WNTK Local News

According to the Associated Press, Vermont Congressman Peter Welch has secured his eighth term as the state’s lone congressman.

Welch, 73, has served as the state’s congressman since 2007. According to the Democrat, he “has more energy for the job than he’s ever had” when it comes to issues such as battling the COVID-19 pandemic, threats to democracy, and issues of racial justice.

In 2013, he co-founded the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus in hopes to “find areas of common ground on infrastructure, broadband, and farming issues.” Recently, Welch served a key role in 2019’s impeachment hearings against President Donald Trump.

His opponent, Republican Miriam Berry, stated that her campaign’s main aim was to bring a different perspective to the seat as opposed to a “career politician”. 

According to the Vermont Department of Health, there have now been a total of 2,219 COVID-19 cases reported statewide.

Health officials reported 23 new confirmed cases on Tuesday. There are currently three VT residents hospitalized due to COVID-19, with one other hospitalization under investigation. To date, 58 deaths (2.6% of cases) in the state have been linked to the virus. So far, 82.3% of all infected (1826 people) have recovered from COVID-19. In total, there have been 415,518 tests conducted.

The Department of Health states that testing numbers include tests conducted at the Health Department Laboratory, commercial labs, and other public health labs. The death totals come from persons known to have the virus. 

Snowy conditions appear to have caused a Monday morning crash in Killington, Vermont.

According to a press release from the VT State Police, troopers from the VSP Rutland Barracks were alerted to a single-car accident on Trailview Drive at approximately 10:20 AM.

An investigation determined that the vehicle, a 2012 Honda Pilot, was traveling northbound on Trailview Drive when it exited the roadway and rolled onto its side.

The driver, 29-year-old Denny Miller of Clarendon, sustained minor injuries in the crash.

According to the report, slippery road conditions due to snow contributed to the accident. 

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Safety reported a total of 464 new confirmed COVID-19 cases across the Halloween weekend.

On Friday, health officials reported 126 new cases, with 21 of these being in patients aged 18 or younger. There were new cases reported in all 10 of the state’s counties.

Saturday saw health officials report the highest number of cases in a single day since the outbreak began. In total, 205 new cases of the virus were confirmed, with 31 being in the 18-and-under demographic. There were also two new hospitalizations announced, bringing the state’s total number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients to 42. One new virus-linked death was announced, a woman from Hillsborough County, bringing the virus’ death toll in the state to 483.

Finally, there were 133 new cases reported on Sunday, which brings the total number of cases for the duration of the pandemic to 11,214. Of these, there are currently 1,352 active cases in the Granite State.

In a statement from Saturday, Governor Chris Sununu commented, “The situation here in New Hampshire remains very serious, the data shows that community transmission is increasing, and we expect cases to rise. We must all remain vigilant in our daily lives. As we enter these winter months, it will be more important than ever to wear your mask, practice social distancing, and maintain proper hand hygiene.” (NH Public Radio)

In addition, Sununu extended the State of Emergency order another 21 days.

A collision involving two tractor-trailer trucks on Interstate 89 through Springfield, New Hampshire closed a section of the roadway on Friday morning, according to a Twitter post from the NH State Police.

According to their tweet, Troopers responded to the accident at approximately 10 AM on Friday, October 30th. Upon arrival, they found the two trucks had turned onto their sides on an embankment. Both Troop D and Troop G arrived on scene to assist the drivers.

Neither truck driver sustained any injuries during the accident.

The highway was closed while crews cleaned the wreckage, and traffic was diverted through the Springfield Rest Area and onto I-89 Northbound.

The NHSP Twitter account reported the roadway clear and back open at around 4:30 PM. 

New Hampshire health officials have announced another 131 new COVID-19 cases for Thursday, October 29, 2020.

According to the NH Department of Health and Human Services, the 131 new cases announced today bring the state’s total for the duration of the pandemic to 10,768. There are currently 1,106 still considered active. At this time, 9,180 people (85% of all cases) have recovered from the COVID-19 virus.

There were four more deaths reported on Thursday, to date, 484 (4% of all cases) NH residents’ deaths have been linked to the coronavirus. 7%(775) of all people who have gotten the virus have been hospitalized, with 30 people currently still in hospital.

Currently, 318 NH citizens are awaiting the results of their COVID-19 tests, and there are 4,600 people being monitored for symptoms. 

According to NECN, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu has approved a proposal that requires restaurants to take patron’s basic contact information to assist with contact tracing amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Sununu stated that the Economic Reopening Task Force had received a request from the NH Lodging and Restaurant Association to require customers be recorded based on their name, phone number, and time of arrival.

On Thursday, Sununu said, “This proposal really seeks to help our contact tracing program get in touch with people if they may have been exposed to COVID-19.” He continued to say that the process will not be invasive, as this is the same information typically taken for those making a reservation.

This new proposal takes effect on Saturday. 

One person is dead, while another remains in critical condition, following a Tuesday morning crash in Sutton, New Hampshire.

New Hampshire State Police report that they were alerted to a single-vehicle accident on Interstate 89 North near Sutton at approximately 11:56 AM on Tuesday. Upon arrival, troopers discovered that the vehicle had veered left and into the median. The vehicle then collided with a tree on the driver’s side.

The driver, 64-year-old Sarah E. Grier of Woodland, Maine, sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. The passenger, who has not yet been identified, sustained serious body injuries and was airlifted to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, where they remain in critical condition.

I-89 N was reportedly shut down for several hours as crews attempted to clean up the crash.

At this time the incident remains under investigation, and anyone with information pertaining to the crash are asked to contact Trooper First Class Michael Pelletier at 603-223-8699 or at his email, Michael.J.Pelletier@dos.nh.gov. 

According to a post on SAU 43’s Facebook page, an individual from Newport Middle High School has tested positive for COVID-19.

The post states that, “Throughout the past two days the high school nurse and principal, working in partnership with Public Health, conducted contact tracing to identify those individuals who may have had close contact with the person who tested positive.”

The post, written by SAU 43 Superintendent Brendan Minnihan, continues to state that anyone found to have been in contact with the individual will soon be notified.

Those who came into contact will be instructed to self-quarantine for 14 days. The school district is defining close contact as, “being closer than six feet to the individual identified as testing positive for a duration of more than 10 minutes over a 48-hour time period.” Reportedly, family members of those who came into close contact are not being asked to quarantine.

On Wednesday, NMHS students were moved to remote schooling while the building was disinfected a total of four times. Students will return to in-person schooling on Thursday. 

COVID-19 numbers around the state of New Hampshire continued to rise on Tuesday.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 140 new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported, bringing the state’s total number of active cases to 1,067. NH’s total number of cases for the duration of the pandemic is 10,531. To date, 9,989 people have recovered from the COVID-19 virus statewide, a percentage of 86%.

There were no new deaths to report on Tuesday, leaving 475 deaths attributed to the coronavirus, around 5% of all cases. 31 people are currently being hospitalized, and the total number of people who have been hospitalized due to the virus is 771, or 7% of all cases.

According to DHHS’ report, there are currently 4,600 people being monitored for symptoms, with 373 NH citizens awaiting test results.

The 140 new cases mark the third-highest single day case total since the beginning of the pandemic, while the 31 people in hospital is the highest total number since July 2nd.