The post-holiday Covid-19 surge continues, with case numbers and hospitalizations moving toward levels seen a year ago.
On Wednesday, Christiana Care announced it was postponing some elective surgeries that require hospital stays due to the rise in Covid admissions.
Three deaths were reported in the Wednesday summary from the Delaware Division of Public Health.
All three individuals who died were from New Castle County and ranged from their 70s to their 80s. All had underlying health conditions, and two were not vaccinated.
The number of Covid-related deaths now stands at 2,206. The death rate from the disease has dropped due to vaccinations and improved treatment methods.
The number of critical cases declined into the mid-20s from more than 30. Whether the lower number was due to people moving out of intensive care or dying remains unclear since the state does not publish those calculations.
The Division of Public Health this week released information on the relationship between new cases and vaccination rates.
A number of communities with low vaccination rates also had a high rate of positive tests.
With the exception of Wilmington, areas with low vaccination rates and a high number of positive tests were located in a band stretching from Smyrna to Seaford-Laurel.
One exception was Rehoboth Beach which has a high vaccination rate.
The other numbers
- 586 new positive cases, bringing the overall total to 157,751.
- The seven-day average of new cases is 573.
- 9% of total tests were positive in the seven-day rolling average, up three-tenths of a percent of the prior day.
- 307 current hospitalizations, up 11 from the previous day, including 24 individuals in critical condition.
- 17 new hospital admissions, up by one from the previous day.
- 297 people tested negative, bringing the total to 747,367.
- 607,618 people fully vaccinated (up 4,952 from the previous day), according to the Centers for Disease Control Vaccine Tracker.
- 1,487,837 total vaccine doses administered, up 27,812 from the previous day, according to the CDC Vaccine Tracker. Tracker figures are not posted on a regular basis.
For more data, including breakdowns by age, sex, race/ethnicity, at the statewide, county, and, in some cases, ZIP code or census tract level, click here.
