In its weekly report, the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) took note of a decline in new cases and hospital stays as more residents are vaccinated.
The decline might have been greater had faster growing variants not become a bigger factor. To date, vaccines have been effective in fighting off the new strains.
A total of 105,775 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 196.7 as of Thursday, May 6. Cases had been in the 300-range earlier in the spring. Last summer cases hovered around 100, but increased in the fall and winter.
The seven-day average for the percentage of persons who tested positive for Covid-19 as of Thursday, May 6, was 18.1%, a decrease from 21.1% as of Thursday, April 29.
As of Tuesday, May 4, the closely watched seven-day average for the percentage of total tests that were positive was 4.1%, a decrease from 5.1% as of Tuesday, April 27. The 5 percent level denotes moderate spread of the virus.
There is a two-day lag for presenting data related to percent of tests that are positive to account for the time delay between the date of the test and the date that DPH receives the test result.
In addition, 115 individuals are currently hospitalized due to Covid-19 in Delaware, down 51 from this time last week. Twelve of the hospitalized persons are critically ill, down three from last week.
A total of 1,629 Delawareans have passed away due to complications from Covid-19. The state reported four additional deaths since last week’s update. The total number of individuals who have died from Covid-19 range in age from younger than 5 to 104 years old. Of those who have died, 816 were female and 813 were male. A total of 809 individuals were from New Castle County, 336 were from Kent County, and 484 were from Sussex County.
To date, the Division of Public Health has identified the following variants in Delaware through routine surveillance of test specimens. 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 | 432 | B.1.525 | New York, US | 2 | |||
| B.1.351 | South Africa | 1 | B.1.526 | New York, US | 195 | |||
| B.1.427 | California, US | 9 |
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| B.1.429 | California, US | 11 | ||||||
| P.1 | Brazil | 15 | ||||||
The cases include 576 adults ranging in age from 18-98, as well as 107 individuals under the age of 18. A total of 528 individuals were from New Castle County, 99 were from Kent County and 56 were from Sussex County.
The Delaware Public Health Laboratory has sequenced 2,039 specimens for Covid-19 variant strains to date, including 221 within the past week.
Virus mutation is common. Public health approach and treatments are currently not any different, but the variants may be more contagious.
COVID-19 Vaccinations:
As of 12:01 a.m. on May 7, a total of 793,148 administered doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been reported to the state’s immunization information system, DelVAX.
A total of 740,640 doses have been delivered to the state, and 261,545 doses have been delivered as part of the federal provider programs.
More than 423,00 Delaware residents ages 16 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, representing 54.5% of the currently eligible population in the state. More than 322,000 have been fully vaccinated, representing 41.5% of the currently eligible population.
Delaware’s latest COVID-19 vaccination statistics can be found under the Vaccine Tracker dashboard at de.gov/healthycommunity.
Laptop and desktop computer users can click on the map below from Big Local News below for vaccination, death and cash rates for Delaware.
Click here for a state map. Click on the map will also lead to a link to figures by county throughout the nation.
