Governor John Carney on Monday signed a revision to the State of Emergency order, lifting Delaware’s universal indoor mask mandate effective at 8 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 11.
The modification comes after a sharp decline in Covid-19 cases and daily hospitalizations.
Also in Monday’s modification, Governor Carney extended the mask requirement in public and private K-12 schools and child care facilities. That requirement, which applies to children kindergarten-age and older, will expire at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, March 31.
The extension gives parents time to get their school-age children vaccinated before the expiration of the statewide requirement, a release stated.
The March 31 date also allows districts and schools time to consider local mask requirements and gives the Division of Public Health (DPH) and the Department of Education (DOE) time to work with schools on updates to quarantine and contact tracing guidance.
The mask mandate was unpopular with some who claimed the protection is ineffective and others who see it as a violation of personal rights. Southern Delaware legislators had called for an end to the mandate, joined by the conservative right-leaning Rodney Institute.
Business owners were also unhappy with signs that some customers for political or other reasons were patronizing stores in neighboring Maryland and Pennsylvania. Neither state has an indoor mask mandate.
At the same time, Carney can point to the decline in hospitalizations as a sign that the mandate had some impact. Carney pointed to near-crisis conditions at hospitals as the reason for the order.
Click here to read Monday’s revision.
