The heart of Sussex County has become Delaware’s coronavirus hotspot. The Georgetown area zip code 19947 currently has the most confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state with more than 300.
Gov. John Carney's office announced Wednesday a plan to offer rapid testing at poultry producers and other community sites in response to the Sussex outbreak.
The plan coordinates efforts between multiple state agencies, private health systems, poultry producers and Federally Qualified Health Centers. The stakeholders will work to offer rapid test kits, education and outreach as well as guidance on isolation in Sussex communities.
The new testing sites will offer “care kits” with hand sanitizer, bandanas, thermometers and educational materials translated into Spanish and Haitian Creole.
In a statement, Carney said, "As the largest employers in Sussex County, we are partnering with the poultry industry to ensure that workers and their families get all of the information they need to be safe and healthy.”
Delaware announced 269 new COVID-19 cases statewide Wednesday with the biggest jump in Sussex County. To date Sussex has 1,317 cases and is now only 35 cases behind the more than twice as populated New Castle County. There are 3,200 cases statewide.
State officials also announced 7 new deaths related to COVID-19 Wednesday, bringing the statewide total to 89.
One of the deaths involved a 50-year-old Sussex County woman with no known underlying health conditions.
The rest of the deaths announced Wednesday involved people over the age of 62 with underlying health problems. Four of whom were residents of long-term care facilities. 52 COVID-19 deaths in Delaware have been connected to these facilities.
The current hospitalizations in Delaware only rose by six from 263 to 269.
To date 599 people in Delaware are considered recovered from COVID-19.
Carney emphasized Tuesday that the state is not ready to reopen its economy.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the number of hospitalizations for COVID-19 Tuesday and Wednesday.