Brookland Terrace Civic Club: July 2020

A Message from the Delaware House

During this Coronavirus outbreak the news changes rapidly. We have set up a comprehensive online portal for any links, news or resources relating to Delaware's Coronavirus response you might need - including state agencies, unemployment information, schools, businesses, and nonprofits. It will be updated daily to make sure it is accurate.

Click the button below to visit this page.

Comprehensive Coronavirus Links, News & Resources

Read on below this message for additional updates.

We are keeping you in our thoughts and hope that you and your family stay safe and healthy.

Sincerely,

The Delaware House Democratic Caucus

Rep. Paul Baumbach, Rep. Andria Bennett, Rep. David Bentz, Rep. Stephanie T. Bolden, Rep. Gerald Brady, Rep. Bill Bush, Rep. William Carson, Rep. Nnamdi Chukwuocha, Rep. Franklin Cooke, Rep. Sherry Dorsey Walker, Rep. Krista Griffith, Rep. Debra Heffernan, Rep. Earl Jaques, Rep. Kendra Johnson, Rep. Quinn Johnson, Rep. John Kowalko, Rep. Valerie Longhurst, Rep. Sean Lynn, Rep. Sean Matthews, Rep. Melissa Minor-Brown, Rep. Larry Mitchell, Rep. Ed Osienski, Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, Rep. Raymond Seigfried, Rep. John Viola, and Rep. Kim Williams.

Officials Announce Joint Effort on Foreclosure and Eviction Prevention

Governor John Carney, Attorney General Kathy Jennings, Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) Director Anas Ben Addi and Justice of the Peace Court Chief Magistrate Alan Davis announced a joint effort on foreclosure and eviction prevention to support Delaware homeowners and renters financially impacted by the COVID-19 shutdown.

Governor Carney’s latest modification includes several consumer protections for Delawareans and Delaware families. Effective at 8 a.m. on July 1, filings for foreclosures and evictions can resume, but will continue to be stayed to permit the Justice of the Peace Courts to determine whether the parties would benefit from a court-supervised mediation or alternative dispute resolution.

That process may include identifying access to housing support services through the Delaware State Housing Authority. Local sheriffs and constables are directed to refrain from removing individuals from residential properties unless a Delaware court determines that enforcement is necessary in the interest of justice. In addition, utility companies must offer four-month payment plans to those affected by COVID-19 who were unable to pay utility bills during the height of the pandemic, and insurance companies must offer 90-day repayment plans for those affected by COVID-19 who failed to make premium payments during the height of the pandemic.

DSHA and the Department of Justice will partner on a comprehensive plan to educate Delaware homeowners and renters on the foreclosure and eviction process and provide integrated services, including financial assistance, to prevent Delaware residents from losing their homes due to a COVID-19-related job loss, loss of income or illness. In addition to at least $15 million in initial federal funding for direct housing assistance, DSHA is committing $250,000 and the Department of Justice is committing $100,000 for public awareness efforts and support to advocacy organizations.

The joint effort on foreclosure prevention will include three key focus areas:

Launching a multifaceted educational campaign targeting Delaware homeowners at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure due to financial difficulty as a result of the COVID-19 crisis;
Supporting an increase in capacity for the state’s HUD-approved housing counseling nonprofit agencies to provide guidance and assistance to homeowners and additional mediation capacity in the Automatic Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program; and
Providing timely financial assistance tools including a new program designed to provide emergency mortgage relief for homeowners at risk of foreclosure due to a COVID-19 job loss or loss of income.

DSHA and the Department of Justice are working closely with several HUD-approved housing counseling agencies throughout the state, including NCALL, to support increased capacity within those agencies.

The joint effort on eviction prevention will include the below key focus areas:

Launching a multifaceted educational campaign targeting Delaware renters at risk of eviction due to financial difficulty as a result of the COVID-19 crisis;
Providing funding to the state’s legal aid organizations who offer legal services for unrepresented tenants facing eviction;
An Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program created and managed by the Justice of the Peace Court that will encourage property owners and tenants to work together on possible solutions to avoid eviction; and
Reopening applications for the Delaware Housing Assistance Program (DE HAP) which provides rental assistance for Delawareans struggling to pay rent due to a pandemic-related job loss or illness. Income eligibility and application information for DE HAP will be available on DSHA’s website.

Support for the state’s legal aid organizations will be made available under funding provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. With the funding, organizations like Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. (CLASI) can provide tenants legal representation so they can avoid displacement and homelessness.

DPH Updates COVID-19 Cases, Deaths, Recoveries

The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is announcing 36 additional positive cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Delaware as of 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 30, 2020. No new deaths were reported on Tuesday. In addition, 68 individuals are currently hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Delaware, 13 of which are critically ill.

A total of 509 Delawareans have passed away due to complications from COVID-19. Individuals who have died from COVID-19 ranged in age from 21 to 104 years old. Of those who have died, 269 were females and 240 were males. A total of 243 individuals were from New Castle County, 90 were from Kent County, and 176 were from Sussex County.

To protect personal health information, DPH will not confirm specific information about any individual case, even if other persons or entities disclose it independently.

The latest Delaware COVID-19 case statistics* cumulatively since March 11, provided as of 6 p.m., Tuesday, June 30, include:

• 11,510 total positive cases

• New Castle County cases: 5,079

• Kent County cases: 1,699

• Sussex County cases: 4,690

• Unknown County: 42

• Females: 6,362; Males: 5,129; Unknown: 19

• Age range: 0 to 104

• Currently hospitalized: 68; Critically ill:13 (This data represents individuals currently hospitalized in a Delaware hospital regardless of residence, and is not cumulative.)

• Delawareans recovered: 6,676

• 99,874 negative cases**

*Data are provisional and subject to change.

**Data on negative cases are preliminary, based on negative results reported to DPH by state and commercial laboratories performing analysis.

Delaware is considering patients fully recovered seven days after the resolution of their symptoms. Three days after symptoms resolve, patients are no longer required to self-isolate at home; however, they must continue to practice strict social distancing for the remaining four days before returning to their normal daily routine.

Additional demographic data on COVID-19 cases and deaths, including race/ethnicity, more age-specific data and rates information by ZIP code, can be found on the Division of Public Health’s My Healthy Community data portal.

Information about testing events, including community testing sites and free-standing sites operated by the health care systems and hospitals, will be listed on the testing section of the Delaware coronavirus website at: https://coronavirus.delaware.gov/testing/. Please note for saliva-based testing events that while long-term care facilities are listed on the Curative registration site, they are not community-based testing sites. The long-term care facility registrations are not open to the public nor to family members of long-term care residents.

If you are sick with any of the following symptoms, stay home: fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, muscle aches, fatigue, chills, shaking with chills, loss of smell or taste. Other symptoms such as headache or digestive symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain or lack of appetite) have been identified as potential symptoms related to COVID-19 and may prompt further screening, action or investigation. If you are sick and need essential supplies, ask someone else to go to the grocery store or the pharmacy to get what you need.

The Delaware Campaign to End Debtors’ Prisons and the ACLU Delaware Coalition for Smart Justice understand there are questions regarding the current Delaware Court moratorium on active collection of fines and fees.

Even though the Courts are re-opening and there have been some erroneous Court notices sent, the April 8th Court policy statement (https://courts.delaware.gov/aoc/docs/emergency-fee-fine-policy.pdf) still stands.

We expect active collections to remain on hold for the foreseeable future and we further expect significant notice to be given before consequences for failure to pay begin again.

Please distribute/post the attached updated graphic to help us get this important message out to those impacted.