The state said Friday that the first Delaware child has died from COVID-19.

Delaware announces first child has died from COVID-19

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The state said Friday that the first Delaware child has died from COVID-19.

The state said Friday that the first Delaware child has died from COVID-19.

With new COVID-19 cases trending up after the December holidays, Delaware health officials have announced a child has died from COVID-19.

It’s the first pediatric death and involved a child under the age of 5 from New Castle County who also had “a significant number” of other conditions. The state said in a press release it would not release any additional details to protect the child’s privacy.

ā€œWhile each life lost as a result of this virus is tragic, the loss of a child is felt across our entire community,ā€ said Dr. Karyl Rattay, director of the Delaware Division of Public Health. ā€œWe send our deepest condolences to this child’s family and all of those who have lost a loved one during this pandemic.”

She urged state residents to take the winter surge seriously and to be vigilant about following COVID-19 virus prevention guidelines.

Other news this week included a record number of new positives — 1,241 cases — reported Wednesday.

 

The seven-day average of new cases has increased to 779, as of Thursday. The seven-day average for the percentage of persons who tested positive was 27.3%, up from 25.1% one week earlier.

The seven-day average for the percentage of total tests that were positive was 10.4% as of Thursday, up from 9.1% the week before.

On Friday, 451 individuals were hospitalized, up 39 as of last Thursday, and 59 of those are critically ill.

A total of 957 Delawareans have died from the virus, with an additional 31 reported since last week.

As of midnight Thursday, 21,814 administered doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been reported to the state’s immunization information system, DelVAX.

Delaware’s latest COVID-19 vaccination statistics can be found under the Vaccine Tracker dashboard at de.gov/healthycommunity. Additional information about COVID-19 vaccine rollout is available at de.gov/covidvaccine. Questions  can be directed to the Vaccine Call Center at 1-833-643-1715.

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