No immediate plans to bring back mask mandate, Carney says

Charlie MegginsonHeadlines, Health

Gov. John Carney said booster shots will be essential to lessening the impact of a COVID winter surge. Gov. John Carney has no immediate plans to reinstitute mask or social distancing mandates.  Instead, the state will continue to rely on voluntary compliance, he said during a COVID-19 briefing Tuesday.  “I think the objective obviously is to get people to wear …

As COVID cases rise, Del. Dept. of Education hosts mask-free party

Charlie MegginsonEducation, Government, Headlines

On the same day that the first four cases of the highly contagious COVID-19 omicron variant were confirmed in Delaware, staff from the state’s Department of Education hosted a mask-free party for outgoing education secretary Susan Bunting.  The department is now facing growing outrage after images of the event posted on its own Facebook account show hordes of unmasked attendees …

Delaware confirms 4 cases of Omicron; 1,079 new COVID cases Friday

Betsy PriceHeadlines, Health

The Delaware  Division of Public Health has found first four cases of the Omicron variant among Delaware residents, it announced Friday. The four cases involve two adults in their 30s, a teenager and a child under the age of 10, all residents of New Castle County. Two individuals were fully vaccinated and two were unvaccinated. None of the individuals had …

Delaware COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations jump; still no Omicron

Betsy PriceHeadlines, Health

  The number of new daily COVID-19 cases in Delaware has risen to 603.9, up dramatically from 432.9 last week. That’s fueling a rise in hospitalizations, which hit 317, up 51 from last week. In turn, that’s one of the reasons that ChristianaCare announced this week it would begin postponing elective surgeries. The hospital also cited non-COVID-related hospitalizations. That includes …

COVID cases, hospitalizations rise; no Omicron yet detected

Betsy PriceHeadlines, Health

    Fears of a COVID-19 winter surge in Delaware seem to be validated by quickly escalating numbers of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths in recent weeks. Vaccinations, while rising, are not keeping pace with the number of cases, hospitalizations and death, which are largely among partially or unvaccinated. The good news: The state has not yet found any cases …