COVID-19 Daily Briefing 5/5

May 5 

Governor John Carney announces interim steps allowing small businesses to reopen

Effective 8:00 a.m. Friday, May 8, some establishments will be allowed to resume limited operations, provided they can maintain social distancing standards.

The goal of the interim steps is to provide economic relief to Delaware citizens and businesses who are struggling financially – while maintaining strict adherence to health and safety guidelines.

• Small business retailers will be allowed to do business using curbside pickup as long as social distancing can be maintained. These retailers include:
• Clothing stores
• Shoe stores
• Sporting goods, hobby, musical instruments
• Book, periodical, music stores
• Department stores
• Tobacco and Vape
• Other general merchandise
• Office supply, stationery, and gift stores
• Used merchandise stores
• Consumer goods rental

Jewelry stores may do business by appointment only, and the Governor has instructed the Division of Small Business to consider additional changes like this for other similar retailers.

Cosmetology: Hair care services only are permitted to be offered, and only to workers at essential businesses. Guidelines include:

• No more than two appointments at a time per location (and never more than the number of available staff, so just one for a sole proprietor). Need to leave 15 minutes between appointments for proper cleaning.
• Employees and customers must wear cloth face masks at all times, and customers must cancel appointments if they have any reason to believe they may be ill or may have come into contact with the virus.
• Staff must wear disposable gloves when providing services and must throw away gloves between customers and wash hands.
• Employer must require employees to report their temperature daily — above 99.5 means they are ineligible to work.
• Customer stations must be sanitized between use, along with any equipment used for the customer. In addition, any item a customer handles (like a magazine) must leave with the customer.
• Entrance door must remain locked to outside to prevent walk-ins.

At golf courses; carts are allowed for 1 rider at a time with proper cleaning between customers

Drive thru movies are permitted to open, but patrons must remain inside vehicles and social distancing must be maintained at all times.

Employees required to report to work as a result of these changes will now be permitted to utilize child care services, provided neither parent works from home and they do not have alternate care.

DPH updates COVID-19 numbers through Tuesday, May 5

The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) announced 83 new positive cases have been confirmed and that 5 more Delawareans — 187 in all — have passed away due to complications from COVID-19. The deceased range in age from 26 to 103 years old.

As of May 5, the state’s COVID-19 case statistics cumulatively since March 11 include 5,371 total laboratory-confirmed cases — 1,979 of them in New Castle County, 847 in Kent County and 2,520 in Sussex County. The state said preliminary data based on reporting by state and commercial laboratories, indicate there have been 19,309 negative cases.

There are 284 Delawareans who are currently hospitalized, with 61 in critical condition. To date, 1,847 Delawareans who have tested positive have recovered.

Bayhealth expands community testing in Sussex County

Bayhealth is partnering with the Governor’s office, the Division of Public Health, and our other healthcare systems to expand Coronavirus community testing and outreach to high-risk populations in Sussex County. No appointment is necessary.

Bayhealth will provide walk-up or drive-up testing at the DHSS State Services Center in Milford located at 253 NE Front Street from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 7, and Monday, May 11.

This testing is mainly focused on high-risk populations; those with symptoms consistent with COVID-19, those living or working with someone diagnosed with COVID-19, family members or housemates of those working in the poultry industry, and those with chronic medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, hypertension, or compromised immune systems.