Philly Health Officials Urge Indoor Masking As COVID Cases Rise

PHILADELPHIA — Health officials in Philadelphia are urging mask usage when indoors are coronavirus cases rise.

“Once again, we are seeing the number of COVID-19 cases rise in Philadelphia,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole. “I still strongly encourage people to wear masks while in indoor public spaces to help stop the spread.”

Data provided Monday shows 9.4 percent of COVID-19 tests in Philadelphia have come back positive in the past two weeks.

Additionally, Philadelphia is averaging 261 new cases of COVID-19 per day over the last two weeks.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, 78 people are being treated for coronavirus in Philadelphia hospitals. Nine of those are in intensive care units and six are on ventilators.

Thus far during the pandemic, 282,567 Philadelphians have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and 5,036 have succumbed to the virus.

The total number of fully vaccinated Philadelphians is at least 1,062,624, and the number of Philadelphians with at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine is at least 1,281,221.

Currently, 77.2 percent of Philadelphia adults are fully vaccinated, and 95 percent of Philadelphia adults have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. 29.1 percent of 5-to-11-year-olds in Philadelphia have received at least one vaccine dose. Among eligible Philadelphians ages 12 and older, 76.4 percent are fully vaccinated, and 93.9 percent have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

The Health Department recommends that everyone take the following steps to make sure that their prom, wedding, or graduation event can be as safe as possible.

With infection levels rising, you should assume that a crowded indoor space will include people who are infectious with COVID-19.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go, but it does mean that you should take common sense precautions before, during, and after the event:

Before:

• Test before you attend big events to help lower risk for everyone.
• If you’ve been exposed to COVID-19, remember that even if you are vaccinated and boosted, you could still pass the virus to others (although the chance is lower). If you choose to attend an event after a COVID exposure, make sure you keep your mask on and think about remote options to help protect others.

During:

• Outside events are much safer than inside events.
• Consider your own risk level and that of those you will potentially expose after the event. Wearing a high quality mask or double masking lowers your risk even if others are not masked, but only if you keep your mask on.
• If the event has food, eat outside if possible. And minimize the amount of time your mask is off if eating or drinking inside.

After:

• If you’ve recently attended a large indoor event without wearing a mask consistently, test 3-5 days later and avoid seeing people who are at higher risk until you have tested negative.
• If you test positive for COVID-19, contact your healthcare provider to see if you can get treated. Medications like Paxlovid can reduce hospitalizations due to COVID-19 by up to 90 percent.

“Philadelphians have it in their power to take action and help keep themselves and others safe, as we have done before,” Bettigole said. “For people who do test positive for COVID-19, talk to your health care provider as soon as possible for information on treatments like Paxlovid, which can reduce hospitalizations due to COVID-19 by up to 90 percent. I also want to remind people that, as we move into prom, wedding, and graduation season, that the risk of exposure to COVID-19 goes up as you’re around more people. You should assume that, at these big events, someone there will have COVID-19 and take precautions to avoid infecting people who are vulnerable.”