A sign asking for masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus is posted on a store in Philadelphia on February 16.
Matt Rourke / AP
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Matt Rourke / AP
A sign asking for masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus is posted on a store in Philadelphia on February 16.
Matt Rourke / AP
Starting April 18, Philadelphia will require people to wear masks in public places again after health officials reported an increase in COVID-19 cases.
COVID-19 cases had increased by more than 50% in the previous 10 days, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health officially announced Monday. On April 11, the department said the city averages 142 new cases per day.
“Our city remains open; we can still go about our daily lives and visit the people and places we love while wearing masks in indoor public spaces,” said Thi. Chief Jim Kenney said in a statement. “I’m optimistic that this step will help us control the incident rate.”
Under these rules, there are no vaccines or testing requirements for places that serve food or drinks. Must wear a mask in schools, daycare facilities, restaurants and government buildings. It is unclear when the mission will be lifted.
According to the city’s health commissioner, Dr. Cheryl Bettigole, the bump in COVID-19 cases could be a sign of a larger outbreak.
“This looks like we could be starting a new wave of COVID just like Europe has seen” Bettigole told Fox 29 in Philadelphia.
This year, Europe has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases thanks to strain BA.2 – the highly contagious sub-omicron bacteria of the coronavirus.
This secondary variation is also being blamed for the recent rise in infections in the US and elsewhere.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Biden, who recently has talked to All things Consideredindicates such a surge is to be expected.
“If our model follows the UK model, which we usually do and is usually about three to four weeks behind them, then they are having a significant increase in the number of cases,” said Fauci. case,” Fauci said. “We hope that if that happens, the level of background immunity that we have in the country… [means] we will not see an increase in severity in the sense that it coincides with a significant increase in hospitalizations. “
Recently, some famous politiciansincluding House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Attorney General Merrick Garland, reported testing positive for coronavirus after attending the elite Gridiron Club Dinner.
