By Tim Mastro

DOVER — Friday marks the first day Delaware is following new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, removing masks and social distancing requirements for fully vaccinated individuals.

Capacity in indoor venues will increase to 100% today as well. The new COVID-19 guidelines go into effect at 8 a.m.

“It’s good news and the bottom line is we need to lean into getting everybody vaccinated,” said Gov. John Carney. “If we get everyone vaccinated, it’s not a problem, so everybody can have the protection.”

Unvaccinated and partially vaccinated Delawareans should continue to wear masks to reduce their risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19, according to state officials. But the state does not have a real way to enforce this.

“There are challenges with mostly enforcement because you don’t know who is vaccinated and who is not,” Gov. Carney said. “We’re not going to be in the business of asking for so-called vaccine passports to know who is vaccinated and who is not.”

There are some venues which do still require masks.

Mask should be worn on public transit, planes, in schools, health care facilities and congregate settings like prisons and homeless shelters. State-owned buildings and facilities such as Division of Motor Vehicles facilities, Delaware State Service Centers and the Carvel State Office Building also still require masks.

Business can also choose to put their own masks mandates in place. Fully vaccinated individuals are welcome to continue wearing their masks in public if they would like to.

Events over 250 people indoors and outdoors still require plan approval from the Delaware Division of Public Health to ensure compliance with basic precautions to prevent spread of COVID-19.

As the state fully reopens, COVID-19 case rates are continuing to drop.

Delaware is averaging 114.6 new positive cases of the virus per day over the last week — the lowest number since Sept. 28, 2020. The seven-day rolling average for new positive cases has declined every single day for a month. It was at 373 new cases per day on April 18.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are at their second-lowest level of 2021 at 74 in the DPH’s most recent report. The lowest was the day prior when they were at 73.

The seven-day rolling average for percentage of positive tests is down to 3.7% which is below the World Health Organization’s recommended mark of 5%.

“We’re in a good place,” Gov. Carney said. “Things are getting better everyday.”

Delaware has administered at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccines to 57.1% of Delawareans 16 years old or older. It has given out a total of 856,672 doses of vaccine as of Wednesday at 11:59 p.m.

A total of 396,756 persons have been fully vaccinated in Delaware, including 357,652 Delawareans. An additional 100,454, 90,507 of which are Delawareans, have been partially vaccinated and are awaiting their second dose of a two-dose vaccine series. Non-residents can be vaccinated in the state provided they either work in Delaware or receive their healthcare here.

A full list of vaccination sites is available here.