The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is providing an update on the most recent statistics related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Delaware, as of 6 p.m. Thursday, January 7, 2021.
DPH is reporting the state’s first COVID-19 related death of a child since the start of the pandemic. The death involves a child under the age of 5 from New Castle County who had a significant number of co-morbidities. Additional details about the individual will not be provided to protect patient privacy.
“While each life lost as a result of this virus is tragic, the loss of a child is felt across our entire community,” said DPH Director Dr. Karyl Rattay. “We send our deepest condolences to this child’s family and all of those who have lost a loved one during this pandemic. We are urging everyone in our state to come together, take this current winter surge seriously, remain vigilant about mitigation measures, and keep each other safe.”
A total of 957 Delawareans have passed away due to complications from COVID-19. The state reported 31 additional deaths since last week’s update. The total number of individuals who have died from COVID-19 ranges in age from younger than 5 to 104 years old. Of those who have died, 487 were female and 470 were male. A total of 476 individuals were from New Castle County, 171 were from Kent County, and 310 were from Sussex County.
A total of 63,503 positive cases of COVID-19 among Delaware residents have been reported to DPH since March 11, 2020. A record number of new positive cases (1,241 positive cases) were reported on Wednesday this week, and the seven-day average increased to 778.6 as of Thursday, Jan. 7.
The seven-day average for the percentage of persons who tested positive for COVID-19 as of Thursday, Jan. 7 was 27.3%, an increase from 25.1% as of Thursday, Dec. 31. DPH publishes both positivity rates – persons tested and total tests conducted – on its COVID-19 data portal. As of Tuesday, Jan. 5, the seven-day average for the percentage of total tests that were positive was 10.4%, an increase from 9.1% as of Tuesday, Dec. 29. There is a two-day lag for presenting data related to percent of tests that are positive to account for the time delay between the date of the test and the date that DPH receives the test result.
In addition, 451 individuals are currently hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Delaware, an increase of 39 as of last Thursday. Fifty-nine of the hospitalized persons are critically ill, up one from last week.
As of midnight, Thursday, Jan. 7, 21,814 administered doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been reported to the state’s immunization information system.
Source: State Of Delaware