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This page offers all of Delaware Public Media's ongoing coverage of the COVID-19 outbreak and how it is affecting the First State. Check here regularly for the latest new and information.

A look at the CHOP PolicyLab coronavirus forecast for Delaware

Sophia Schmidt
/
Delaware Public Media

Health policy researchers at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia predict a second wave of COVID-19 nationwide. But they note transmission rates are growing slower in the northeast than in the middle of the country. 

The CHOP PolicyLab in Philadelphia has predicted cases may continue to rise in much of Delaware through early November. The forecastis based on current cases, the weather and an estimate of social distancing behavior based on cell phone data. 

PolicyLab director Dr. David Rubin said Tuesday the projection is most concerning for New Castle County, which he says experienced a spike in cases early this month. 

“A lot of the pressure in Delaware was conferred from areas like Rehoboth Beach … We saw some of the summertime vacation travel effect,” he said. “[But] those subsided as we went into September. But what we're seeing now is increased risk concentrating to the more populated areas.”

The PolicyLab’s four-week projection also shows cases trending upward in Sussex County. 

State data shows cases in Sussex have risen over the past two weeks—and the weekly average percent of people testing positive was above 10 percent Tuesday. 

Sussex County towns saw some of the highest rates of infection this spring — particularly concentrated in the poultry processing industry. State public health officials said Tuesday they are concerned about recently increasing case rates in Ellendale, Georgetown and Lewes. 

Public health officials are also watching Camden-Wyoming in Kent County and Brandywine Hundred in New Castle County. 

Statewide, new daily cases trended upward over the past month. Virus-related hospitalizations nearly doubled in that time.

Rubin warns that hospitalizations will likely rise this winter. 

“I know people said, well, we did see a ton of hospitalizations in the summer,” he said. “But wintertime transmission, the efficiency of this virus to propagate in colder temperatures, is much different than anything we saw in this region during the summer.”

Rubin reminds individuals to wear masks and keep gatherings small, especially heading into the winter holidays. 

 

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.
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