Sununu renews virus emergency declaration for 2 weeks

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Gov. Chris Sununu once again renewed New Hampshire’s state of emergency declaration on Friday, but for only 14 days instead of the usual 21.

Sununu first declared a state of emergency because of the coronavirus pandemic on March 13, 2020, and has renewed it every three weeks since then.

Friday’s decision comes six weeks after Sununu eliminated the statewide mask mandate and three weeks after the lifting of business restrictions.

“Today’s action to renew the State of Emergency allows the legislature to take up our various critical emergency orders that have brought flexibility to manage through this pandemic, and I call on the House and Senate to move swiftly in this charge so that we can move out of a State of Emergency as quickly as possible,” he said in a statement.

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THE NUMBERS

More than 98,000 people have tested positive for the virus in New Hampshire, including 64 cases announced Friday.

The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in New Hampshire has decreased over the past two weeks, going from 167 new cases per day on May 12 to 75 new cases per day on Wednesday.