Escalating the state’s battle against the coronavirus outbreak, Gov Chris Sununu issued a “stay-at-home” order for all New Hampshire residents who are not employed by essential businesses beginning at 11:59 p.m. Friday.
He also made clear it was not a shelter-in-place order.
The order will close nonessential retail stores and malls; barbershops, hair salons, tattoo parlors and cosmetic stores; arcades, bowling alleys and theaters and will cancel events and concerts.
Sununu also issued an order closing down all state beaches on the Seacoast effective Friday night.
The governor included grocery stores, banks and pharmacies on the list of businesses that can remain open. Restaurants will be allowed to provide takeout, curbside and delivery services on his list of essential businesses.
“We are not closing down transportation,” Sununu said. “We are not closing our borders. And no one will be prevented from leaving their home.”
The stay-at-home order is in effect until May 4, superseding an order the governor issued on March 23 that limited gatherings to no more than 10 people that was effective until April 6.
“This is not a step we take lightly,” Sununu said. “Disrupting daily life in New Hampshire should be something that is only done in the greatest of emergencies.”
The governor also extended remote learning for New Hampshire’s schools until May 4.
The order aligns with other states around the region, Sununu said. He said the order could be extended.
“We don’t know how long this is going to last,” Sununu said. “It could go eight [weeks]. It could go 12. This could last a long time. It really could.”
New Hampshire mirrored the rest of the country with an uptick in unemployment claims last week with 21,878 new claims filed in the week ending March 21, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor. Only 642 claims were filed the previous week. Nationwide an additional 3.3 million new claims were filed in the same time period.
The governor also announced a new public-private partnership to make essential workers have access to child care through the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.
The state is allocating $4 million into the partnership, according to Chris Tappan, associate commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.
In New Hampshire, 137 residents have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and one person has died, according to state officials. Nineteen people remain hospitalized.
Also on Thursday, New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon MacDonald said state residents should be on alert for potential scams. The scams include false claims of cures and phony emails from the federal Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.
He also warned of possible fake charities and urged residents to do their homework before making a donation.
