Governor John Carney on Monday signed a revision to the State of Emergency order, lifting Delaware’s universal indoor mask mandate effective at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, February 11.
Also in Monday’s modification, Governor Carney temporarily extended the mask requirement in public and private K-12 schools and child care facilities. That requirement, which applies to children kindergarten-age and older, will expire at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, March 31.
The temporary extension gives parents time to get their school-age children vaccinated before the expiration of the statewide requirement, Carney said in a statement.
The March 31 date also allows districts and schools time to consider local mask requirements and gives the Division of Public Health (DPH) and the Department of Education (DOE) time to work with schools on updates to quarantine and contact tracing guidance.
“We’re in a much better place than we were several weeks ago in the middle of the Omicron surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations,” said Governor Carney. “I want to be clear about this point – COVID is still circulating in our communities. And the virus still poses a risk of serious illness, particularly among those who are not up to date on their vaccinations. But we have the tools to keep ourselves and each other safe. Get vaccinated. Get your booster. That’s especially important for children, where we continue to see low rates of vaccination. For all the parents out there – the best way to keep your child in school learning, and to prevent them from getting sick, is to get them vaccinated. It’s that simple. I want to thank all Delawareans for taking this threat seriously.”
Source: State of Delaware
