The number of coronavirus cases moved past 900 mark with one additional death, according to today’s report from the Delaware Division of health. One closely watched figure – the number of people hospitalized – rose by only four despite the sharp increase in the number of people testing positive for the virus.
State officials say the percentage of hospitalizations to coronavirus cases needs to stay below 20 percent to keep pressure off hospitals.
The number of cases has climbed as more people are tested for the virus. More than 8,500 have been tested, compared to less than 3,000 a couple of weeks ago.
Today’s figure showed the hospitalization rate at around 15 percent.
Testing is needed to determine the prevalence of the virus and whether measures such as social distancing are working.
The most recent death involves an 84-year-old male from Kent County who had underlying health conditions. Individuals who have died from COVID-19 ranged in age from 66 to 94 years old.
As hospitals continue to see an increase in hospitalizations due to COVID-19, the Division of Public Health will now report the total number of individuals hospitalized in Delaware hospitals, including both Delaware and non-Delaware residents. The remaining categories of case statistics reported by DPH represent Delaware residents only.
DPH epidemiologists are transitioning to a new data reporting system. During the transition period, not all fields (sex) have complete information, and some categories of data (critically ill, Delawareans recovered) are reflective of statistics as of April 5, 2020.
