COVID-19 Resources and Information

Share your experiences during the pandemic by contributing to our Portsmouth Community Diary.

COVID-19 Medical Information

The City's Health Deparment has created a comprehensive page with medical information, employment issues, and more.

Click here to sign up for the City's daily advisory newsletter.

Here are some other good sources of information:

• NH DHHS Coronavirus page
• The Centers for Disease Control Coronavirus page
• Coronavirus.gov - simple information from the CDC
• NIAID's Coronaviruses page
• CDC handwashing video
• CDC cleaning & disinfecting guide
• The World Health Organization coronavirus page
• WHO Coronavirus FAQ
• COVID-19 Information Portal from EBSCO
• Gale COVID-19 Access - scroll down for ebooks
• Harvard School of Health Food safety, nutrition, and wellness during COVID-19
• Ready.gov - how to prepare for disasters & emergencies

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Local, State, & National Resources

Portsmouth

• Daily updates from Portsmouth's City Manager

• Portsmouth food resources for people in need
• Portsmouth grocery & pharmacy resources
• Check the City's Coronavirus Preparedness Page for many more resources
• Seacoast mental health resources

New Hampshire

• Governor Sununu issues Stay at Home order effective 3/27 - 5/4
  • List of essential businesses and organizations (PDF)
  • Stay at Home order 2.0 effective 5/1-6/14
• NH COVID-19 Press Releases & Updates
• NH Legal Assistance COVID-19 Guidelines
  • Includes information on unemployment, social security, utilities, food stamps, domestic violence, housing, and senior law.
• Unemployment Resources for NH Residents
  • Emergency order for access to unemployment benefits for those laid off or with reduced hours due to COVID-19
  • Individuals will need to file for each week of temporary unemployment and all of this can and should be done online at www.nhes.nh.gov, or by calling 603-271-7700.
• Work Ready NH is a free online course designed to meet the needs of job seekers and career builders by providing training in specific skills that employers are looking for
• NH Nonprofit Emergency Relief Fund
• Granite State Organizing info on evictions and foreclosures in NH during the State of Emergency
• Guidelines for absentee ballots in 2020 from the Secretary of State (PDF)
• ConventientMD is offering virtual urgent care
• Business & Industry Association of NH COVID-19 resources
• NH Humanities CARE Act page
• New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs resource page
• StayConnectedNH.org provides information about scams and financial exploitation, which target the elderly in particular.

National/Federal

• Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Questions and Answers
• CARES Act - direct economic assistance
  • Information for non-filers
  • IRS.gov Get My Payment
• Income tax filing deadline extended to July 15, 2020
• CDC Resources for Businesses & Employers
• CDC Travel Guidelines
• US Department of State Travel Advisories
• CDC Guidelines for School Settings
• Federal Trade Commission's advice for consumers
• Comcast offering 2 free months of internet for new Internet Essentials customers

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Free Art & Culture & Other Activities Online

Many organizations are offering free access to content right now, and many others do year round! If you or your children could use a source beauty, inspiration, and respite, this is a good place to start.

• The Center for Wildlife morning meetings with ambassadors daily at 10
• Nightly Metropolitan Opera streams
• The Berlin Philharmonic's Digital Concert Hall
• More classical music & opera livestreams
• Zoo & aquarium livestreams
• Google Arts & Culture Virtual Museum Tours
• Video tour of Russia's Hermitage Museum
• The British Museum of London
• Rembrandt and Portraiture at Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid 
• Virtual tours of US National Parks
• Help researchers fight COVID-19 with Folding@home
• Help transcribe the Casey Family Papers from home
• Help with Library of Congress transcription projects
• Help complete Billion Graves transcription efforts
• More transcribe from home opportunities
• Ivy league courses to take from home
• Internet Archive

Check out our Youth Services Page for Online Resources for Home Fun and Remote Learning

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Online Library Services

PPL is committed to keeping you entertained and informed throughout this difficult time. Here are just some of the great resources we offer online:

• Hoopla – Download/stream music, movies, ebooks, audiobooks, and comics
• Overdrive – Download ebooks and audiobooks
• RBDigital – Download magazines
• New York Times – Online access to the New York Times
• EBSCOhost – Search for articles from journals and magazines
• Portsmouth Exhibits – View our digitized local history collections
• Lynda.com – Learn computer, business, and technical skills
• Learning Express – Learn job search and workplace skills improvement, skill building in reading, writing, math, and basic science, career certification and licensure exam prep, college and grad school entrance test prep, GED® test prep, and more.
• Mango Languages – Learn a new language, including English as a second language
• Creativebug – Arts and Crafts classes for all skill levels. Class topics include: Art and Design, Knitting and Crochet, Sewing and Quilting, Papercrafts, Jewelry Making, Food and Home Decor, Holiday and Party Ideas, and Crafts for Kids
• Genealogy Resources – Heritage Quest, Fold3, Newspapers.com, and more!
• Salem Press/Grey House - Online reference collection of books on literature and history. Includes Pandemics: the Invisible Enemy, which covers pandemics from the Black Plague to COVID-19.
• Rosetta Stone – Get free access to Rosetta Stone through June 30, 2020. When you click on the link, you will be prompted to enter your email address and choose a password that is at least 6 characters in length and includes at least 1 number. You will also need to select your first language to learn.