Philadelphia is “probably several months away” from dropping its mask mandate as coronavirus continues to circulate, Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole said Wednesday.
While the number of infections continues to drop in recent weeks, case counts, driven by the more transmissible omicron variant, remain too high to get rid of current restrictions, Dr. Cheryl Bettigole said during the Philadelphia Department of Public Health’s weekly COVID-19 briefing.
As of Tuesday, the city was averaging 554 new cases of COVID-19 per day, Bettigole noted. That represents about a 50% drop since last week and a nearly 85% drop since the peak of the latest wave. In addition, 686 people who tested positive for the virus were hospitalized as of Tuesday, less than half of what the number of COIVD-19 hospitalizations was two weeks ago, she added.
“We are not at a point where we would drop the mask mandate. Eventually, absolutely. But not at this time,” Bettigole said., Philadelphia businesses that don’t require vaccinations for all employees and patrons must mandate mask use indoors. People are exempt from the mask requirement if they’re actively eating or drinking at a table of no more than four people.
. However, Philadelphia is not yet in a position to follow suit, Bettigole said, citing the effectiveness of masks in slowing the spread of the virus.
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