Governor to hold pandemic press briefing on Thursday
Demand for testing continues to lead to lines, the Delaware Division of Public Health reported on Wednesday.
DPH released a photo of lines at a pop up site at Caesar Rodney High School in the Dover area and noted that queues seen in the early days of the pandemic will be the norm for a while. Reservations will be the norm, especially in coming days as pop up sites close for the New Year’s holiday weekend.
DelawareLive reported that the state has no plans for mass drive-up testing last seen in 2020. Drive-up sites were later used for vaccinations. Smaller scale pop up mobile sites are now used in addition to fixed locations.
Hospitals, facing crowded emergency rooms and short staffing, are letting the public know that their sites do not offer walk-up tests.
Delaware recently reported four straight days of 1,000 or more daily positive tests. Some businesses, including one restaurant slated to be open for New Year’s Eve festivities, reported closings and reduced hours, citing a need for staff testing or the discovery of a positive case.
Earlier, a New Year’s Eve celebration at The Grand, Wilmington, featuring OperaDelaware and the Delaware Symphony, was postponed. It was followed by the symphony concert on January 21 rescheduled to a date in June.
On Thursday, it was announced that the state’s correctional facilities have suspended visitation, due to the surge in cases.
Wednesday’s Covid-19 summary reported more than 1,000 daily cases test sites were closed during the holidays.
Five deaths were reported Wednesday. Three of the five were unvaccinated.
in a related development, Gov. John Carney will hold a virtual press briefing on the current situation at 12:45 p.m. on Thursday.
The briefing will be live streamed on Carney’s Facebook page, YouTube, and de.gov/live.
The Omicron varient is believed to be a factor in the most recent spike in cases. Hospitalizations are moving in the direction of the previous peak of 474 in January of this year
“We urge Delawareans to practice patience and kindness with testing staff,” DPH stated in a social media post. “They are working overtime to accommodate as many people as possible and a huge volume of appointments and walk-ins. You should expect to wait, and your appointment time may be delayed due to testing volume. Be kind to the folks running the testing sites. We are all in this together.”
To find testing information, go to de.gov/gettested or Curative.com
See earlier story below.
