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PROUDLY SERVING BERWICK, NORTH BERWICK, SOMERSWORTH, SOUTH BERWICK, ROLLINSFORD & BEYOND

News

  • 05/28/2020 3:14 PM | Bonnie McNair (Administrator)

    Concord, NH – Today, Governor Chris Sununu, Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette and Adjutant General David Mikoliaties announced the state plans to break down most clinical surge flex facilities across New Hampshire starting next week.
     
    The State plans to keep four facilities operationalized in Manchester, Plymouth, Durham, and Littleton. The National Guard will help hospitals, towns, and the Department of Health and Human Services pack up the locations.
     
    “My job is to plan for the worst and hope for the best, and when we stood these surge sites up our hope was to never have to turn the lights on,” said Governor Chris Sununu. “Today’s announcement is welcome news for the state’s response to COVID19 and I would like to thank the National Guard and our local partners for their hard work in setting this network up.”
     
    “Our hospitals have successfully created surge space within their existing facilities should the demand for beds exceed the capacity in their facilities,” said Commissioner Shibinette. “We have ensured we have the ability to re-open four of the flexible surge sites within 48 hours if the need arises. However, the COVID-19 response in New Hampshire requires us to further prioritize resources on supporting the residents and staff in long-term care facilities, where the need is greatest. We want to thank the National Guard, hospitals and local officials for their rapid response in setting up these sites in order to serve our residents.”

    “Working with community leaders and state and local health care professionals, we fielded 14 flex sites in 14 days,” said NH Adjutant Gen. David Mikolaities. “It was truly a remarkable cooperative effort that thankfully ended up being a case of ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’. If the need arises again, our citizen soldiers and airmen will be ready at a moment’s notice.”


  • 05/28/2020 3:13 PM | Bonnie McNair (Administrator)

    Concord, NH - Today, Governor Chris Sununu issued Emergency Order #48 as part of the state's efforts to respond to COVID-19.

    PDF filePortable Document Format (.pdf) . Visit nh.gov for a list of free .pdf readers for a variety of operating systems.


  • 05/28/2020 12:23 PM | Bonnie McNair (Administrator)


    May 28, 2020

    Dover, NH – Effective Monday, June 1, COAST will resume service on Route 41cc, and transition Route 40 and 41 from the current Saturday schedule to a new reduced weekday schedule. COAST is committed to continuing to increase services as capacity allows but, based on factors beyond their control, may have to continue a reduced schedule until the planned launch of an all new system on June 29th.

    According to COAST, the decision to resume more services on June 1 is consistent with the CDC’s latest decision matrix for public transit operators when considering reopening mass transit during the COVID19 pandemic.

    COAST Executive Director, Rad Nichols, commented, “We are increasing services consistent with applicable state orders. Recommended health and safety actions, and ongoing monitoring, are in place to the extent possible.” Nichols continued, “If necessary, due to changing conditions, we will continue to be as flexible as possible and make adjustments when and where needed. We are striving to do our very best to meet the essential transportation needs of our passengers, and the region, during very challenging times.”

    For additional updates on COAST operations resuming on June 1 visit www.coastbus.org. Please follow COAST on Facebook and Twitter (@COASTbus), and download the DoubleMap App, for periodic updates, information, and real-time bus locations.

    Face masks are strongly encouraged by COAST when riding public transit. Hand sanitizer is being made available for all passengers to use before moving back to their seat. COAST continues to sanitize all buses at a higher frequency and are beginning to regularly sterilize the insides of the buses with their new hydrogen peroxide foggers.

    COAST asks that individuals do not ride if they have any symptoms that are associated with COVID-19, and limit trips, for now, to only those that are essential.

    Cooperative Alliance for Seacoast Transportation (COAST) has provided public transit service to the Seacoast New Hampshire region since 1982. COAST is a non-profit agency, operating a regional public transit system that relies primarily on federal and local government support to operate. COAST is governed by a board of directors representing the communities served, two regional planning commissions, and many local and state agencies. COAST’s vision is to be an innovative leader in providing a broad range of public transportation services, connecting, and coordinating a robust network of transportation options for everyone. - 

  • 05/27/2020 9:37 AM | Bonnie McNair (Administrator)

    The USDA is making available up to $1 billion in loan guarantees to help rural businesses meet their working capital needs during the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, agricultural producers not eligible for USDA Farm Service Agency loans may receive funding under USDA Business & Industry CARES Act Program.

    The USDA  also will host webinars to provide an overview of program requirements. For more information, please visit the USDA news release

    The USDA also announced details on the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), which will provide up to $16 billion in direct payments to deliver relief to America’s farmers and ranchers who have suffered a 5%-or-greater price decline due to COVID-19 and face additional significant marketing costs as a result of lower demand, surplus production, and disruptions to shipping patterns and the orderly marketing of commodities. More information is available in this news release

    USDA Rural Development Business and Industry (B&I) CARES Act Program Webinar

    Join Here

    Wednesday - June 3rd - 2PM



  • 05/27/2020 9:35 AM | Bonnie McNair (Administrator)

    Join us for an overview of agricultural/farm assistance programs currently available with a focus on disaster recovery. USDA Programs and SBA Disaster Recovery Programs will be highlighted in this webinar. It’s NOT too late to apply for Paycheck Protection Program Funding!

    Thursday, 5/28/20 at 10am
    New England Agriculture Regional Recovery Programs Webinar

    Topics Include:

    USDA Programs

    SBA Disaster Recovery Programs

    Scheduling a Virtual Counseling Session

    REGISTER HERE

    SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

    • Wendell Davis, SBA New England Regional Administrator
    • Bob Nelson, SBA MA District Director
    • Oreste Varela, SBA Springfield Manager
    • Jennifer Sharrow, USDA                                                                      


  • 05/26/2020 2:56 PM | Bonnie McNair (Administrator)

    May 26, 2020

    DHHS is enlisting volunteers, hiring more personnel, and deploying new technology to expand contact tracing in Maine

    Governor Janet Mills announced today that the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is significantly expanding contact tracing by increasing the number of skilled staff and volunteers, harnessing innovative technology, and securing social services to help people with COVID-19 maintain self-isolation.

    The State’s expanded contact tracing parallels its major increase in testing capacity. Contact tracing is the process of identifying, assessing, and protecting people who have been exposed to a disease to prevent their transmitting infection to others. Taken together, testing and contract tracing enable Maine to identify, investigate, and isolate individuals with COVID-19 to prevent its spread in the absence of effective treatment or a vaccine.

    “Expanded testing and contact tracing are critical to both identifying and limiting the spread of COVID-19 in Maine,” said Governor Janet Mills. “By increasing the number of people conducting contact tracing and by deploying the new Sara Alert system to assist us, we can improve our efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus, protect the health of Maine people, and support our goal of safely restarting Maine’s economy.”

    “Maine’s parallel advances in testing and contact tracing are key to protecting the health and wellbeing of Maine people in the face of this pandemic,” said DHHS Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew. “Some of our communities have more acutely experienced the impacts of COVID-19, and we are stepping up needed supports for people isolated or quarantined due to exposure to the virus.”

    “Contact tracing has been an important part of our response to COVID-19 since the first case was identified in Maine,” said Dr. Nirav. D. Shah, Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC). “Enhancing our contact tracing technology and workforce now allows us to make best use of expanded testing capacity at our lab.”

    Maine’s contact tracing strategy has three components:

    1. Increasing Personnel

    The Maine CDC currently has a contact tracing and case investigation team of approximately 30 people. It expects to more than quadruple this team as needed through the following steps:

    Immediately enlisting the help of 50 trained volunteers, who have offered their skills through Maine Responds, a system to tap into health care, public health, and emergency volunteers to respond to emergency situations. These volunteers will assist for at least two months and will start training the week of June 1, 2020.

    Begin hiring up to 125 contracted staff over time for up to 12 months to supplement Maine CDC’s work. This hiring will be staggered based on COVID-19 trend data and will include those with proficiency in multiple languages.

    2. Deploying Sara Alert System

    Maine CDC has deployed a new tool called Sara Alert to support monitoring and reporting of COVID-19 in Maine. The Sara Alert system, which is also used by several other states, allows individuals who have been diagnosed or potentially exposed to COVID-19 to report daily symptoms through web, text, email, or calls. The tool provides real-time insights and increased reporting capability to support containment of the virus. It also enables hospitals and health systems to conduct contact tracing for their own employees. As it deploys the new system, Maine CDC is also working with partners to improve it, including implementing language translations for non-English speaking individuals. Maine CDC began using Sara Alert last week and already has logged 345 contacts in the system as of May 25.

    Sara Alert is free for use by federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local governments, and regional health organizations. It was developed by MITRE, a not-for-profit organization that works in the public interest, in close collaboration and partnership with national public health organizations, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, National Association of County and City Health Officials, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, and other local and state health departments. Sara Alert has enabled public health workers to monitor and respond to the coronavirus pandemic and to coordinate and direct care where it is most needed.

    “We developed Sara Alert with public health for public health,” said Dr. Paul Jarris, Chief Medical Advisor of MITRE’s Health Transformation Technical Center, and former Vermont Commissioner of Health. “Sara Alert has the potential to modernize the public health management of individuals in quarantine and isolation to protect communities from further spread of disease in this and future pandemics. As the pandemic evolves and stay-at-home measures are relaxed, states and localities can use it to strengthen efforts to control outbreaks in less affected areas, and to mitigate future waves of illness and possible rebound effects.”

    3. Expanding Social Supports

    Staying apart from people for a period of time to protect the public health is a challenge for all, let alone for those who may have low incomes or struggle with housing, food security, transportation, mental or substance use disorders, or access to affordable healthcare and childcare. To address these challenges, DHHS is expanding its social supports for people isolated or quarantined because of exposure to COVID-19 by contracting with Community Action Programs (CAPs). Once finalized, these arrangements will offer individuals in isolation or quarantine social supports such as delivered meals, prescriptions, and behavioral health counselling. DHHS will also contract with Wabanaki Public Health for support for Native Americans. It will engage Catholic Charities, which operates the State’s refugee program, to help with language translation for non-English speakers. Maine DHHS will also assign a point person to coordinate this work statewide.

    The expansion of contact tracing parallels the Mills Administration’s expansion of COVID-19 testing for the State of Maine. The Administration has partnered with Maine-based IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. to more than triple the State’s testing capacity, allowing anyone in Maine suspected of having COVID-19 to receive a test. The Mills Administration continues its efforts to secure more testing as part of its ongoing commitment to Maine’s public health and continues to press the Federal government to ensure that health care providers have a reliable and adequate supply of materials, such as personal protective equipment and swabs to collect samples from patients for testing.


  • 05/26/2020 2:37 PM | Bonnie McNair (Administrator)

    May 22, 2020

    Concord, NH - Today, Governor Chris Sununu issued Emergency Order #46, #47, and Exhibit I to Emergency Order #29 as part of the state's efforts to respond to COVID-19.

    Emergency Order #46 PDF file: Further expanding access to medical providers

    Emergency Order #47 PDF file: Expanding access to COVID-19 testing via licensed pharmacists

    Exhibit I to Emergency Order #29 PDF file: Boating safety education

     

    PDF filePortable Document Format (.pdf) . Visit nh.gov for a list of free .pdf readers for a variety of operating systems.


  • 05/26/2020 12:09 PM | Bonnie McNair (Administrator)

    The USDA is making available up to $1 billion in loan guarantees to help rural businesses meet their working capital needs during the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, agricultural producers not eligible for USDA Farm Service Agency loans may receive funding under USDA Business & Industry CARES Act Program.

    The USDA  also will host webinars to provide an overview of program requirements. For more information, please visit the USDA news release

    The USDA also announced details on the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), which will provide up to $16 billion in direct payments to deliver relief to America’s farmers and ranchers who have suffered a 5%-or-greater price decline due to COVID-19 and face additional significant marketing costs as a result of lower demand, surplus production, and disruptions to shipping patterns and the orderly marketing of commodities. More information is available in this news release

    USDA Rural Development Business and Industry (B&I) CARES Act Program Webinar

    Join Here

    Wednesday - June 3rd - 2PM


  • 05/26/2020 12:08 PM | Bonnie McNair (Administrator)

    With funding received from the CARES Act, the National America's SBDCs and Association of Women's Business Center's have created a federal resource website for U.S. small businesses affected by COVID-19. You can view relevant federal agency resources, access the latest news, and search for a Small Business Advisor near you.

    Check it out and bookmark it here: https://covid-sb.org/.



  • 05/26/2020 11:41 AM | Bonnie McNair (Administrator)

    For more information, register for an information session here: WorkReadyNH Virtual Information Session Flyer.pub.pdf



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ABOUT THE FALLS CHAMBER

The Falls Chamber of Commerce is a professional association of businesses in  the falls area.  We are the catalyst that facilitates business growth , prosperity, partnership and success for our members. 

CONTACTS

Bonnie McNair, Executive Director

info@thefallschamber.com
603.749.7175
office hours by appointment: 472 High Street, Somersworth NH 03878

       

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