Coronavirus Delaware: Officials Say It's Not Time For 'Tax-Free Shopping' After Ordering Out-Of-State Travelers To Quarantine
WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS) - The state of Delaware says the coronavirus has reached the acceleration phase, where new cases are jumping dramatically from last week. As of Monday, they're taking new and dramatic steps to slow the spread.
Officials in Delaware announced 32 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday. The state now has a total of 264 cases and six deaths from the coronavirus.
The number of hospitalizations in the state has more than doubled -- from 15 last Thursday to 45 to start this week.
Officials said 156 of those cases are from New Castle County, 27 are from Kent and 81 from Sussex. The cases involve individuals ranging from age 1 to 90 years old, Dr. Karyl Rattay with the Delaware Department of Health said.
"We just cannot emphasize enough to prevent this disease you must stay home unless it is absolutely necessary. You are safer at home and everyone else is safer at home if we all remain in our homes," Rattay said.
Nine of those patients are in critical condition.
The latest numbers come a day after Gov. John Carney ordered all out-of-state travelers to self-quarantine for 14 days in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus.
The order measures the 14-day period from the time of entry into the state or for the person's duration in the state.
Eyewitness News asked A.J. Schall, the Director of the Delaware Emergency Management Agency, how that will work. He said they're starting with education.
"They're not stopping people but they have been given the hierarchy of what to do. They will educate the individuals, there are fees that can be sanctioned," he said. "We're not trying to tell everybody that we're going to go door-to-door and making sure they stay home but we want to make sure there is a force of law in a state of emergency."
He added that fines can be executed on people breaking the law.
Some stores and businesses remain open, but the state asks that we all behave as though we have the virus.
If you have to be out, stay six feet away from other people.
Gov. Carney told Eyewitnesses News Monday morning that this self-quarantine order is not directed at people who are passing through.
"People that are coming to their second homes, maybe at the beaches, they're coming over the line from Pennsylvania for tax-free shopping. It's not a holiday, it's not an opportunity to get out and do tax-free shopping and we just want to get that message out and discourage people from coming across the line and making our job more difficult," he said.
Carney declared a public health emergency in the state last week.
