Governor John Carney on Thursday ended the State of Delaware Public Health Emergency order. The order will be lifted yesterday at 6:00 p.m. on May 11, 2023.
“Today we are ending the public health emergency here in Delaware. This is consistent with the ending of the federal public health emergency, and with Delaware’s continued progress in moving beyond COVID-19,” said Governor Carney. “Thank you to each and every Delawarean who helped us get to where we are today.”
TERMINATION OF DECLARATION OF A
PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY FOR THE STATE OF DELAWARE
WHEREAS, the United States government declared the COVID-19 Public Health
Emergency on January 31, 2020 (the Federal Public Health Emergency); and
WHEREAS, I issued two Declarations of a State of Emergency Due to a Public Health
Threat in Delaware during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020 and January
2022, respectively; and
WHEREAS, I terminated the second Declaration of a State of Emergency For the State of
Delaware Due to a Public Health Threat (the Second State of Emergency Order) on March 1, 2022;
and
WHEREAS, in conjunction with the termination of the Second State of Emergency Order,
I issued a Declaration of a Public Health Emergency for the State of Delaware, which became
effective as of 6:00 p.m. E.S.T. on March 1, 2022 (the Delaware Public Health Emergency), among
other reasons, to ensure that health care providers had access to sufficient personnel to continue
providing appropriate and safe care to all Delawareans, and to provide efficient and convenient
access to COVID-19 vaccines and boosters; and
WHEREAS, on March 31, 2022, I issued the First Revision to the Delaware Public Health
Emergency, authorizing the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services to maintain the
state’s eligibility to receive funds or other assistance available from the federal government,
including but not limited to emergency allotments; and
WHEREAS, based upon conditions in the state, and in compliance with state law, I
extended the Delaware Public Health Emergency at least every thirty days; and
WHEREAS, the Federal Public Health Emergency will expire at the end of the day on
May 11, 2023, thereby closing the federal emergency programs and spending authorized by that
order, which have provided critical support to Delawareans during the pandemic; and
WHEREAS, the state has sufficient capacity to meet the current demand for COVID
vaccines and boosters, other COVID-related capacity needs in the health care industry have eased,
and conditions otherwise support the termination of the Delaware Public Health Emergency.
NOW THEREFORE, I, JOHN C. CARNEY, do hereby declare:
For the reasons stated herein, my Declaration of a Public Health Emergency for the State
of Delaware, dated March 1, 2022, and effective as of 6:00 p.m. E.S.T., including all its related
orders, is hereby terminated as of Thursday, May 11, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. E.D.T.
APPROVED this 11
th day of May 2023 at 2:45 p.m.
hall continue to take all steps as may be necessary to maintain the State of Delaware’s eligibility to receive funds or other assistance available from the federal government, including but not limited to emergency allotments.