Early signs are pointing to a plateau in Covid-19 hospitalizations.
The Sunday summary from the Delaware Division of Public Health noted that hospitalizations had declined for the third straight day to 711. That is still well above the January 2021 figure of 474 but offers hope that the peak has been reached after the holidays.
Larger cities have reported declines in hospitalizations. However, hospitals around Delaware are still running at or above capacity with National Guard members dispatched to help out.
There were no new deaths reported as of Saturday night.
However, on Friday, 28 deaths were recorded, seven recent deaths and 21 from a review of Vital Statistics records, largely from December, but with some dating back to September.
The deaths included 18 residents of New Castle County, seven b from Sussex, and three from Kent. They ranged in age from their 40s to their 90s. One of the 28 did not have underlying health conditions and three were residents of long-term care facilities.
With the onset of the Omicron variant, the state is seeing a few more cases of otherwise healthy people succumbing to the virus. Omicron spreads faster than the Delta variant but is believed to result in milder cases. However, the record-shattering number of new cases seems destined to lead to more serious illnesses and deaths.
Of those who died, 18 were not vaccinated, while 10 were fully vaccinated. The deaths now stand at .2,424.
On Monday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and will open an evening drive-through testing site at the Delaware City DMV.
