover, left, swipes a student’s I.D. to admit him into the dining hall at the Dartmouth College Class of ’53 Commons in Hanover, N.H., on Friday, March 6, 2020, as sophomore Alex Budnik, of Arlington Heights, Ill., sanitizes his hands. The college’s dining services added extra sanitizing stations and signs to encourage students after two cases of COVID-19 coronavirus were presumed positive earlier this week. They have also reduced their self-service options and are changing serving utensils every 20 minutes at the hall’s salad bar. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

From left, Hanover Deputy Fire Chief Michael Hinsley, Hanover Fire Chief Martin McMillan, Lebanon City Manager Shaun Mulholland and Hanover On Call E.M.T. Cristina Hammond, work at the Upper Valley Multi-Agency Coordinating Entity (MACE) inside the Lebanon, N.H., Fire Department Friday, March, 6, 2020. Several Upper Valley towns pooled their efforts to prepare for the potential spread of the COVID-19 by creating MACE on Wednesday. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Lebanon Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Libbey fits a city employee, who declined to be identified, for an N-95 mask at the Lebanon, N.H., Fire Department Friday, March 6, 2020. The fitting involves a bitter substance being sprayed inside a hood as the mask-wearer performs a series of movements to insure the mask seals well to their face without the bitter taste reaching their nose or mouth. Members of the city’s police and fire departments are fitted annually for the masks, and municipal and school employees are fitted less frequently, but are updating their fit as two cases of COVID-19 were presumed positive in the Upper Valley earlier this week. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

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LEBANON — New Hampshire health officials on Friday said they are awaiting COVID-19 test results after taking swab samples in the Upper Valley from three people believed to have had “close contact” with either of the two Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center employees who tested presumptive positive for the disease earlier this week.

And Dartmouth College late Friday said it has canceled all international programs for the spring term, including language study abroad programs and Dartmouth-supported fellowships, over concerns about the novel coronavirus as it spreads worldwide.

Among those affected would be about 100 undergraduate students enrolled in courses abroad for credit.

There are no identified COVID-19 cases at the college, spokeswoman Diana Lawrence said, but a high-level Dartmouth task force continues to monitor the situation and assess various programs.

On-campus activities, including sporting events, are continuing, but Dartmouth also plans to do additional cleaning of public bathrooms during the upcoming break and recommended that employees use telephone and video conferencing instead of face-to-face meetings as much as possible.

“This is a stressful and unpredictable time for all of us, and we appreciate your cooperation and assistance,” Provost Joseph Helble said in an email to the Dartmouth community. “We are grateful for the efforts of the many people on campus who are working to respond to the need for ever-changing information and develop contingency plans for the entire institution.”

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday deployed a medical truck and volunteer team of health professionals known as the Metropolitan Medical Response System to a site at Lebanon Municipal Airport where they screened individuals believed to have come into close contact with the two DHMC employees, and took samples from three.

As of Friday afternoon, there were no new positive tests in New Hampshire, according to the NH DHHS. Twenty people had tested negative. State health officials are monitoring 100 people who do not have symptoms and who have traveled to affected areas and in some cases have been asked to stay home.

In Vermont, eight people had tested negative and no cases of COVID-19 had been discovered as of Friday afternoon, according to the Vermont Department of Health.

Vermont health officials also are monitoring 203 individuals for signs of the disease.

Beginning on Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started asking people who are returning from trips to countries where transmission of the disease is widespread, including China, Iran, Italy, South Korea and Japan, to stay home for 14 days and to watch themselves for symptoms.

Ben Vihstadt, a spokesman for New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, said DHHS had declared a “public health incident” which allows the state to use trained volunteers to assist in the ongoing response and is also developing plans for “a robust response in case there is a future need to increase capacity for testing and surveillance efforts throughout the State.”

Vihstadt also noted that Congress has approved $4.9 million in initial funding to New Hampshire to help combat the outbreak.

The first DHMC employee to test positive had recently returned from a trip to Italy, one of the hotspots of the disease. He developed symptoms on Feb. 28, visited a D-H ambulatory clinic and was told to self-isolate at home.

Instead, he attended a mixer with DHMC residents and Tuck School of Business students at The Engine Room in White River Junction. He tested “presumptive positive” for COVID-19 on Monday.

The second positive test, which was announced on Tuesday, was a “close contact” of the first employee.

The state subsequently issued a formal order of isolation to the first employee, who the Vermont Department of Health identified as a “physician trainee” and who several people have told the Valley News is a medical resident. Both men are in self-isolation.

D-H has repeatedly declined to provide information about the infected workers’ jobs or how many other employees at the state’s only academic medical center, including medical residents and other physicians, have also been quarantined — but has said that they did not expose any patients to COVID-19.

D-H spokeswoman Jennifer Gilkie said by email Friday evening that the medical center will not comment on personnel matters or on a matter related to a patient, citing federal health privacy laws. She also asserted that “operations at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center are normal and have not been impacted.”

Prior to that response, Vihstadt said Sununu “believes it is of the utmost importance to be transparent in times of serious public health situations and has directed DHHS to work directly with DHMC to release all information possible by taking into consideration all public health concerns.”

In a Facebook Live video on Friday morning, D-H CEO Joanne Conroy said, “This is the place to really receive high-quality care in the state of New Hampshire.”

D-H Chief Clinical Officer Ed Merrens, who joined Conroy in the Facebook event, said people are considered “close contacts” if they are within 6 feet of an infected person for more than 30 minutes, or if they have some form of bodily contact.

Merrens said D-H is being “extra cautious” about not allowing people who may have been exposed to return to work.

Both D-H and the state are working to expand their testing capabilities. The state began with just 60 test kits, Merrens said. He added that D-H had purchased an analyzer and was working to obtain a reagent so it could begin doing its own testing, rather than solely relying on the state lab in Concord.

DHHS also said Friday it was working with federal agencies to obtain materials to conduct an additional 200 tests.

In Vermont, Gov. Phil Scott said the state will ensure that anyone who meets the medical requirements for testing for COVID-19 can do so at no cost, issuing a directive to insurers and taking steps to cover costs for the uninsured if a test is medically necessary.

Upper Valley schools and municipalities were also working to do what they can to prevent further transmission of the disease.

Dresden Superintendent Jay Badams asked families not to send children to school if other people in the household are required to self-isolate.

“Please know that if you find yourself in this situation, we urge you to contact us,” Badams said in a Thursday message to families. “We will maintain confidentiality, assist your family, and support your students’ continued learning.”

And an Upper Valley Public Health Region Multi-Agency Coordinating Entity opened on Wednesday at the downtown Lebanon fire station, with staff on hand 12 hours a day.

“We decided to do this given the sheer number of independent organizations in our region that were trying to manage their own responses and communications plans,” Hanover Town Manager Julia Griffin in an email, noting that it included large employers and 12 municipalities.

Griffin said she would like the state to declare a public health emergency to free up federal money to support local response efforts, as well as increase local access to the state’s stockpile of medical supplies and set up a Joint Information Center and provide public information officer services.

“At this point, our local public health region is struggling to get much of anything from the State,” Griffin said in an email midday Friday. “We can’t even get calls back. Sad, really … not sure what they are waiting for as they won’t tell us their plan or how bad things need to get before they will declare a public health emergency.”

But Lebanon City Manager Shaun Mulholland said he didn’t think such a declaration was necessary at this stage, with just two positive cases with mild symptoms being managed from home.

“That’s all we have right now,” Mulholland said. “We don’t have any fatalities or serious medical problems.”

Mulholland said he thought the state’s response was “appropriately measured.”

Vihstadt, the spokesman for Sununu, said, “The State is constantly evaluating whether increases in declaration levels should be made by assessing the current situation daily.”

Mulholland said election officials are prepared to wear gloves during voting on Tuesday. They also will have cleaning equipment on hand and make wipes available to clean pens in between voters.

In spite of the two positive cases in Grafton County, Mulholland said he hopes that voters, especially older people who may feel more anxious about their risk of exposure to COVID-19, will participate on Tuesday.

The city aims to “make sure polls are safe,” he said.

Staff writer John P. Gregg contributed to this report. Nora Doyle-Burr can be reached at ndoyleburr@vnews.com.