In what appears to be the first postponement of town meeting due to the COVID-19 virus, Loudon pushed back its gathering from tomorrow, March 14, until March 28.
“The moderation will re-evaluation in the coming weeks and will provide more information as soon as it is available,” said a statement on the town website. … Due to the unknowns with the virus, there is a possibility that the meeting could be postponed again. Please continue monitoring this website or check with the Selectmen’s Office (798-4541) as the 28th gets closer.”
Under state law, most towns, including Loudon, must hold their annual meeting during the month of March. A few communities have switched meetings to other months.
Loudon schools are part of the Merrimack Valley School District and held their annual meeting last week.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon is telling doctors not to send patients to the emergency department unless absolutely necessary because of an increase of patients in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“If a patient does not exhibit signs that warrant an emergency department evaluation or immediate hospital admission, providers should ask the patient to don a mask and return to their home for self-quarantine, and follow CDC guidelines pending further decisions on COVID-19 testing,” the center said in a release to providers and the public.
It also asks patients of Dartmouth-Hitchcock not to come directly to the emergency room if they are “experiencing fever, cough, or shortness of breath or are concerned about potential exposure to COVID-19” but first to call a hotline 650-1818 “for screening and, if appropriate, scheduling testing.”
The moves comes “in response to an increase in the number of patients who are being sent directly to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Emergency Department in Lebanon for screening and testing,” the center noted.
Dartmouth College is telling its 4,400 undergraduates not to return to campus housing until at least May 1 and to plan for the possibility that they may not return to campus at all during the spring term. Students instead are expected to take courses remotely.
The directive came as the college’s winter term is ending and students are leaving for a two-week spring break.
The University of New Hampshire, including UNH law school in Concord, will move all classes online for at least two weeks after spring break ends March 23.
The MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, one of the nation’s best-known artist retreats, is closing for the first time since it was hit by the massive hurricane of 1938.
The colony hosts up to 32 artists from all over the world, who live in separate cabins scattered around the property for weeks at a time. Those on hand will be sent home and no new artists will arrive until the closure is lifted, said MacDowell Executive Director Philip Himberg in a public statement.
New Hampshire’s newest income source, online sports betting, is taking a hit as professional and minor leagues and college sports throughout the U.S. gets canceled in reaction to the COVID-19 virus.
“We are seeing a decline in wagers as a direct result of sporting events being canceled and postponed. We are continuing to monitor sales but in a fluid situation such as this, it is difficult to make any specific projections at this time,” wrote Maura McCann, spokeswoman for NH Lottery, in response to a Monitor query.
Since it started Dec. 30, 2019, more than $42.5 million has been wagered by 40,300 registered users, according to the stae.
New Hampshire became the second New England state to offer sports betting last year, after Rhode Island. The state approved a six-year contract with Boston-based DraftKings to operate sports books in the state.
Betting is likely to expand, as some 15 communities are debating whether to allow in-person sports betting in their town.
While betters await return of the NBA and NHL, McCann said they have options: “While many U.S.-based sporting events have been canceled or postponed, there are still international sporting events taking place that players continue to place wagers on.”
However, sporting events throughout the world are being canceled because of the virus, including in tennis and soccer, two DraftKings offerings.
The Unitarian-Universalist Church of Concord has “suspended all in-person church activities” and will move “as many as possible online,” including Sunday morning service.
“ I look forward to the many ways this will show and shine as we practice ‘Physical Distancing while Staying Connected’,” wrote Rev. Michael Leuchtenberger in a note to the congregation.
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