The state’s mask mandate for schools and most state buildings expires with the end of the Emergency Order at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. The state court system took similar action.
Also on Tuesday, Governor Carney signed a more narrow Public Health Emergency Order to replace an Emergency Order issued on July 12, 2021. The updated order will allow hospitals and long-term care facilities continued flexibility to respond to cases of Covid-19.
Click here to read the updated Public Health Emergency order.
“There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about where we’re headed. Over the last month, Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations have fallen dramatically, and we are clearly moving into a new phase of this pandemic. Today’s announcement is consistent with new guidance from the CDC. And it’s consistent with the latest thinking from Delaware’s experts at the Delaware Division of Public Health – DPH. Delawareans who want to continue wearing a mask – including children in our schools – should be supported and encouraged to do so, even as we move into this new phase,” Carney stated.
In a related development Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz, Jr. announced that the state Judiciary will lift its mandatory mask rule at all Delaware Court facilities on Wednesday March 2 for both employees and members of the public.
Under the new CDC guidance, masking is no longer recommended in areas that are rated as either low and medium risk. New Castle County is rated low risk and Kent and Sussex counties are rated medium risk.
As part of lifting the mask mandate, the judiciary will also be ending its mandatory testing program for unvaccinated employees. However, Chief Justice Seitz said testing is still recommended for anyone who shows symptoms and the courts will continue to ask any person who is experiencing COVID symptoms to stay away from court facilities until their symptoms clear or they receive a negative test.
Seitz said people who are more comfortable continuing to wear a face mask should feel free to continue to do so.
The Delaware Judiciary imposed its current mask mandate on Aug. 16, 2021, following a spike in infections.
Sunday figures from DPH showed hospitalizations for Covid-19 falling below 100 after rising to 759 in January. A CDC scoreboard ranked New Castle County with a low incidence of Covid-19, with Kent and Sussex in the moderate category.
Carney again encouraged Delawareans to stay up to date on Covid-19 vaccinations.
More than 80% of deaths and hospitalizations in the past two months came from Delawareans who did not receive a booster shot.
Click on the following link for vaccinations sites: de.gov/getmyvaccine
