By Tim Mastro

DOVER —Delaware kept up its streak of declining COVID-19 hospitalizations, marking eight consecutive days the state has set a 2021 low.

The number of individuals hospitalized with the virus is down to 95, a decrease of four compared to the day prior and the lowest number since Oct. 30. Of those currently hospitalized, 28 cases are considered critical, according to data from the Delaware Division of Public Health as of Tuesday at 6 p.m.

After peaking at 474 on Jan. 12, hospitalizations have decreased by 379 over the last two months.

Percent-positive numbers and case rates have also dropped during this time frame.

Delaware’s seven-day rolling average for percentage of positive tests is down to 4.1% — the lowest it has been since Nov. 6. That figure was as high as 10.4% in the beginning of January.

The data for percentage of positive tests reflects data as of Sunday at 6 p.m. due to a two-day lag to account for the time delay between the date of the test and the date the DPH receives the test result.

The DPH reported 205 new positive cases of the virus to bring the total to 88,891 since March 11, 2020. It dropped the seven-day rolling average for new positive daily cases to 207.9 cases per day. The last time the average of new daily cases was below 210 per day was Nov. 7.

Ten COVID-19-related deaths were announced by the DPH on Wednesday, including eight from a review of Vital Statistics records from January and February. Two of the 10 newly reported deaths did not have underlying health conditions, the DPH said.

One was a resident of a long-term care facility as 713 of Delaware’s 1,492 COVID-19-related deaths have been among long-term care center residents (47.8%). The 10 individuals ranged in age from 53 to 82 years old.

Five were New Castle County residents, four were from Sussex County and one was a Kent County resident. New Castle County has recorded the most COVID-19-related deaths with 737, followed by Sussex County’s 737 and Kent County’s 309.

The DPH’s vaccine tracker is reporting 286,933 doses administered, using information in the state’s immunization information system DelVAX as of Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. Delaware has received 309,260 doses of vaccine directly plus an additional 63,925 delivered via the Federal Pharmacy Program for a total of 373,185.