The recommendations are in from the Governor’s advisory group on what the state should do if cases here surge again.
The Pandemic Resurgence Advisory Committee Gov. John Carney formed in June has developed 48 different recommendations covering health, business and equity in their interim report.
Metropolitan Urban League of Wilmington President Eugene Young chairs the group’s Equity Subcommittee. He worries that the housing crisis people are already facing could be exacerbated if Delaware sees a resurgence of the virus.
“A lot of men and women because of these, the end of the federal subsidies for unemployment benefits are really struggling in regards to making rent, making their mortgage. And support there is certainly needed. There’s many cases where people were already struggling prior to COVID-19. And now this pandemic really ramps a lot of that up.”
The committee also called for increased testing and contact tracing capabilities and more support and communication with businesses.
Dr. Nancy Fan chairs the public-private Delaware Health Care Commission and is helping craft the recommendations. She says they’re only needed if COVID surges again - and that’s preventable.
"To make this successful, to make sure we don’t actually need to implement a lot of the recommendations that would result from having a resurgence is that optimizing the collaboration between all the community sectors; Healthcare, the state, the business and really making sure that, and especially the public, that we’re all in this together.”
A lot of the recommendations center around preparing the healthcare system and businesses for a potential second wave.
They include support for low income Delawareans, ensuring enough medical supplies are available and providing financial relief to businesses in the state.
The final report by the committee will be finished by the end of September and will also include comments from the public and more data on the virus.
