SPONSOR:

Rep. Baumbach & Rep. Schwartzkopf & Rep. Longhurst & Rep. Mitchell & Sen. S. McBride & Sen. Sokola & Sen. Townsend & Sen. Lockman & Sen. Brown

Reps. Freel, Griffith, K. Johnson, Osienski; Sens. Hansen, Paradee, Walsh

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

151st GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 7

DIRECTING THE STATE TO CONDUCT PANDEMIC AFTER- ACTION REVIEWS AND CONTINUE COVID-19 PANDEMIC MITIGATION EFFORTS.

WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to surge across the nation, evolving into a series of different variants, including delta and omicron, and caused over 79 million infections and more than 977,000 deaths nationwide in the two years since it was first identified; and

WHEREAS, Delaware has recorded nearly 260,000 COVID-19 cases and over 2,800 deaths from this pandemic; and

WHEREAS, schools, businesses, and daily lives have been disrupted as a result of the pandemic; and

WHEREAS, the state has provided more than 3 million COVID-19 tests, administered over 1.7 million vaccinations and connected Delawareans with critical food, housing and healthcare supports; and

WHEREAS, the State has been successful in restarting its economy, while also lowering unemployment to 4.6% from a pandemic high of 14%; and

WHEREAS, the federal government, through the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act, has allocated billions of dollars to Delaware to assist in the state’s COVID-19 mitigation efforts and economic recovery; and

WHEREAS, maximizing the impact of federal pandemic relief funding and engaging in long-term mitigation efforts remains crucial.

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives and the Senate of the 151 st General Assembly of the State of Delaware, with the approval of the Governor, that the following measures be established to ensure the State’s continued attention and review of the mitigation efforts of the COVID-19 pandemic:

(1) The Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) and the Division of Public Health (DPH) will conduct After Action Reviews to assess the State’s pandemic response and prepare for future crises.

(2) The General Assembly and the Governor will work cooperatively to identify targeted legislative initiatives to address issues created or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, including workforce shortages in critical industries such as health care, long-term care, childcare, as well as among state employees; the affordable housing shortage; learning loss; increases in violent crime; and unemployment insurance capacity.

(3) The Governor and the General Assembly will work cooperatively to ensure adequate financial resources are available to combat future surges of COVID-19.

(4) DEMA and DPH will continue to prepare for future COVID-19 surges by maintaining the ability to scale up personnel and supplies as needed to deliver tests and vaccines.

(5) The After-Action Reviews, and cooperation between executive and legislative branches of the State of Delaware, will be used to inform future responses to statewide emergencies and crises.

SYNOPSIS

The Joint Resolution directs the Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) and Division of Public Health (DPH) to conduct After Action Reviews to assess the State’s pandemic response. DEMA and DPH are also maintaining the ability to increase personnel and supplies as needed in response to future surges of COVID-19. Additionally, the Joint Resolution directs the Legislative and Executive branches to work together on initiatives to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.