Gov. John Carney said officials have “difficult decisions to make” this week in combatting a surge in coronavirus.
Options were not detailed. Other states have resorted to closing gyms and bars, limiting restaurants to carry out service, and reducing crowd capacity at stores and malls.
Speaking at the weekly Covid-19 briefing on Tuesday, Carney said the latest information on new cases and hospitalizations is “very concerning.”
The governor’s latest emergency order modification ended traveling athletic tournaments with residents from other states and reduced maximum restaurant capacity to 30 percent.
“The cavalry is on the horizon,” Carney said of promising news regarding Pfizer and Moderna vaccines that could make their way to the state between mid-month and the end of the year.
The vaccines have reported 90 to 95 percent effectiveness.
Still, the state faces a surge in cases with the potential to put pressure on the state’s hospitals.
The current hospitalization level is approaching 250, less than 100 away from the previous peak figure of 337. The number hospitalized had fallen to as few as 29 in mid-August.
Daily cases are now averaging more than 500 on a seven-day rolling average as total testing in the state has been ramped up to more than 100,000 a month.
On a brighter note, Carney said hospitals are reporting fewer severe cases than during the pandemic’s early days in the spring. The average number of days patients have been in the hospital has also declined.
In addition to crowded hospitals’ challenges, Carney noted that hospital staffing is a growing concern as the pandemic intensifies. The state has loosened licensing requirements, allowing retired nurses to return to the job.
Carney and other state officials continue to be concerned about a repeat of last spring when hospitalizations surged in a short period of time and led to preparations that included field hospitals and the use of a portion of the A.I. duPont children’s hospital campus.
Delaware hospitals have between 400 to 500 total beds for Covid-19 cases.
The rate of positive tests to total tests is now 6.3 percent, above the World Health Organization’s benchmark figure of five percent.
Dr. Rick Hong, medical director for the Delaware Division of Public Health, confirmed that the state stands ready to receive the vaccines’ shipments once Food and Drug Administration emergency approval is given.
Hong reported that federal health officials said the state is “ahead of the curve” when it comes to plans for administering the vaccines.
With only a limited supply of vaccines in the first batches, priority will be given to frontline health care workers, emergency responders, and the most vulnerable to the virus. The elderly will follow, with general distribution not taking place until the spring.
Health care staff will not have to finish giving vaccines to frontline workers before moving to others with a high priority, a decision that will ease distribution issues, Hong said.
Hong reassured those with concerns about the vaccines’ safety that “no corners have been cut” in clinical trials, only the process of moving the vaccine to those who need it.
So far, the reported side effects have been similar to those experienced by those getting other types of vaccines, Hong reported.
For the first time, the press conference used a remote format for all speakers, rather than a few state officials in one location.
The change came after one of the regular presenters, state Emergency Management Agency Director A.J. Schall, tested positive for the virus. Schall is now in isolation, with Carney canceling public appearances.
The streamed version of the briefing came with technical difficulties that were later fixed. Below is a recording of the briefing.
