Delaware Code Title 20 Sec. 3131 – Findings
The State finds as follows:
(1) Government must do more to protect the health, safety and general well-being of the general public.
(2) New and emerging dangers, including emergent and resurgent infectious diseases and incidents of civilian mass casualties, pose serious and immediate threats.
(3) A renewed focus on the prevention, detection, management and containment of public health emergencies is called for.
(4) Emergency health threats, including those caused by bioterrorism and epidemics, require the exercise of extraordinary government functions.
(5) Delaware must have the ability to respond, rapidly and effectively, to potential or actual public health emergencies.
(6) The exercise of emergency health powers must promote the common good.
(7) Emergency health powers must be grounded in a thorough scientific understanding of public health threats and disease transmission.
(8) The rights of people to liberty, bodily integrity and privacy must be respected to the fullest extent possible consistent with the overriding importance of the public’s health and security.
(9) Guided by principles of justice, it is the duty of this State to act with fairness and tolerance towards individuals and groups.
(10) This subchapter is necessary to protect the health and safety of the citizens of this State.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 20 Sec. 3131
- Emergency: means any situation which requires efforts and capabilities to save lives or to protect property, public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster in Delaware. See Delaware Code Title 20 Sec. 3102
- State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302