The July 31 edition of the Cape Gazette featured a front page lead story with the headline: “Survey: Beach businesses lost more than $200 million” in revenue over the first six months of 2020 compared to 2019. Later in the story, the actual number is revised to $206 million ($412 million annualized)!
The survey comes from the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce whose President and CEO Carol Everhart thinks the problem is the lack of “clearly stated…messages” from Gov. John Carney and the decision-making of elected officials who voted to impose face masks in all public areas including the beach just days before the July 4th weekend.
Jonathan Starkey, spokesman for Gov. Carney, parried by saying, “A lack of distancing and mask-wearing in bars and restaurants…has caused the virus to spread.”
Maybe so, but, according to Delaware’s Coronavirus Data Dashboard statistics (www.myhealthcommunity.dhss.delaware.gov), the spreading of the virus (positive cases) has surprisingly not led to more hospitalizations and deaths… Just the opposite. Take a look.
Since April 27, positive cases have gone from 4,683 to 14,602 on July 28, (presumably because of increased testing)…an increase of 312 percent in spite of a mostly masked citizenry.
But, hospitalizations in that same period went down 80 percent from 337 to 68 (now, only 36 as of Aug. 8). And deaths, the most important statistic, went from a high point of 83 after week May 17 to only four after week July 28, (now, only one as of Aug. 8). That’s a 95 percent decrease in just over two months.
Also eye-opening is that 95 percent (493) of the “confirmed” COVID deaths (521) were in the 65+ age group! Compare that to the age group 0-17 where there have been zero deaths, though angst over school openings persists.
Amazingly, statewide the confirmed COVID deaths to population (521/974,051) percentage is only .053 percent!
So, since it’s obvious that there is no direct correlation between positive cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Delaware (and Maryland), it makes one wonder what’s going on?
Is the virus burning out…isn’t as virulent as feared…or, is “herd immunity” setting in… or maybe all three?
Regardless, the more important question is why hasn’t Gov. Carney, the penmaster of 43 executive orders to date, eased Delaware’s COVID policy?
Shouldn’t the medical focus be mostly on the 65+ age group, and government action zeroed in on eliminating the restrictive policies on businesses and the under-65 age groups to help recover the $206 million in lost revenues before jobs die forever and Rehoboth becomes a tourist ghost town?
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