WILMINGTON, Del. (KYW Newsradio) — Delaware has been very active lately trying to stop the spread of COVID-19.
The state this week announced additional restrictions which go into effect Monday. Hospitalizations reached an all-time high and earlier this month, Delaware issued a mask mandate and stay-at-home advisory.
If that isn't enough, demand for COVID-19 tests keep rising along with the case count throughout the state.
"We know it's going to be a busy time," said Delaware Emergency Management Agency Director AJ Schall. "We talked a few weeks ago about the (testing) spike we saw prior to Thanksgiving. We went from averaging 6,000-7,000 tests a day to a week where we did 13,000 then two concurrent days of 10,000."
Schall says the state took good notes during Thanksgiving week, and wants to carry that information over to get them through the rest of the holiday season.
"I think that there's a lot that we learned and the first thing is people want to get tested, so that's the win right there," he said.
"I think we learned we need to have longer hours so we want to make sure we have time for people to get tested after that five, six o'clock mark so they can tested in the early evening. Saturday testing is important."
But Schall says it's not just about giving out more tests. DEMA also wants results delivered quicker.
"We are seeing a little bit longer lag in turnaround time," he noted, "but we will work with our partners to make sure we diversify as much as possible and get that down."
Schall says Delaware is also ramping up at-home testing.
