Expect many restrictions to remain in place beyond May 4

CONCORD — May 4 is the date when many coronavirus-related business restrictions elapse in New Hampshire, but don’t expect to see the economy reopen that day, Gov. Chris Sununu said Thursday.

“I’m very conscious that come May 5 everything will not be fine — that’s not going to happen unfortunately. We're just not there,” he said in a news conference. “We’ll have to do something to extend it, but it may look a little different than it is today.”

Under White House recommendation, numbers showing disease spread would have to decrease two weeks in a row before a major relaxation of the restrictions could be considered, and such a decrease hasn’t begun yet, Sununu said.

Also, the New Hampshire remains vulnerable to infections spread by out-of-state people, including residents of Massachusetts, which is having a markedly greater problem with the disease.

Sununu acknowledged that some business owners are anxious to see the lifting of restrictions such as a prohibition on dining in restaurants.

“Two hours ago, I got a call from a bunch of restaurants in Laconia, begging me to open up,” he said. “An hour later I got the mayor calling on behalf of the fire chief and selectmen to be extremely cautious about opening up.”

He said the mayor expressed concerns about the potential that visitors from Massachusetts could spread the disease.

In an interview, Mayor Andrew Hosmer said he addressed the issue with Sununu in a conference call with other mayors.

He noted that in addition to waiting for case numbers to drop, more robust testing is needed before restrictions can be eased. (White House guidance — https://tinyurl.com/y8s84ua5)

“I know he's under intense business pressure to reopen,” Hosmer said. “I’m 100 percent empathetic. On the other hand, we haven't seen the data that we need to see that this pandemic is in reverse.

“My concern is that if we get to holiday weekends, Massachusetts is closed for all intents and purposes and we swing open the doors to restaurants, hotels, motels in the Lakes Region. We could turn into a hotspot for COVID.

“I just asked him to temper his thought process here. We are an older community. We are a poorer community with a health care system that has been hobbled. If we just swing the doors open, we could find our senior citizens getting very sick and the healthcare system completely overwhelmed.”

On another subject, Sununu said a $600 per week increase in unemployment compensation under a federal program may provide a disincentive for people to work or return to work.

The governor said he “nearly fell out of my chair” when he heard about the boost in compensation.

“It’s a good thing to provide that financial stability to individuals,” he said. “They are trying to prop up the economy as much as possible, but it disincentivizes people from coming back to work and it’s hard to keep them.”

Sununu said he sees a pathway for barbers, beauty salons and hospital elective procedures to be among the first businesses that can return.

Golf courses will likely have to wait a while, he said.

“It’s only April,” he said. “There will still be plenty of time to swing the clubs. Relax everybody. It’s kind of crazy.”