As the federal Public Health Emergency ends tonight, Delaware now ranks 29th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in the death rate from Covid-19.
Delaware Gov. John Carney also lifted the state emergency effective at 6 p.m., Thursday. The state has been winding down its Covid-19 updates as the number of cases dropped and treatment options increased.
March figures compiled by Statistica showed a wide variation in death rates, with Arizona ending up with the most deaths per 100,000 population and Hawaii having the lowest figure.
Delaware ended with lower death rates than Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The Garden State was hard hit in the early stages of the pandemic when no vaccines were available. Delaware did have a slightly higher fatality rate than neighboring Maryland.
The more than 3,200 deaths from the virus in Delaware are the equivalent of the population of Selbyville in Sussex County.
The reasons for the variation in death rates remain unclear. High poverty rates played a role, with poorer states like West Virginia, Mississippi, and New Mexico having high death rates.
At the same time, Arizona had the highest death rate, even though its income levels are greater than in the poorest states. Arizona’s neighbor, California, with arguably the nation’s tightest Covid restrictions, ranked 39th
States with higher average median ages felt the effects of Covid-19. Delaware falls into that category, ranking in the top 10 with a high median age among the 50 states and DC.
However, other states with older populations, such as Maine and Vermont, had among the lowest death rates. With the nation’s lowest median age, Utah ranked near the bottom in deaths per 100,000 population.
The effects of misinformation regarding the virus and vaccines will be argued for years. There will also be critics who believe that Covid-related restrictions in Delaware and other states led to more deaths from suicide, drug overdoses, etc., and slower economic recoveries.
Delaware has seen one of the slowest job recoveries from the pandemic, with an unemployment rate well above the national figure.
Florida, whose governor credited a lack of restrictions for the strong economic recovery, ranked 12th in its death rate.
Mid-Atlantic states and New England states tended to have more severe restrictions, partly because the virus arrived earlier due to outbreaks in New Jersey and New York.
