The focus of what has become a regular Tuesday state press briefing on the coronavirus crisis turned to the reopening Delaware and unemployment benefits.
Gov. John Carney said the state has “difficult decisions to make” in striking a balance between public health and the health of the economy, but would not flinch from following federal guidelines.
“We’re going to have to thread the needle,” in balancing health and economic issues, Carney admitted.
“I hear the anguish,” Carney said of those who have lost their jobs and those who just as passionately want to remain safe and avoid a second wave of cases.
The governor said plans for protests from those who don’t want to follow federal guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and prevention in reopening the state are not helpful.
While the state will come up with its own plan, the CDC guidelines that call for multiple phased steps will be followed, Carney insisted.
A major issue is testing. Getting a handle on cases is difficult since laboratory results come in with no consistency. The state now is able to turnaround tests in 24 hours, while turnaround times for private labs vary widely.
Carney said the state has been “somewhat successful” in flattening the curve of cases. The number of new daily cases is beginning to decline, a requirement for getting to the CDC’s Phase One of reopenings.
The state needs to have 28 days of declining positive cases to “ramp up” business openings, according to Carney. The first phase will require 14 consecutive days of declines in daily positive cases.
Labor Secretary Cerron Cade said the state has received nearly 62,000 unemployment claims.
One issue is the provision of the federal CARES act that allows independent contractors and others not part of the unemployment compensation system. Delaware and other states are developing systems that will provide benefits for those outside the current system.
Cade said the issue of how employers will deal with the costs of layoffs will come next year. Cade was referring to the unemployment compensation system whose costs are shared by the employee and employer.
Delaware budget chief Mike Jackson said the state faces a two-year financial challenge that is likely to include by budget gap estimate of upwards of $800 million.
Jackson acknowledged the uncertainty of predicting the course of the economy.
One likely area of increase in the budget will be Medicaid costs, which are likely to increase as more people have incomes that allow them to qualify for the program.
The governor added that his administration will work to preserve the jobs of current state employees, but will do whatever is necessary to balance to budget.
In other matters:
- The state has not received full funding from the CARES Act to offset the costs of dealing with coronavirus. Delaware and other states are seeking more flexibility in funding.
- Information on race and ethnicity of those dying from coronavirus is expected to be released in the near future. Early information did not show a higher percentage of people of color were dying from the virus. However, the death toll has more than quadrupled since that time.
- Labor Secretary Cade says that while the majority of eligible people filing for unemployment are approved, there are cases where employers and those filing type in the wrong Social Security Number or the filer not correctly answering a security question (the street where you lived 10 years ago, etc).
- A vendor has been hired to set up the unemployment program for freelance and self-employed workers.
- The governor said his administration continues to study whether facemasks should be mandated for employers and employees. Both Pennsylvania and Maryland now require covering one’s face.
- Carney said much has to go right before Delaware can open its beaches for the Memorial Day weekend. One key is increased testing.
- The state has set aside $125 million to offset the budget crunch, although that amount does not come close to dealing with the gap.
