The Delaware Division of Public Health reported a slight decline in Covid-19 cases and increased hospitalizations in its weekly report.
A total of 102,593 positive cases of Covid-19 among Delaware residents have been reported to DPH since March 11, 2020.
The seven-day average of new positive cases decreased to 329.1 as of Thursday, April 22.
The seven-day average for the percentage of persons who tested positive for Covid-19 as of Thursday, April 22, was 24.2 percent, a decrease from 26.6 percent as of Thursday, April 15.
The seven-day average for the percentage of total positive tests was 5.7 percent, a decrease from 6.5 percent.
Also, 168 individuals are currently hospitalized due to Covid-19 in Delaware, an increase of 23 from the same time last week. Twenty-one of the hospitalized persons is critically ill, up to two from last week.
A total of 1,609 Delawareans have passed away due to complications from Covid-19. The state reported 13 additional deaths since last week’s update, including seven from a review of vital statistics records.
The total number of individuals who have died from Covid-19 ranges from younger than 5 to 104 years old. Of those who have died, 806 were female, and 803 were male. A total of 801 individuals were from New Castle County, 329 were from Kent County, and 479 were from Sussex County.
Variants
The Division of Public Health identified the following Covid-19 variants in Delaware through routine surveillance of test specimens. The variants are based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) list of Variants of Concern and Variants of Interest.
| Variants of Concern | Variants of Interest | |||||
| Variant | Origin | # of Cases | Variant | Origin | # of Cases | |
| B.1.1.7 | United Kingdom | 174 | B.1.525 | New York, US | 2 | |
| B.1.351 | South Africa | 1 | B.1.526 | New York, US | 119 | |
| B.1.427 | California, US | 6 | ||||
| B.1.429 | California, US | 8 | ||||
| P.1 | Brazil | 7 | ||||
The cases include 274 adults ranging in age from 18-99 and 43 individuals under 18. A total of 222 individuals were from New Castle County, 61 were from Kent County, and 34 were from Sussex County.
The Delaware Public Health Laboratory has sequenced 1,799 specimens for Covid-19 variant strains to date, including 182 within the past week.
