'We'll see' about Delaware beaches open for Memorial Day Weekend, Carney says
DOVER, Delaware (WPVI) -- Delaware Governor John Carney said there would be nothing more than he would like than to open the beaches for Memorial Day Weekend.
But the governor said "a lot of things are going to have to fall in our favor in order to get there."
During his Tuesday press briefing Carney said he needs to see 28 days of declining COVID-19 cases to fully reopen the Delaware economy.
He also said extensive testing and contract tracking programs must be in place before economic restrictions are loosened.
"That's going to be a really hard thing to do in a month," Carney said. "We'll see. We're going to be guided by the situation on the ground."
CASES
The Delaware Division of Public Health announced seven additional coronavirus deaths and 269 new cases on Wednesday.
This brings the total of deaths in the state to 89.
Individuals who have died from COVID-19 ranged in age from 32 to 103 years old.
The DPH says the most recent deaths all involve individuals with underlying health conditions, except for one individual:
- 62-year-old female from New Castle County, hospitalized long-term care resident
- 84-year-old male from New Castle County, hospitalized long-term care resident
- 62-year-old male from Kent County, hospitalized
- 74-year-old male from Kent County, hospitalized long-term care resident
- 50-year-old female from Sussex County, hospitalized, no known underlying health conditions
- 72-year-old male from Sussex County, hospitalized
- 88-year-old male from Sussex County, long-term care facility
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Health officials say there are have been 3,200 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since March 11.
They say 34 additional patients have recovered bringing the total to 599 Delawareans; 13,353 have tested negative.
Delaware is considering patients fully recovered seven days after the resolution of their symptoms
As of 6 p.m. Tuesday, there have been 237 positive COVID-19 cases involving residents of long-term care facilities in Delaware. Fifty-two residents of Delaware long-term care facilities have died from complications related to COVID-19.
DPH epidemiologists are transitioning to a new data reporting system. During the transition period, not all fields (county of residence, sex) have complete information.
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Anyone with a question about COVID-19, whether related to medical or social service needs, should call Delaware 2-1-1; or 7-1-1 for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, or text your ZIP code to 898-211. Hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
In addition, the Division of Public Health asks any Delaware health care, long-term care, residential, or other high-risk facility with questions or concerns to email:DPH_PAC@delaware.govor call the DPH Call Center at 1-866-408-1899 and press ext. 2.
Questions can also be submitted by email atDPHCall@delaware.gov.
