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Week 18: The big question is when will school start?

State’s COVID-19 state of emergency extended another 30 days
July 16, 2020

As the COVID-19 state of emergency has been extended into August, parents and teachers are contemplating the fate of schools.

The state has issued a 34-page school reopening plan for public and charter schools, but no decision has been made about when school will start for the 2020-21 school year. Gov. John Carney, in consultation with Department of Public Health officials, will announce a date sometime in August.

Cape Henlopen School District officials announced they would release a reopening plan Friday, Aug. 7.

Among options being considered by districts are continuation of virtual learning, a hybrid schedule of splitting classrooms in half with each half attending class for two days a week, and a return to normal five-day teaching. In either case, health-related restrictions will be in place in schools.

Still in Phase 2 under the economic reopening plan, state officials have not indicated when Phase 3 will be instituted.

In other COVID-19-related news:

• More than 300 inmates tested positive at Sussex Correctional Institution in Georgetown, with 32 being hospitalized.

• After one week, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut officials removed Delaware from their 14-day quarantine lists.

• Cape Henlopen State Park officials have instituted strict rules on the number of people who can enter the park, including blocking off sections of parking lots.

• Lewes officials extended mandatory wearing of face coverings to include beach parking lots, the Roosevelt Inlet parking lot and when crossing the Savannah Road drawbridge. Face coverings are still required when walking or bike riding in the downtown area – from the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal to Third Street and Savannah Road to Market Street. 

• Some area restaurants – including Rosenfeld’s Jewish Deli near Rehoboth Beach – have closed temporarily due to staff testing positive for COVID-19.

 

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