Gov. Chris Sununu announced Friday the extension of New Hampshire's stay-at-home order as the state continues to move towards reopening the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking at an afternoon news conference, Sununu announced he will extend the state's stay-at-home order until June 15.
Sununu also issued new guidance for reopening some New Hampshire activities and businesses.
Effective immediately, behind the wheel driver's education classes may resume in accordance with the state's Stay at Home 2.0 guidance, the governor said.
Only the student driver and instructor will be allowed in the vehicle and both will be required to wear a cloth face covering. Both the student driver and instructor must be screened for symptoms and risk factors. In-car time will be limited to a maximum of 60 minutes, according to the guidance.
"As a dad of a 15 and a half year old, no one is more excited than the Sununu family," the governor said jokingly.
Houses of worship in the Granite State were never shut down but limited to 10 or fewer people, Sununu said. While many places chose to stop in-person services amid the pandemic, the state has now issued new guidance that, effectively immediately, allows for in-person services to resume at a 40% capacity.
Beginning June 5, hotels and short-term rentals in New Hampshire may resume service, the governor announced Friday. Businesses must follow sanitation guidelines provided by the state and staff should be screened for COVID-19 symptoms or risk factors.
Effective immediately, hotels and short-term rentals are allowed to start taking reservations for in-state residents and out of state residents who have quarantined for 14 days.
On June 22, days camps in the Granite State will be able to resume operations under New Hampshire's new guidance.
"It's still a ways away but we want parents to be able to plan ahead," Sununu said.
Camp staff will be encouraged to wear cloth face masks as will parents and guardians when dropping off children. Frequent hand hygiene is also being encouraged by both staff and children. Alcohol-based hand sanitizer should be readily available at camps, according to the guidance.
Six additional deaths related to COVID-19 were reported Friday by the Department of Health and Human Services. The death toll now stands at 238.
There were 107 new positive test results for the virus for a total of 4,492 cases.
Despite the new cases, Sununu on Thursday announced that the state plans to break down most clinical surge flex facilities beginning next week.
Four facilities in Manchester, Plymouth, Durham and Littleton will remain open, according to a news release from the governor's office.
"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," Sununu said in a statement. "Today's announcement is welcome news for the state's response to COVID-19 and I would like to thank the National Guard and our local partners for their hard work in setting this network up."
