Skip to content
The COVID Project
  1. Library
  2. Delaware
  3. DE-031

Ex. DE-031 Order Primary source read

Twenty-Seventh Modification of the Declaration of a State of Emergency (the 'Omnibus Modification')

Twenty-Seventh Modification of the Declaration of a State of Emergency (consolidating all active COVID-19 restrictions into a single order: DEMA and DPH powers; beaches; child care; consumer protection; education; elections; face coverings; FOIA; insurance; long-term care; public health; State government; Phase Two Reopening; youth and amateur sports)

Governor John C. Carney · Delaware (State)

The COVID Project

The record

Jurisdiction
Delaware
Level
State
Authority
20 Del. C. ch. 31
Issued
2020-09-03 Sept. 3, 2020
Effective
2020-09-04 8:00 a.m. E.D.T. (approved Sept. 3, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.) (read as 2020-09-04)
End
Revised ten times (Sept. 25, Nov. 5, Nov. 20, Dec. 10, 2020; Jan. 8, Feb. 4, Feb. 19, Mar. 29, Apr. 1, Apr. 27, 2021); struck in its entirety by the Twenty-Eighth Modification effective May 21, 2021 8:00 a.m. (DE-037) (read as 2020-12-10)
In force
Sept. 4, 2020 to Dec. 10, 2020
Quarters
2020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q2
Limitation types
Capacity limitGathering capFace-covering requirementTravel and quarantineSchools and child careHealth care ordersAlcohol and barsEvents and venuesCourts and public officesWorkplace rulesOther
Addressees
  • all individuals
  • all businesses and indoor and outdoor spaces open to the public
  • beach towns
  • child care
  • schools
  • hosts of gatherings and events
  • long-term-care facilities and health-care providers
  • State agencies and employees
  • landlords, lenders, utilities, insurers
  • public bodies
Functions reached
  • SF/DR/SL/AM every business at 60 percent (gyms 30 percent)
  • MC/EV/MK conventions, festivals, weddings and events over 250 prohibited
  • BA bar service under reservation and seating rules
  • MASK every customer, employee and visitor
  • OF telework: 'should continue working from home'; State employees barred from out-of-state business travel
  • EC child care group sizes
  • IN/SCH school code
  • PM/SV/IN eviction, foreclosure, utility and insurance provisions
  • CT public bodies meeting electronically; FOIA deadlines
Collection
Delaware DE

Operative words

'do hereby order that the COVID-19 State of Emergency declaration, as modified by the First through Twenty-Sixth Modifications and extended on April 10, 2020, May 8, 2020, June 6, 2020, July 6, 2020, August 5, 2020, and September 3, 2020 are hereby stricken in their entirety and substituted with the following provisions, which shall become effective September 4, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. E.D.T.' § B: 'This Order and any emergency rules or regulations effected therefrom remain effective until the termination of the State of Emergency, except as may be rescinded, superseded, amended, or revised by additional orders.' § C.1: 'At a minimum, towns must: [limit beach capacity; Beach Ambassadors].' § H.3: businesses must 'Require customers and visitors to businesses, indoor or outdoor spaces open to the public to wear face coverings'; 'Provide face coverings for employees, contractors, and volunteers.' § M.1: 'EMPLOYEES. State employees shall refrain from any business travel out of state.' § N: 'maximum occupancy for a business means sixty percent (60%) of stated fire occupancy requirements'; Arts and Culture, Food and Drink Establishments, Retail Establishments, Malls, Personal Care Services, Casinos and Racetracks each capped at 60 percent; 'Exercise Facilities... shall not exceed thirty percent (30%)'; senior centers 30 percent; large gatherings over 250 'are hereby prohibited at all locations and venues' absent a DPH-approved plan; food and drink: 'Customers must have a reservation unless the establishment has a system for ensuring that customers without a reservation do not gather'; bar service seated with meals; 'Employers are encouraged to continue teleworking. Employees who have been working from home throughout this crisis should continue working from home unless there is a substantive change to business operations in Phase 2'; 'Prohibit employees who have been told they must be isolated or quarantined from on-premises work until isolation or quarantine status is discontinued by DPH'; 'The gathering or event must comply with all other applicable state, county and local laws for gatherings and events.' § P.2: 'This Order has the force and effect of law. Any failure to comply... may constitute a criminal offense. 20 Del. C. §§ 3115 (b); 3116 (9); 3122; 3125.'

Enforcement

§ P.2 force and effect of law; criminal offense under 20 Del. C. §§ 3115(b), 3116(9), 3122, 3125; § A.5 DPH inspection authority; sports schedules: 'Fines or closure may be imposed upon facilities'

Notes

The controlling Delaware instrument from Sept. 4, 2020 to May 21, 2021; 1.17 MB, 139,000 characters; § N reproduces the Phase 2 industry rules for arts, food and drink, retail, malls, personal care, exercise, realty (open houses), casinos, racetracks, driving schools and senior centers. Governor's copy is the live source (the Public Archives holds only the Tenth Revision).

Retrieval note

Read (recitals, contents, §§ B, C, D, H, M, N key paragraphs, P). Governor's release: news.delaware.gov/2020/09/03/governor-carney-issues-omnibus-executive-order-on-covid-19-restrictions/ (effective 8:00 a.m. Sept. 4, 2020). The recital misdates the Fourth and Fifth Modifications as Mar. 23, 2020.