Delaware Division of Public Health launches new school dashboard
WILMINGTON, Del. – In a letter to school leaders, educators and parents on Tuesday, Governor John Carney, the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) and the Delaware Department of Education (DOE) urged Delaware schools to return to hybrid instruction – a mix of remote and in-person learning – on Monday, January 11. Governor Carney signed Tuesday’s letter with Dr. Karyl Rattay, the Director of Public Health, and Dr. Susan Bunting, the Secretary of Education. The letter urges schools to return to full hybrid instruction on Monday and to prioritize younger and more vulnerable students for in-person learning if operational challenges continue.
Read the full letter to school leaders, educators, and parents.
“As we have said many times, we do not believe there is a public health reason to close schools,” said Governor Carney, Dr. Rattay and Secretary Bunting, in Tuesday’s letter. “We have spent the past four weeks helping schools try to address the operational challenges they are experiencing. And we can all agree that students learn best when they’re in school. For all of these reasons, we are recommending that districts and schools make every effort to return to hybrid learning on January 11.”
Also on Tuesday, the Delaware Division of Public Health launched a new, schools-focused COVID-19 dashboard. The dashboard will track the number of contagious cases among staff and students of Delaware schools, and offer a more detailed picture of COVID-19 infection in school buildings.
“It’s a testament to the hard work of students, educators and staff that the number of COVID-positive students and staff is so low,” said Governor Carney, Dr. Rattay, and Secretary Bunting. “Moreover, data from our epidemiologists shows that the vast majority of cases affecting students and staff originated outside of the school building. The few cases thought to result from in-school spread are frequently observed to be in settings where mask-wearing was not consistently practiced.”
Read the full letter to school leaders, educators, and parents.
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