LEWES, Del.- The Division of Public Health says Lewes has seen a rise in cases recently. In partnership with the Cape Henlopen School District, DPH and DEMA, Beacon Middle School was host to a testing site for the community. Over the past week there has been nearly four new cases a day in the 19958 zip code, and the week before that there was less than two a day, doubling in a matter of days. Dr. Karyl Ratty, the Director Division of Public Health said, "The 19958 zip code has one of the highest increases over the last week." This coming a day after DPH says Lewes was being considered a warm spot for cases. The testing event today taking place outside of Beacon Middle School in an effort to not only target schools but everyone in the area. Dr. LouAnn Hudson, with the Cape Henlopen School District said, "So this is just a way to keep up with the community and the demand that people have for wanting to get tested." The Cape Henlopen School district says considering over 4000 students, and 1000 employees, it has gone better than expected. Hudson said, "And we've had a very low occurrence and we monitor very closely as you can imagine." But when I asked DPH what the reason for the rise in cases has been, it was an unclear answer. Rattay said, "Not sure what to attribute that to, there has been more testing." But Rattay also points out that the rise in cases is not just in the 19958 zip code, and other problems are coming up as well. "And hospitalizations in Sussex County have gone up significantly in the last week," she said. But when it comes to the schools and how this has impacted them, learning seems to keep going on without a hitch. "Learning and the comradery, you know the relationships between teachers and students is as strong as ever," Hudson said. The state also has those sites that are open everyday but continues to do pop-up testing when needed and the Cape Henlopen School District will also be hosting another pop-up site next Wednesday at Mariner Middle School.
Pop-Up Testing Site in Lewes Serves Community with Rising Cases
