Image courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control

Gov. Chris Sununu on Thursday announced a series of measures to further tackle the coronavirus outbreak, including requiring nonessential businesses to close and telling residents to stay home. More on developments in the state.

Sununu on joined several other New England states in ordering in-person operations of nonessential businesses to close and telling New Hampshire’s residents to stay home to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Sununu said all businesses not exempted by the order must suspend all in-person business operations by at midnight on Friday. Grocery stores, gas stations, hardware stores, liquor stores, health care facilities, restaurants, news media, manufacturers and even breweries are exempt. Construction will also be allowed to continue.

Real estate agents do not appear to be covered in the list of “essential” services in the governor’s order. The following categories of financial service jobs are deemed “essential” by the order:

• Banks, financial services institutions, credit unions, insurance, payroll, regional
  development corporations, and accounting services
• Workers who are needed to process and maintain systems for processing financial
  transactions and services (e.g., payment, clearing, and settlement; wholesale funding;
  insurance services; and capital markets activities)
• Workers who are needed to provide consumer access to banking and lending services,
  including ATMs, and to move currency and payments (e.g., armored cash carriers)
• Workers who support financial operations, such as those staffing data and security
  operations centers

Sununu, who was under pressure from Democrats to take tougher action, was careful to say the order was only an effort to align policies put in place by nearby states like Massachusetts.

“This is not a shelter-in-place,” Sununu said. “We are not closing down transportation. We are not closing our borders and no one will be prevented from leaving their home. … While the spread of COVID-19 has not reached the level of other nearby states, we are putting ourselves in a strong position with these proactive measures to slow the spread of the virus.”

Sununu also announced that all state beaches along the seacoast would be forced to close at midnight Friday and an earlier order requiring schools to provide remote learning would be extended to May 4.

“Beyond the essential necessities, you should not be leaving your home,” Sununu said. “These are tough decisions. They really are. But at the end of the day, we know the worst may be ahead of us.”

Nearly 160 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in New Hampshire, with 25 of those hospitalized. One person has died. Nearly 21 new cases were announced Thursday.

For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death. The vast majority of people recover.

More than 21,000 in initial unemployment claims were filed in New Hampshire last week, reflecting national trends, the U.S. Department of Labor said.

The week before, over 600 claims were filed.

George Copadis, commissioner of New Hampshire’s Department of Employment Security, said Wednesday that before the coronavirus hit, the department averaged about 500 claims a week.