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Week 31: Carney warns new restrictions possible

Delaware health officials urge residents to restrict large holiday gatherings
November 12, 2020

With a surge in new COVID-19 positive cases hitting the state, Gov. John Carney is warning a return to stricter regulations could be possible. Speaking during a Nov. 11 press conference, Carney said, “We have decisions to make because we essentially have too many of our neighbors who are attending gatherings – mostly social gatherings, informal gatherings – maybe in private homes or their own homes, without masks and other precautions.” The governor said he was referencing information gathered through contact tracing interviews.

As cases nationwide hit new records, the state’s seven-day average of new cases is 241 per day compared to 100 new cases per day in late summer. Carney said the increase is largely in the 18-34 age group and due primarily to an increase in large informal social gatherings.

“I’ve asked the Division of Public Health to look at what other states are doing around us to consider some of the restrictions we had in place before [and] to come up with ideas that are focused on where the problem really is,” Carney said.

State health officials are urging residents to not hold large Thanksgiving gatherings.

“COVID-19 spread is occurring at social gatherings, weddings, religious services, house parties and eating indoors in close groups,” said Karyl Rattay, director of Delaware Division of Public Health. “If I were to choose one behavior that I think is really driving a lot of cases is people eating indoors. That’s really driving a large amount of the spread that we are seeing in our state right now.  So, we need to get a handle on how we approach social activities, because this is how the virus is being transmitted and the recommendations are not going to be what people want to hear.”

“COVID-19 is not being spread primarily in schools. The spread is really occurring outside the school setting. In-school spread is really rare,” she said.

Rattay made the following suggestions:

• Only dine at home and in restaurants with people that live with you

• Don’t spend time with people outside your household

• Don’t plan on holding holiday dinner with those outside your household.

“It’s important that we do everything we can to turn this around right now. We are looking at the possibility of new restrictions and we really need to target these restrictions on where we’re seeing this spread, so looking at reducing the number of people at public and private gatherings is on the list. We may have to consider restrictions on sports activities, perhaps indoor activities or tournaments where there is a lot of mixing or further updates to mask requirements.  We’re telling you this now because this is not what we want to do.  We don’t want to be in a position where we have to put further restrictions in place,” Rattay said.

 

Church lawsuit against Carney settled

A federal civil rights lawsuit against Gov. Carney contesting restrictions he imposed on worship services earlier this year has been settled.

The legal action claimed the limitations placed on churches at the start of the COVID-19 crisis were more severe than those placed on retail businesses. Among other things, the orders issued under the state of emergency restricted the number and age of those able to attend services, as well as how such services could be conducted.

The terms of the settlement include: Churches should be designated as essential; restrictions to religious rituals, such as baptism or communion, are forbidden; no age-based attendance; no specific time limits on the length of services; no limitations to one service per week; using the 10-person attendance limit is forbidden; and mask wearing and social distancing cannot be imposed solely on religious worship.

 

State’s first influenza case confirmed

The Delaware Division of Public Health has announced the state's first laboratory-confirmed case of influenza for the 2020-2021 flu season. The case involves a child under the age of 5 from Kent County.

“The flu vaccine won’t prevent COVID-19, but it is effective at preventing the flu. The flu vaccine decreases the number of people who need to be treated for the flu. This means more health care supplies, resources, and professionals will be available on the front lines to fight the pandemic. By eliminating the need to visit your provider’s office or be hospitalized for the flu, you help lower the risk of workers on the front lines getting sick,” Rattay said.

The vaccine is recommended for those 6 months of age and older. During the 2019-2020 flu season, Delaware recorded more than 7,000 cases. Nearly 400 Delawareans were hospitalized due to the flu and 11 people died from flu complications.

A flu clinic schedule can be found at dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dph/fluclinics.html. Flu vaccines also are offered through physician offices, many pharmacies and some grocery stores. To locate where flu vaccines near you are being offered, Google "CDC flu finder" and enter a ZIP code.

 

 

 

 

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