The weekly report from the Delaware Division of Public Health continues to show a decline in the number of new Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations.
The first case of an Indian variant was reported. The overwhelming majority of variants are from the UK and New York.
A total of 108,166 positive cases of Covid-19 among Delaware residents have been reported to DPH since March 11.
The seven-day average of new positive cases decreased to 115.3 as of May 20. The figure begins to approach last summer’s low point in new cases that came after a spring surge that claimed hundreds of lives.
The seven-day average for the percentage of persons who tested positive for Covid-19 as of Thursday, May 20, was 13.8%, decreasing from 15% as of Thursday, May 13. During the winter, the percent of persons testing positive was in the 20% range.
On Tuesday, May 18, the closely watched seven-day average for the percentage of total positive tests was 3.6%, decreasing from 3.8% as of May 11.
There is a two-day lag for presenting data related to the percentage of positive tests to account for the time delay between the date of the test and the date that the state receives the test result.
A figure below 5% on the test percentage shows the lower spread of the virus.
A total of 74 individuals are currently hospitalized due to Covid-19 in Delaware, down six from this time last week. Ten of the hospitalized persons are critically ill, up by five from last week.
A total of 1,654 Delawareans have passed away due to complications from Covid-19. The state reported three additional deaths since last week’s update.
The total number of individuals who have died ranges from younger than 5 to 104 years old. Of those who have died, 830 were female, and 824 were male. A total of 822 individuals were from New Castle County, 343 were from Kent County, and 489 were from Sussex County.
To date, the Division of Public Health has identified the following Covid-19 variants in Delaware through routine surveillance of test specimens, which includes the state’s first identified case of B.1.617.2 variant first found in India. These 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 | 689 | B.1.525 | New York, US | 2 | |
| B.1.351 | South Africa | 1 | B.1.526 | New York, US | 247 | |
| B.1.427 | California, US | 9 | B.1.526.1 | New York, US | 28 | |
| B.1.429 | California, US | 11 | B.1.617.2 | India | 1 | |
| P.1 | Brazil | 21 | ||||
In total, the cases include 835 adults ranging in age from 18-98 and 174 individuals under the age of 18. A total of 775 individuals were from New Castle County, 138 were from Kent County, and 96 were from Sussex County.
The figures are based on a sampling of positive tests.
The Division of Public Health says the presence of the variants is yet another reason for taking precautions that include partially vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals wearing masks indoors.
