President Donald J. Trump declared that a major disaster exists in the state of Delaware and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by coronavirus.
Federal funding is available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, for all areas in the state impacted by COVID-19.
Pete Gaynor, administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named MaryAnn Tierney as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations for the state.
Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the State and warranted by the results of further assessments, the announcement stated.
Delaware has been under state of emergency orders from Gov. John Carney that have become more sweeping in scope. The orders closed dining areas of restaurants and “nonessential” businesses.
While the state has seen fewer cases than its neighbors, the number of people testing positive has continued to increase as more results come back from the lab.
Deaths have come from the elderly, many of whom were in long term care. However, younger people have been hospitalized.
On Saturday, the state received the newest version of tests that quickly determine whether the individual has the virus. The tests are expected to first be performed on the state’s health care workers.
The fear is that a spike in serious cases could overwhelm the state’s hospitals.
Nonresidents have been ordered to quarantine themselves for 14 days if they wish to stay in the state. State Police have set up at least two temporary checkpoints that informed motorists of the change.
