Delaware announces first 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.

“While each life lost as a result of this virus is tragic, the loss of a child is felt across our entire community,” said Dr. Karyl Rattay, director of the Delaware Division of Public Health. “We 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.

Betsy Price is a Wilmington freelance writer who has 40 years of experience, including 15 at The News Journal in Delaware.