The COVID-19 coronavirus: What You Should Know

COVID-19 INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

The City of Dover continues to monitor the COVID-19 coronavirus in our community by partnering with the NH Department of Health and Human Services (NH DHHS) on wastewater surveillance. Wastewater surveillance is a powerful tool to estimate the amount of a pathogen, like SARS-CoV-2, in a community. This is particularly helpful for SARS-CoV-2 as home based testing has become more widely available and less testing is done in medical offices. Wastewater surveillance will be able to supplement the data reported to NH DHHS from medical offices and assist communities in making decisions to manage their risk of infection. View data from the Dover Wastewater Treatment Facility.

The City of Dover reminds residents to follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.

Residents with concerns or questions about COVID-19 can call the state's COVID-19 hotline at 2-1-1, Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Vaccines continue to be an effective tool to help curb the spread of COVID-19. To sign up for a vaccine, visit www.vaccines.gov.

Stay Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines Including Boosters

CDC recommends everyone stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccination to protect against serious illness from COVID-19:

Children aged 6 months through 4 years need multiple doses of COVID-19 vaccines to be up-to-date, including at least 1 dose of updated COVID-19 vaccine.
Everyone aged 5 years and older should get 1 dose of an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect against serious illness from COVID-19.
People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may get additional doses of updated COVID-19 vaccine.
People aged 65 years and older who received 1 dose of any updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or Novavax) should receive 1 additional dose of an updated COVID-19 vaccine at least 4 months after the previous updated dose. For more Novavax information, click here.
COVID-19 vaccine recommendations will be updated as needed.
People who are up to date have lower risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19 than people who are unvaccinated or who have not completed the doses recommended for them by CDC.

Why Vaccines are Recommended for Children and Teens

Vaccinating children can:

Prevent children from getting seriously sick if they do get COVID-19. Children with underlying medical conditions are more likely to get severely ill from COVID-19. However, children without underlying medical conditions can also experience severe illness.
Give parents or caregivers greater confidence for children to participate in childcare and school and in sports, playdates, extracurricular activities, and other group activities.

Where can I get a vaccine?

Vaccines are readily available at your local pharmacy or your health care provider. Please speak with your health care provider if you have questions.

To learn more, review the CDC Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 Vaccination .

When to Get Tested for COVID-19

If you have symptoms, test immediately.
If you do not have symptoms but have been exposed to COVID-19, wait at least 5 full days after your exposure before taking a test.
Testing can be helpful even when you don’t have symptoms or a recent exposure to COVID-19, such as before an event or visiting someone at higher risk. Test as close to the time of the event as possible (at least within 1-2 days) to help you make informed decisions about your health and your risk of spreading COVID-19 to others.

To find test locations and resources, visit: https://www.covid19.nh.gov/resources/testing-guidance

What are the symptoms?

People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:

Fever or chills
Cough
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Fatigue
Muscle of body aches
Headache
New loss of taste or smell
Sore throat
Congestion or runny nose
Nausea or vomiting
Diarrhea

Is there a treatment?

Most people with COVID-19 have mild illness and can recover at home. You can treat symptoms with over-the-counter medicines, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, to help feel better.

If you have COVID-19 and are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19, treatments are available that can reduce your chances of being hospitalized or dying from the disease. Medications to treat COVID-19 must be prescribed by a healthcare provider or pharmacist and started within 5–7 days after symptoms appear. Contact a healthcare provider right away to determine if you are eligible for treatment, even if your symptoms are currently mild.

Additional resources

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services website provides updated information about the state's response to COVID-19. The page can be accessed at: https://www.nh.gov/covid19/

Additional information, including advisories for travel, businesses and schools, can be found at the Centers for Disease Control COVID-19 page at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

The Dover School District also provides updates about COVID-19 and the response by school officials here.