DELAWARE- Delaware Governor John Carney gave the bottom line as the holiday season is underway.
"We need to stamp down this surge so we can keep all of our families safe," Carney said.
As many people plan to gather with family and friends, new guidance came from the governor.
"Wear a mask," Carney said. "We are strongly advising when you are indoors and in crowded spaces to wear a mask. Obviously you can't when you're eating in a restaurant but wear your mask when you are not."
That recommendation is regardless of vaccination status. So far, the age group with the lowest percentage of fully vaccinated people is 18 to 34 at just over 49 percent. Also, about a quarter of Delawareans have received a booster shot.
Delaware Division of Public Health Director Dr. Karyl Rattay says during the week of November 22, 72 percent of cases and eighty percent of deaths were people unvaccinated or partially vaccinated. She says they are driving the rise in numbers which are primarily due to the Delta variant.
"This is a Delta surge," Dr. Rattay said. "So the majority of the cases that we see that we sequence the majority of the cases are Delta. So we are still dealing with this contagious delta variant."
While there are not any cases of the Omicron variant in Delaware, Dr. Rattay says it will be here and there are many precautions people should take despite the lack of information gathered so far.
"It is time for us to double down," Dr. Rattay said. "If you haven't been vaccinated yet, now is a critical time to do it. If you have been putting off your second dose, schedule a time to get it now. And if you are eligible to get a booster dose, please get one."
Dr. Rattay added that the state's public health lab has been looking for possible Omicron cases even going back to a month to make sure there weren't any missed. She also indicated that it will take about a week or so to see how vaccines work against Omicron.
Â
