April 30
Governor Carney adds 14th modification to Emergency Declaration
Gov. John Carney on Thursday issued the modification to his State of Emergency declaration, providing additional protections for Delaware renters during the COVID-19 pandemic, and extending the application deadline for Delaware’s Senior School Property Tax Credit Program until June 1.
“We still face a very serious situation with COVID-19 in Delaware, especially in hot spot areas along the Route 113 corridor in Sussex County,” said Gov. Carney. “Delawareans should stay home unless you need to go out for essential work or essential items. Wear a cloth face covering in public settings. Wash your hands and disinfect surfaces frequently. Continue to take this threat seriously and stay informed at de.gov/coronavirus. We’ll get through this by working together.”
Governor Carney’s State of Emergency declaration has the full force and effect of law. Delaware’s stay-at-home order, and mandatory quarantine for out-of-state travelers, remain in place. Violations of the emergency declaration, or any of its modifications, constitute a criminal offense.
DPH updates COVID-19 numbers through Thursday, April 30
The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) announced 79 new positive cases have been confirmed and that 8 more Delawareans — 152 in all — have passed away due to complications from COVID-19. The deceased range in age from 32 to 103 years old.
As of April 29, the state’s COVID-19 case statistics cumulatively since March 11 include 4,734 total laboratory-confirmed cases — 1,734 of them in New Castle County, 759 in Kent County and 2,216 in Sussex County. The state said preliminary data based on reporting by state and commercial laboratories, indicate there have been 17,086 negative cases.
There are 296 Delawareans who are currently hospitalized with 65 in critical condition. To date, 1,275 Delawareans who have tested positive have recovered.
ChristianaCare expands COVID-19 testing for communities in City of Wilmington
ChristianaCare is working to overcome disparities in COVID-19 testing and increase accessibility through clinics that combine virtual primary care and COVID-19 testing in some of Wilmington’s underserved communities.
Sites at the Latin American Community Center and Kingswood Community Center are the first two of a model that ChristianaCare expects to expand to other neighborhoods based on assessments of community need.
“Globally, there are racial and ethnic disparities related to COVID-19 infection and outcomes,” said Erin Booker, vice president of Community Health and Engagement at ChristianaCare. “These sites are an important way that we can bring care and testing to our neighbors who may face barriers such as lack of transportation, limited ability to speak English, lack of a primary care provider or other obstacles that prevent them from getting the care they need.”
The Latin American Community Center is at 301 N. Harrison Street. The center is open for screening and testing on Mondays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Patients are encouraged to make an appointment before arriving for a screening, but walk-ins are also accepted. For an appointment, call 302-320-6439.
The Kingswood Community Center is at 2300 Bowers Street. It is open for screening and testing on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Patients are encouraged to make an appointment before arriving for a screening, but walk-ins are also accepted. For an appointment, call 302-428-6586.
Medical interpreters from ChristianaCare’s Language Services team are available to assist individuals in Spanish or other languages as needed.
DPH and Beebe tests nearly 600 in Georgetown
The Division of Public Health, other healthcare agencies and Beebe Healthcare tested approximately 600 people at its expanded mobile testing event on Wednesday in Georgetown.
Available were a combination of rapid antibody tests which tells if someone has been exposed to the COVID-19 virus and has developed antibodies, and a PCR test through nasal or oral swabs, which determines if someone is actively infected.
Swab test results will be communicated in four to six days after processing in a lab.
Additional testing events will occur Friday, 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. near Beebe’s Georgetown Health Campus on Biden Avenue. Please note the hours of Friday’s testing event were changed for safety purposed, due expected storms. The testing route itself will start in the parking lot of JD Shucker’s. People coming for this round of free testing do not need an appointment or a doctor’s order.
Salvation Army issued grant from The ACME Foundation
The Salvation Army Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware Division announced receiving a $10,000 grant from the ACME Foundation in support of COVID-19 relief activities. The urgently needed funds from the Pennsylvania-based supermarket chain will be used to ensure critical food distribution to individuals and families profoundly affected by COVID-19 throughout Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware.
“Now more than ever it is important to ACME to help our neighbors, which is why we launched Nourishing Neighbors to help fund emergency food distribution programs throughout the communities we serve during this critical time. We are grateful to partner with organizations such as The Salvation Army who have a long-standing commitment to fighting food insecurity right here in the Delaware Valley,” said Dana Ward, ACME Foundation Communications & Public Affairs Manager.
The Salvation Army is actively seeking partnerships with other foundations, corporations, and community partners to help meet the growing demand for food. Contact: Carl Colantuono at Carl.Colantuono@use.salvationarmy.org, or 302-472-0731
To donate from a distance, go to The Salvation Army’s Virtual Food Pantry at salvationarmydelaware.org. All donations for the Virtual Food Pantry will be directed to the ZIP code in which your donation originates.
Every donation is needed. For example, $30 will provide a day’s food for a family of four.
- • Donate any amount by credit card for the Virtual Food Pantry.
- • To donate by check, mail your contribution to: The Salvation Army- Delaware, 400 N. Orange Street Wilmington, DE 19801.
- • Please refer all corporate gift offers to Carl Colantuono at carl.colantuono@use.salvationarmy.org.
AIDS Delaware changes Dining Out For Life to Dining IN
To adapt to the COIVID-19 pandemic; Dining Out For Life International (DOFLI) made the decision to cancel its annual fundraising event, scheduled to take place on Thursday, April 30, 2020, when area restaurants would have donated 33% of their food sales to help people living with and affected by HIV in the Delaware Valley.
Instead, AIDS Delaware is encouraging participants to support their local restaurants and to Dine In to celebrate what would have been the 30th anniversary of this critical fundraising event and to continue to support those living with HIV.
“As Dining Out For Life is one of our core fundraisers, we could not abandon it altogether,” says John Beckley, Director of Development and Marketing. “This year, we are turning Dining Out For Life into a virtual fundraising event, having our board of directors, staff and friends harness the power of online peer to peer fundraising to raise vital funds to support our clients living with HIV as well as supporting our local restaurants”
Restaurants have been generous in their support of this event over the years, so supporting them is critical at this time.
Consider the following items to support the restaurant industry and AIDS Delaware’s clients through this difficult time:
- Order Takeout and support Local Restaurants. Normally our participating restaurants would have donated 33% of your food bill on April 30. To see a list of delivery & take out restaurants in Delaware Click Here.
- Make a donation to AIDS Delaware in the amount you would have spent dining out to help us re-coup lost donations. Click here or you can mail to 100 West 10th Street, Suite 315, Wilmington DE 19801.
- DINE IN and share a virtual meal with friends and family. Have dinner via teleconferencing, post photos of your meal on your social media, and use #DineInEndHIVDE and #DineOnlineEndHIV. Ask your “virtual guests” to donate to AIDS Delaware and support local restaurants.
WSFS Bank has announced a $40,000 $100,000 pledge from the WSFS Community Foundation to assist Delaware organizations with COVID-19 relief efforts. The Foundation recently contributed $200,000 to eight organizations that are also engaged in the fight against the virus. These current donations are part of a $100,000 pledge to Try-State Area nonprofits.
The grants will be distributed to:
- $10,000: Food Bank of Delaware
- $10,000: Delaware Restaurant Education Foundation
- $10,000: Henrietta Johnson Medical Center (New Castle County, DE)
- $10,000: La Red Health Center (Sussex County, DE)
“Our nonprofits are struggling to keep pace with increased needs and our communities are feeling that distress. We are standing by our local nonprofit organizations as they are serving others during these difficult times,” said Vernita Dorsey, Senior Vice President, Director of Community Strategy, WSFS Bank.
“There is always a silver lining in times of crisis and WSFS continues to commit resources to those directly in our communities that need the most help,” said Carrie Leishman, Executive Director of the Delaware Restaurant Education Foundation. “This contribution offers critical support for displaced hospitality workers dependent on their paychecks to support their families. One in 10 Delawareans work in the restaurant and foodservice industries and WSFS’ contributions will reach every neighborhood in Delaware.”
In addition, WSFS Bank recently made a $3 million contribution to the WSFS Community Foundation to fund future contributions throughout its footprint.
April 29
DPH updates COVID-19 numbers through Wednesday, April 29
The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) announced 80 new positive cases have been confirmed and that 7 more Delawareans — 144 in all — have passed away due to complications from COVID-19. The deceased range in age from 32 to 103 years old.
As of Tuesday, April 28, the state’s COVID-19 case statistics cumulatively since March 11 include 4,655 total laboratory-confirmed cases — 1,717 of them in New Castle County, 743 in Kent County and 2,169 in Sussex County. The state said preliminary data based on reporting by state and commercial laboratories, indicate there have been 16,883 negative cases.
There are 326 Delawareans who are currently hospitalized with 60 in critical condition. To date, 1,173 Delawareans who have tested positive have recovered.
