Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz, Jr. announced Monday that the Delaware Judiciary will be lifting its mandatory mask rule at all Delaware Court facilities on Wednesday
March 2, 2022 for both employees and members of the public.
“After conferring with our infectious disease medical expert, Dr. Alfred Bacon, who has served us so well throughout the pandemic, he agrees with the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention’s new guidance and thinks it is reasonable at this time to drop the indoor mask requirement and unvaccinated employee testing requirements,” said Chief Justice Seitz.
Under the new CDC guidance, masking is no longer recommended in areas that are rated as either low and medium risk. New Castle County is rated low risk and Kent and Sussex counties are rated medium risk. As part of lifting the mask mandate, the judiciary will also be ending its mandatory testing program for unvaccinated employees. However, Chief Justice Seitz said testing is still recommended for anyone who shows symptoms of COVID and the courts will continue to ask any person who is experiencing COVID symptoms to stay away from court facilities until their symptoms clear or they receive a negative test. Finally, while the mandatory mask rule will be lifted, Chief Justice Seitz said people who are more comfortable continuing to wear a face mask should feel free to continue to do so.
“It is important to note that we will continue to monitor the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we will not hesitate to change course if needed to protect everyone from serious illness,” said Chief Justice Seitz. “ Thank you for your patience as we have navigated together this unprecedented public health crisis.”
The Delaware Judiciary imposed its current mask mandate on August, 16, 2021, following a sharp spike in infections and community transmission due to the Delta variant of the COIVD-19
virus.
Source: Delaware Courts
