April 17, 5 p.m.
DPH updates COVID-19 cases
Cumulatively since March 11, there have been 2,323 total laboratory-confirmed cases. Of those there are 384 in Kent County, 1,100 in New Castle County and 811 in Sussex County. Due to a change is system processing there are currently 28 cases with no county designation. Currently, 224 Delawareans are hospitalized, it was last reported that 60 are considered critically ill.
In total, 61 Delawareans have passed away due to complications from COVID-19, with individuals ranging in age from 33 to 96 years old.
April 17, 4:45 p.m.
Paycheck Protection Program infusing businesses with cash
The SBA and Treasury Department’s Paycheck Protection Program lending through the CARES Act reached its $349B appropriation limit this week after infusing billions of dollars of capital into small businesses nationwide. In Delaware, 5,171 Paycheck Protection loans and counting were approved totaling $1,090,415,848.
The Paycheck Protection Program provides small business job retention loans to provide eight weeks of payroll and certain overhead to keep workers employed. SBA forgives the portion of Paycheck Protection loan proceeds used to cover the first eight weeks of payroll costs, rent, utilities, and mortgage interest. Loan payments may be deferred for one year. The program is retroactive from Feb. 15, 2020, so employers can rehire their recently laid-off employees through June 30, 2020.
Visit SBA.gov for more information on the Paycheck Protection Program.
April 17, 9 a.m.
AstraZeneca donates 3 million Masks to Direct Relief
Direct Relief announced a donation from AstraZeneca of 3 million surgical masks for US healthcare workers, one of the largest single PPE donations in the US to date.
The surgical masks will be distributed to health facilities in areas with the most significant public health need. A portion of the masks will also be directed to the emergency management agencies in states where AstraZeneca has a significant employee presence.
“This generous and timely donation from AstraZeneca will make a substantial difference in keeping these vital workers safe and able to continue providing care for us all,” said Direct Relief CEO Thomas Tighe in a statement.
A portion of the distributed mask has come to Delaware, one of AstraZeneca’s home states. The masks were procured by AstraZeneca through its manufacturing relationships in China and are part of the company’s overall donation of 9 million masks to healthcare workers globally.
April 16, 7 p.m.
DPH provides COVID-19 update
The Delaware Division of Public Health DPH has announced six additional fatalities related to COVID-19.
Due to system processing delays, the positive case total may make it appear that Delaware is leveling out or seeing a decrease in the daily case count, however, that is not an accurate reflection of the situation in Delaware. A correction the form of a case surge in the coming days is expected
In total, 52 Delawareans have passed away due to complications from COVID-19, with individuals ranging in age from 33 to 96 years old.
Cumulatively since March 11, there have been 2,075 total laboratory-confirmed cases. Of those there are 352 in Kent County, 1,003 in New Castle County and 698 in Sussex County. Due to a change is system processing there are currently 22 cases with no county designation. Currently, 209 Delawareans are hospitalized and 60 are considered critically ill.
Twenty-seven residents of Delaware long-term care facilities have died from complications related to COVID-19.
