The Division of Public Health announced that no Delawarean died of Covid-19 on Sunday, marking the first time since early April that there have been no fatalities related to the illness in a 24-hour period. Total hospitalizations and positive testing rates have been trending downward for several weeks, though public health officials warn the virus is not yet beaten and social distancing measures are still critical.
A recently published study by critics of internet-based voting found vulnerabilities in the OmniBallot system Delaware and several other states have put in place to enable people with disabilities and others to cast ballots online. The study’s authors say hackers could exploit the weakness to tamper with vote counts or steal voter information. This finding comes as some states seek to implement alternatives to in-person voting, such as vote-by-mail.
State Senator Nicole Poore writes that the U.S. Congress must include universal access to broadband internet in its next Covid-19 stimulus package. She says broadband is critical to enable children to receive an education and for people to access telehealth services. In particular, she cites recent reporting indicating that a lack of internet access is causing students with disabilities, students of color and students from low-income households to fall behind their peers in academic progress.
A study from University of California, San Francisco finds that three major tests used to diagnose autism are as effective at recognizing traits like repetitive behavior and social difficulty in girls as they are in boys. Researchers had speculated that one cause of the 4:1 ratio of autism in boys to autism in girls might be that the diagnostic tests were not as effective at spotting autism-linked traits in girls.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers have called on the U.S. Health Department to distribute money from an emergency fund to health care providers that rely on Medicaid, such as agencies that support people with developmental disabilities. A majority of coronavirus relief spending has, to date, gone to Medicare facilities that primarily serve the elderly population.
