School bus capacity limits increased.
Gov. John Carney Wednesday signed a new COVID-19 omnibus order, the 28th modification to the original state of emergency order.
The order updates school bus distancing requirements, eliminating most business capacity restrictions effective May 21 and outlines additional changes announced last week.
Beginning with summer programs, schools are advised to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance on school buses when transporting students. The CDC advises schools to create distance between children on school buses and follow masking and other Covid-19 safety precautions.
This marks a change from the current restriction that requires schools to maintain a minimum of three feet of distance between students on a bus, which resulted in a 23-person cap on school bus capacity. The change should allow more students to return to in-person instruction starting this summer, a release stated.
As announced earlier…
- All capacity restrictions inside restaurants, retail, gyms, other business establishments, and houses of worship will be lifted. Facilities can use as much capacity as social distancing requirements will allow.
- Masks will still be required indoors to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
- Outdoors, Delawareans should follow masking guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Risk for Covid-19 spread increases in large crowds that include unvaccinated people. In those cases, the CDC recommends that everyone continue to wear a mask.
- Social distancing requirements will move from 6 feet to three feet.
- Customers must continue to remain seated indoors and outdoors at bars and restaurants unless DPH approves a plan for dance floors and other areas.
- Events over 250 people indoors and outdoors will still require plan approval from the Division of Public Health to ensure compliance with basic precautions to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
“Delawareans have worked together to reduce the spread of Covid-19 in our communities, and we still have more work to do. But we have the tools to prevent severe illness and hospitalization,” said Carney. “Get vaccinated. Visit de.gov/getmyvaccine to find options near you. Ask your friends and family if they’ve gotten their shot. That’s the best thing you can do to protect yourself and those you love.”
More than 55 percent of Delawareans 16 and older have received at least one shot as of Monday.
Young people between 12 and 16 are now authorized to receive the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
