Hello everyone,
Delaware received some good news late last week.
Delaware ranks in the top 10 when it comes to the percentage of the population tested for coronavirus. Testing is acknowledged as a key to reopening the state, although a few critics claim the virus is so widespread that testing is pointless.
Based on results as of Sunday, roughly 2.3 percent of Delaware’s population has been tested. That figure will increase as more focused testing comes to communities where the COVID-19 rate is more widespread.
It remains unclear as to what percentage of testing would offer more room for reopenings. Many of the states that started the reopening process are well below Delaware’s numbers. One unofficial standard puts the reopening number at 2.6 percent, the Associated Press reported.
One of the champions among lesser populated states is New Mexico, which has tested about 3.5 percent of the population. The state has impressive lab capacity dating back to the development of nuclear weapons at Sandia National Laboratories. Sandia has since branched out into other areas.
Delaware’s results are more impressive since hospitals and the state had no built-in advantage.
Testing still remains the best tool available in assessing the presence and spread of the virus within the overall community, determining how fast business reopenings can take place and whether more businesses can open elsewhere when major outbreaks, such as the one in Sussex County, are taking place.
For Delaware, the task is tricky.
Thanks to a prime location, nice beaches, and the lack of a retail sales tax, restriction-free reopenings will create weekend crowds for a virus that feasts on large gatherings.
For now, the best answer is to test, test, and test some more while finding ways to reopen more businesses. – Doug Rainey, chief content officer.
