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Hospitalizations skyrocket to 692 as COVID-19 surge continues

Betsy PriceHeadlines, Health

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Delaware continues to set COVID-19 records, this week in hospitalizations with 692 people admitted.

The state has been routinely beating the daily hospitalizations record since late December when numbers started rising above the Jan. 12, 2021, record of 474.

On Dec. 31, the state hit a record number of 3,554 positive cases per day.

The surge of cases is expected to peak in mid- to late-January as Omicron essentially spreads through the state.

With daily cases hitting the mid-2000s to 3000s, the state has been asking people to stay home if they feel sick, wear a well-fitting mask around other outside of your household and only go to emergency rooms if you have a true emergency, not simply to be tested for COVID-19.

Because testing sites are overwhelmed, the state is urging people to only be tested if they have symptoms, it’s been five days after they were exposed or you are unvaccinated. The state is still recommending that anyone who is unvaccinated be tested once per week.

Gov. John Carney will have a virtual press conference about COVID-19 Tuesday at 1:45 p.m. that will be streamed on his Facebook pageYouTube, and de.gov/live.

In its weekly COVID-19 roundup, the Delaware Division of Public Health said:

  • Delaware has seen 198,507 COVID019 cases since March 2020.
  • The 7-day average of new positive cases is 2,505.4, up from 1,622 last week.
  • The 7-day average for the percentage of total positive tests: 27.7%, up from 19.1% last week
  • Of the hospitalizations, which are up 207 from last week, 63 are critically ill, up 8 from last week
  • 44 COVID-19 cases were reported in the last week.
  • The total of COVID-19 deaths in Delaware now stands at 2,330
  • Breakthrough cases are rising, with 9,858 or 1.7% of fully vaccinated individuals.
  • Of those, 166 have been hospitalized and 138 have died.

The Division also released a look at the vaccinated/not vaccinated status of hospitalizations and deaths.

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COVID-9 vaccinations continue to creep up, according to the Centers for Disease Control:

  • The percentage of Delawareans 5+ who have received at least one dose is 82%
  • The percentage of Delawareans 12+ who have received at least one dose is 87.4%
  • The percentage of Delawareans 18+ who received at least one dose is 89.5%
  • The percent of Delawareans who are fully vaccinated is 64.6%

The state also told vaccine providers this week that the could begin giving Pfizer booster shots to individuals ages 12 to 15 as soon a five months after they finish their original two Pfizer shots.

The FDA and CDC also said that people who got Pfizer or Moderna vaccines could shorten the time for their booster shot from six months to five.

The booster interval recommendation for people who received the J&J vaccine remains at two months.

Individuals younger than 18 are only able to receive the Pfizer vaccine and are not able to mix and match vaccine brands like those older can.

Flu continues to spread

Public Health  said another 80 laboratory-confirmed cases reported the week of Dec. 26 – Jan. 1.

As of Jan. 1, 2022, the most recent date for which flu statistics are available, there have been 550 laboratory-confirmed cases for the current season. The cases involved 388 individuals from New Castle County, 67 from Kent County and 95 from Sussex County.

There are likely hundreds to thousands more flu cases, because few are confirmed by a laboratory tests. Many facilities use a rapid test.

The state continues to urge people to get a flu vaccine shot.

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