By Tim Mastro

WILMINGTON — Delaware will reenter a State of Emergency beginning Monday, Gov. John Carney announced at a COVID-19 press briefing on Thursday.

Gov. Carney said this will allow the state to mobilize the National Guard to help hospitals and manage the current COVID-19 surge. Approximately 100 members of the Delaware National Guard are currently being trained to become certified nursing assistants.

Gov. Carney added the State of Emergency will not have a statewide mask mandate although the state will encourage businesses to require customers to mask up.

“Business leaders, we need to protect your workers and customers so we’re encouraging you to require masks,” Gov. Carney said. “We think you requiring a mask is a better way to get the objective. We understand that you know better than we do your operational needs. We’re two years into this and we expect business leaders to step up and do what has to be done.”

The state does currently require masks in schools if students are present, in state buildings, on public transportation, in hospitals, long-term care centers and other health facilities.

“We need private businesses to step up to the plate as well,” Gov. Carney said. “We need to get everybody recognizing that if you’re not wearing your mask in indoor public places, you’re putting yourself and others at risk.”

Gov. Carney and the Department of Health and Social Services also formally extended the Public Health Emergency order another 30 days Thursday. The extension allows the state and its medical providers to continue COVID-19 vaccination and testing programs.

Public Health Emergency declarations must be renewed every 30 days, according to Delaware law.

Gov. Carney said the state is focused on reducing the strain on hospitals this winter and getting even more Delawareans vaccinated.

Delaware is nearing its all-time high for COVID-19 hospitalizations as the Delaware Division of Public Health reported 458 hospitalized with the virus in Thursday’s update, which reflects data as of Wednesday at 6 p.m. The record is 474 hospitalizations set on Jan. 12.

Hospitals throughout the state reported record volume in their emergency departments this week. Gov. Carney said he hopes Delawareans can come together by wearing masks and receiving vaccinations or their booster dose, if they’re eligible, to prevent the situation from worsening.

“I think focusing on personal responsibility as part of the equation and putting a face on the healthcare workers that are so stressed after two years of this and just a message of, ‘Let’s be kind to the people who are treating us after two years,’ that’s the kind of public spirit we need to see from folks,” Gov. Carney said. “Coming out with a strong, ‘The government says do this’ kind of message, I’m not sure it will accomplish that. We’ve got to encourage people to come together around that public spirit so that those people who are not vaccinated, who resisted, give it another thought. Think about that it’s for somebody else. Think about the broader community.”

Delaware is averaging 1,193 new positive COVID-19 cases per day over the last week, including a record 1,991 new cases reported on Thursday.