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COVID-19 cases top 3,300 in Delaware, with Sussex continuing to show largest growth

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The state has announced three new coronavirus-related deaths and 108 more cases of COVID-19 Thursday.

That brings Delaware’s total so far to 92 deaths and 3,308 cases. 

The deaths announced Thursday were all residents of long-term care facilities with underlying health conditions. Two were from New Castle County, aged 74 and 85, and the third, an 80-year-old man, was from Sussex County.

The numbers announced Thursday reflect the state of the outbreak as of 6 p.m. the previous day.

The gap between the number of cases in Sussex County and New Castle County continues to shrink. Sussex now trails New Castle County by just 12 cases. New Castle County has more than twice the population of Sussex. 

The Georgetown area has the most confirmed cases of COVID-19.  Millsboro, New Castle, Milford, Seaford and Bear have high numbers.

Gov. John Carney also updated his State of Emergency order Thursday to allow more more out-of-state health care workers to come assist in Delaware’s pandemic response.

Anyone who previously held a medical license in the U.S. can volunteer to work in Delaware as long as they have proper training and their license was in good standing for five-years before it expired or lapsed.

The change also applies to pharmacists, respiratory therapists, physician assistants, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, and nurses.

Out-of-state providers must register with the Medical Reserve Corps to volunteer in Delaware.

There have been 244 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 55 virus-related deaths at long-term care facilities in Delaware.  

The state has confirmed virus-related deaths at nine specific long-term care facilities: 19 deaths at Genesis HealthCare's Milford Center, 11 at the Little Sisters of the Poor nursing home near Newark, five at the Brandywine Nursing and Rehabilitation, three at Parkview Nursing and Rehabilitation, three at Atlantic Shores Rehabilitation and Health, three at New Castle Health and Rehabilitation,  two at Hillside Center, two at the Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill, one at the Governor Bacon? Health Center. 

There have also been deaths at three other New Castle County, one other Kent County and two other Sussex County long-term care facilities.

Current hospitalizations in Delaware rose by 21 from 269 to 290, with 65 critically ill.

To date more than 640 people in Delaware are considered recovered from COVID-19, up 44 from Wednesday.

 

 

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 Henrietta Johnson health center in South Wilmington hosted a testing event Thursday, and another was held at P.S. duPont Middle School in Wilmington earlier this week. 

This story has been updated. 

Sophia Schmidt is a Delaware native. She comes to Delaware Public Media from NPR’s Weekend Edition in Washington, DC, where she produced arts, politics, science and culture interviews. She previously wrote about education and environment for The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, MA. She graduated from Williams College, where she studied environmental policy and biology, and covered environmental events and local renewable energy for the college paper.