No one expected him home for the holidays -- but after 118 days in the hospital with COVID-19, Darell Slater will spend Thanksgiving with his family.
A novel coronavirus is a new coronavirus that has not been previously identified. The virus causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is not the same as the coronaviruses that commonly circulate among humans and cause mild illness, like the common cold.
A diagnosis with coronavirus 229E, NL63, OC43, or HKU1 is not the same as a COVID-19 diagnosis. Patients with COVID-19 will be evaluated and cared for differently than patients with common coronavirus diagnosis.
To date, Delaware:
- Has activated the Division of Public Health’s State Health Operations Center to allow for enhanced response coordination;
- Maintains communication and outreach with federal, state and local partners;
- Is monitoring asymptomatic (not sick) individuals returning from Mainland China to ensure they do not develop symptoms;
- Provides symptom monitoring guidance for residents returning to Delaware from China, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Iran;
- Participates in frequent calls with health care systems, EMS and first responder agencies and other state agency partners;
- Provides information to health care professionals, businesses and educational settings;
- and Has reviewed and adapted current pandemic flu plans for COVID-19.
The Delaware Division of Public Health has a strong relationship with hospitals, EMS, and first responder agencies through its partnership with the state’s Department of Safety and Homeland Security (DSHS). Staff have been holding regular calls with hospitals, the Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA), DSHS and EMS agencies.
The DPH recommends everyday measures that people can take to prevent the spread of all infections, which would also slow the spread of coronavirus disease:
- Cough or sneeze into your elbow, not your hand. If you use a tissue, dispose of it right away.
- Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly, including the backs of your hands and under your nails.
- Clean surfaces at home, work or school that you use often.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Anyone 2 years old and up should wear a mask with two or more layers to stop the spread of COVID-19.
- Wear the mask over your nose and mouth and secure it under your chin.
Information from the Delaware Health and Social Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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One-third of parents believe the benefits of gathering the family together for Thanksgiving is worth the risk of catching or spreading Covid-19, according to a new poll published Monday.
Three Hockessin firefighters/EMTs are self-isolating at home after testing positive for COVID-19.
"December's a big month for holiday parties. People getting together. It usually carries us, our staff especially, through January and February," said Gianmarco Martuscelli, owner of Klondike Kate's in Newark. "Making it uncomfortable for people to go into restaurants is just pushing more ho…
Delaware's high school sports are scheduled to begin practices on Monday, November 30, but a cloud of uncertainty surrounds many of their futures.
Delaware Walgreens locations currently offering COVID-19 tests will be switching to a reservation format beginning on Friday, November 27, 2020.
Cases of COVID-19 are growing inside Delaware's prisons, marking the first time the virus has spread at three separate facilities since the start of the pandemic in March, the Delaware Department of Correction said.
A $45 million higher education relief fund, using federal CARES Act funding, has been established to help colleges and universities in Delaware hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A new data lab in Wilmington, which received a $2 million CARES Act Innovation grant aims to change the way we work in the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Beebe Healthcare Infectious Disease Dr. William Chasanov said he's confident in the progress and process behind three potential COVID-19 vaccines, but has a simple message for Thanksgiving week:
Christina School District schools will return to remote-only learning until December 7 after multiple staff members were required to enter COVID protocols.
Doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists on the front lines at Christiana Hospital are resilient, but growing weary as they battle the COVID-19 resurgence.
Two additional juvenile residents of the Stevenson House Detention Center in Milford have tested positive for novel coronavirus COVID-19, bringing the facility's total number of cases to four.
Newark-area doctor breaks down how COVID-19 vaccine will work, urges people to get it when available
"Healthy, normal people don't die from the flu, but with this bugger, [COVID-19], it gets everywhere, including the sensory areas," said Dr. Sandra Gibney. "So, the lungs, the brain, the small intestine, blood vessels, and neurons."
New testing sites are being unveiled in response to major demand ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday and after Delaware shattered its record for the highest single-day total of new COVID-19 cases Friday.
The Delores J. Baylor Women's Correctional Institution is reporting its first cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic in March.
The highest single-day total for new novel coronavirus COVID-19 cases in Delaware was reported Friday.
Two youth at Stevenson House Detention Center in Milford have tested positive for COVID-19.
"This is serious. More than 1,000 people are dying a day. A thousand human beings, said Pastor Ellis Fagbami. "Americans started fighting wars in 2001 because 3000 people died on a day. And, in three days, we are losing 3,000 people. This is big. People are not conscious. They really don't k…
Pfizer and BioNTech said they will submit to the US Food and Drug Administration today for an emergency use authorization for their coronavirus vaccine candidate.
Members of New Castle County Council are getting calls that mirror comments made on WDEL's Facebook page every time the county's ambitious plan to turn the Sheraton hotel on Airport Road into a homeless shelter, using federal CARES Act money, is mentioned.
The Capital School District said that members of two of its school communities have received positive COVID results in the past few days.
The Brandywine Zoo was already a jungle, but now it's being overrun by a whole new kind of animal: lemurs.
Delaware's daily COVID percent-positive reached double-figures earlier this week, but that doesn't mean Delaware's schools are about to be forced into remote-only.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that Americans should not travel for Thanksgiving, and has posted updated guidelines for safely celebrating the holiday.
It's going to be a Thanksgiving unlike any other in our lifetimes as the COVID-19 virus rages at alarmingly high rates in nearly every state in the country.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an emergency use authorization for the first self-test for COVID-19 that can provide rapid results at home.
A final analysis of the Phase 3 trial of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine shows it was 95% effective in preventing infections, even in older adults, and caused no serious safety concerns, the company said Wednesday.
Moments before Delaware Governor John Carney announced stronger gathering limits and other restrictions, a group of protesters were attempting to persuade him to eliminate them completely.
A second teen has been charged in connection with the murder of a Newark girl.
Delaware is moving backwards in its fight to get the novel coronavirus COVID-19 under control.
Pre-K through first grade students made their transition from virtual-only to hybrid last week, and Brandywine superintendent Lincoln Hohler said as he walked the halls of Mount Pleasant Elementary School, he found joy.
Students in the Laurel School District will return to a virtual-only learning model for two weeks following a series of COVID cases among members of their school community over the past week.
What is America's current place on the world stage? At the fourth annual U.S. Global Leadership Coalition Mid-Atlantic Regional Summit held Monday, officials from across the spectrum attempted to identify where the country stood, and how it could regain prominence again heading into the future.
A.I. duPont Middle School is the latest Red Clay school to shutter to deal with rising COVID-19 numbers in the state.
Philadelphia announced new coronavirus restrictions on Monday that aim to combat a lack of mask wearing and social distancing indoors at public spaces, restaurants, gyms and inside private homes.
The Newark Emergency Center, in conjunction with the Delaware Department of Public Health and the office of Lieutenant Governor Bethany Hall-Long, is holding a 48 hour COVID testing marathon starting on Tuesday, November 17, 2020 at 10 a.m.
Prison officials announced Monday they've identified a cluster of positive novel coronavirus COVID-19 case among a group of inmates at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center.
The Delaware Courts system is pausing jury trials once again and rolling back to Phase II restrictions as novel coronavirus COVID-19 cases spike across the state.
The Moderna vaccine is 94.5% effective against coronavirus, according to early data released Monday by the company, making it the second vaccine in the United States to have a stunningly high success rate.
Small businesses holiday shopping means community support.
Colonial School District students will return to a virtual-only model for the next two weeks after the district reported multiple COVID cases throughout their schools.
Delaware's Division of Public Health said an ex-staffer mistakenly caused a data breach involving coronavirus-related patient information.
Roughly two weeks after Halloween, Delaware saw 465 new positive novel coronavirus COVID-19 cases Friday, the largest single-day increase since the start of the pandemic. The high mark was previously set in April.
Delaware officials announced the state will be sending a portion of the 290,000 rapid novel coronavirus COVID-19 testing kits it received from the federal government to Nemours and other pediatric care providers to provide testing for more children and adolescents.
A well-known New Castle-area pastor has settled his federal lawsuit against the state over coronavirus restrictions on places of worship, avoiding a trial that was set for next year.
On the precipice of opening their doors for every student, Colonial School District officials said there were new concerns a virtual-only approach may be imminent as COVID-19 cases increase across the state, and the country.
All in-person visitation will be suspended at Delaware's prisons amid a major spike in COVID-19 cases in Delaware.
New COVID-19 testing lab coming to DSU's campus in Marshallton aims to provide same-day test results
New Castle County wants to invest $5 million in federal CARES Act funding to create a COVID-19 diagnostic testing lab on Delaware State University's Wilmington Campus, which aims to provide same-day test results.
The Blood Bank of Delmarva (BBD) is teaming up with area hospitals and healthcare systems to call attention to the chronic shortage of blood in the region due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.
