Delaware Technical Community College followed CDC guidelines and dropped COVID-19 restrictions. Delaware Technical Community College announced Tuesday that it was lifting vaccination, testing and mask requirements for employees, student and visitors, effective immediately. It reserved the right to require masking when should a county meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s standards for masking. “After consultation with the …
Carney ends weekly COVID briefings, but not vaccine, booster push
DHSS Secretary Molly Magarik said the state will now shift to living with the COVID-19 virus. As the number of new Omicron cases continues to drop in Delaware, Gov. John Carney said Tuesday he will once again suspend his weekly COVID-19 press briefings. The state will, however, continue to push for residents to take vaccines and booster shots, which …
Schools unlikely to lift mask mandate early, despite parent pleas
Gov. John Carney announced Monday that he would lift his indoor mask mandate Friday — except for schools, where masks are required until March 31. On Tuesday, parent Benjamin Kennedy asked the Appoquinimink School District Board to not wait and to get rid of masks in schools on Friday. The next night, parent Brandon Bushon asked the Red Clay …
Highmark clients can get free COVID-19 tests at pharmacies
Abbott Laboratories’ home COVID-19 testing kit is among those available at area drug stores, when in stock. People who have Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance can pick up a COVID-19 test at any in-network pharmacy without having to pay for it, the company announced Monday. Highmark is complying with an order by the Biden administration that insurance …
COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations continue to drop in Delaware
The number of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continued to decline this week in Delaware. As of Thursday, Jan. 27, the Delaware Division of Public Health said the state has had a 57% decrease in the seven-day average of new positive cases reported since the peak of the surge on Jan. 12, 2022. It also reported: The total number of …
Bayhealth employees face Feb. 28 vaccine deadline
Bayhealth’s Sussex County campus About one-tenth of Bayhealth Medical Center’s 4,100 employees have asked for an medical or religious exemption so they don’t have to take a COVID-19 vaccine. Most were for religious exemptions, and not many have been granted, based on federal guidelines about who qualifies, said Shana D. Ross, vice president of Human Resources, and Kevin Snyder, …
A perfect storm for schools, teachers: No subs, bus woes, COVID
The principal at Southern Elementary School has had to find as many as 25 substitutes for teachers on one recent day. He has 60 classrooms. By 5:30 a.m. on school days, Jeffory Gibeault is already up and wrestling with how to man his classrooms. The principal of Southern Elementary School in New Castle has had to cover as many as …
UD, DSU, DelTech to split $107 million of American Rescue money
With federal Rescue Plan money, state colleges will be able to build new facilities, maintain older ones and enhance programs they already have. Three Delaware colleges and universities will split $107 million in in American Rescue Plan Act money, the state announced Wednesday. Of that, the University of Delaware will get $41 million; Delaware State University will get $33 million …
New COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations seem to plateau in Delaware
New COVID-19 cases in Delaware seem to have plateaued and maybe even dropped a bit, Gov. John Carney said during a Tuesday press conference. In recent weeks, new cases often were in the upper 2,000s or into the 3,000s. As of Monday, the state was seeing 2,514.9 new cases per day over a seven-day average, a drop from most …
Increasing numbers of vaccinated Delawareans are getting COVID, state stats show
The numbers of people who are fully vaccinated and still contract COVID-19 and who end up in the hospital have both been rising in Delaware. Last week, about half of new cases were people who were fully vaccinated, and about 40% of new hospitalizations were people who had been vaccinated. On Friday in its weekly COVID-19 wrap up report, the …