Effective Tuesday, March 17, 2020, all City buildings will be closed to the public until further notice. In an effort to decrease social contacts while still providing essential services, the city is asking residents to utilize online services (www.concordnh.gov), the U.S. mail, or the mail slot in the City Hall door.
City staff intends to continue to operate and undertake transactions for residents, as much can be done online or through e-mail, via phone, or drop box. Questions from residents and businesses can and will be answered by phone or e-mail. City employees will be working remotely and on-site and will continue to provide services as needed.
The Police and Fire Departments will continue to serve the community as they have in the past with minor operational adjustments.
City updates will be shared on this page: http://www.concordnh.gov/1743/Coronavirus.
The Merrimack Valley School District will be closed today through Friday, April 3, 2020. Remote learning will begin on Wednesday, March 18, 2020. This is much the same for the Concord School District, which will be closed today through Friday, April 3. Buildings will be open Wednesday, March 18 through Friday, March 20 for students and parents to collect technology, texts, materials, etc. they will need over the next few weeks. Principals will be on hand in all buildings through 8:00 pm for those parents unable to get there during the day. City staff will be coordinating with the school districts as to operations and contingency planning.
Regarding trash bag availability, calls were made to all outlets that sell the bags to suggest placing additional orders, given the surge in purchasing that has been occurring. Most reported adequate stock remaining and 4 stores placed orders for deliveries this week. Further follow-up will occur next week. To accommodate the increased demand, the city has been in regular contact with WasteZero prepping for a production run to bolster inventories of bags at the warehouse. Currently the city has 25 weeks of supply of the small bags and 50 weeks of the large at the warehouse -- but this would be for normal sales weeks, which we aren't experiencing. Other municipalities are reporting sales surges of 300-800% percent. Please let me know if you're having any trouble obtaining the bags.
State Senator Dan Feltes recently sent a message regarding services available for those in need, including health insurance. Senator Feltes says the New Hampshire Department of Insurance issued guidance outlining health care coverage options and other information available for New Hampshire residents who have recently been laid off or lost their employer-sponsored health insurance benefits. HealthCare.gov has Special Enrollment Periods (SEP) for people who may have recently lost their employer-sponsored health insurance coverage. You can find additional guidance from the New Hampshire Department of Insurance here. The Insurance Department is here to help, you can contact them with any questions at (603) 271‐2261, or by email at consumerservices@ins.nh.gov.
Also please remember that if you have any questions or require additional resources on COVID-19, the 2-1-1- hotline is available 24/7.