COVID-19 Cases Skyrocket in Philadelphia – Here are the LATEST Guidelines

What’s the new Official Guideline

ADVERTISEMENT

On Monday afternoon, an official guideline came forward which expressed concern over the rising COVID cases. As a result, one of the major metropolitan cities, Philadelphia, will again start an indoor mask mandate. 

The Department of Public Health came up with this order. According to the guideline, this rule will be implemented from April 18, 2022. After that, Philadelphia will move to Level 2 and follow all the COVID restrictions. The city is now averaging 142 cases per day.

What did the Officials say?

Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole said that the precautions related to COVID would start from Monday, but they will provide a one-week education period for businesses. The mandate will begin on April 18, and masks will be compulsory in all indoor spaces.

So, from April 18, everyone will wear masks in all the indoor public spaces. It includes schools, child daycare, businesses, public eating places, and government offices.

Further, Dr. Cheryl Bettigole added that the previous wave had brought uncontrolled infections, hospitalization and deaths, so now is the right time to stop it. About 750 precious lives from Philadelphia succumbed to the latest Omicron wave. He added that now is our chance to act fast and get ahead of this virus. So, everyone must follow the updated guidelines until we assess the situation’s severity.

What is Level 2 COVID Emergency?

The city has met all the conditions for enforcing the level 2 mandate. Check out Philadelphia Public Health Tweet here. Level 2 comes into action when a city has:

• The average number of new cases is less than 225
• The number of hospitalized individuals is less than 100
• If there’s an increase of more than 50% in the past ten days. 

Under Level 2, you must wear a mask indoors in public places. However, there is no vaccine or testing requirement for businesses that serve food or drink under Level 2. Sadly, the city lifted all the COVID indoor mask mandates and moved to the All Clear Level 1 on March 2, 2022. So, after more than half a month, the city is entering Level 2.

Public’s Reaction to the Mandate

“This announcement is a major blow to thousands of small businesses and other operators in the city who were hoping this spring would be the start of recovery,” said Ben Fileccia, senior director of operations at the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association.

There was serious concern from all the businesses and other organizations as they considered it a loss for their profession. Many people expressed that they thought Spring would bring good business and happy times with it. Bettigole felt sorry and said it was to protect the people and our beloved neighbors. 

The Takeaways

You must follow the level 2 mandate if you’re in Philadelphia and mask up. Other states are also witnessing a gradual increase in the cases. So, the order is for the protection of citizens, and you must follow and fight through it!