Delaware finally sees bright spots: Fewer COVID-19 hospitalizations, enough gear for now

As coronavirus cases near 2,000 in Delaware, Gov. John Carney is starting to see some bright spots among all the bad news about the coronavirus:

• Hospitalizations are lower than expected.
• The state is beating projections that hospitalizations would be 20% of positive cases. It's hovered around 11.6%. 
• With the actual numbers better than expected, Delaware officials say they have enough ventilators and personal protective equipment for the time being.  
• Because of that, Delaware has offered ventilators to be loaned by California to Maryland and New Jersey.

As of Tuesday, April 14, state officials have confirmed a total of 1,926 cases, up 165 cases from Monday. Two more Delawareans have died — an 83-year-old woman from a Sussex County long-term care facility and a 70-year-old woman from Kent County — making the death toll 43. 

The most recent data shows that 217 people are now hospitalized; 45 are considered critically ill.

The hospitalization rate is a key factor in assessing the severity of the coronavirus crisis and determining how resources need to be allocated in Delaware, Carney and health officials said.

Carney believes the executive orders — particularly the closing of businesses and telling people to stay home — could be working.

READ:Delaware continues to see jump in coronavirus cases, as six more die for total of 41

"The last couple of days doesn't a trend create," Carney cautioned. "We're going to be looking carefully at it."

"If we had more testing," he added, "I'd have more confidence in the number being part of a trend."

In the past month, Delaware has continued to see significant increases in the number of cases, deaths and hospitalizations related to the coronavirus. Carney predicted in late March that Delaware could see about 3,000 confirmed cases and 500 hospitalizations in April. 

As part of the effort to look ahead, Carney announced Monday that Delaware will join nearby states, including New York and Pennsylvania, to determine a regional plan on how to best reopen its respective economies. 

READ:Delaware to work with regional states on how to reopen in midst of coronavirus pandemic

Though it's still unclear when businesses and schools will be allowed to reopen, Delaware officials say they are still looking to increase the amount of testing — particularly among those who appear to be asymptomatic. 

In an interview with Delaware Online/The News Journal, Carney said Monday that his biggest concern in the beginning of this crisis was not having enough ventilators to "save people's lives in hospitals." In March, Carney said Delaware had about 400 ventilators and was looking to refurbish about 200 more.

But now, with the number of hospitalizations being less than expected, the governor said the state is "going to have plenty."

California, the governor said, had offered to send ventilators to Delaware on the condition they are returned by April 21.

Because Delaware doesn't currently need them, Carney has talked to the governors of Maryland and New Jersey about potentially reallocating those ventilators to other nearby hot spots. 

Hospitals are in "decent shape" in terms of the supplies, said AJ Schall, director of the Delaware Emergency Management Agency. These organizations have a burn rate of about two weeks for these supplies, which is considered typical.

Carney said during the press briefing that additional testing is still needed, particularly to help determine when the state can reopen its economy. 

As of Tuesday, April 14, a total of 15,430 tests have been conducted, officials said. Of this number, about 13,414 have been done through hospitals, while the others have been run through the state's public health lab. 

The state has generally been testing only people who have demonstrated coronavirus symptoms.

Dr. Karyl Rattay, director of the Division of Public Health, said Delaware is looking to enter a new phase of testing, which will focus more on those who have the virus but aren't experiencing traditional symptoms.

"Instead of shutting down everything to protect people," Carney said, "we will be testing and isolating people who have the virus — fewer numbers because of what we have done so far — and allowing people to be more active in the community." 

Contact Meredith Newman at (302) 324-2386 or at mnewman@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @merenewman.