Philadelphia’s Health Department announced Wednesday it would lift the city’s indoor mask mandate, citing a decline in COVID-19 cases.
Referencing a new COVID-19 response system using pandemic metrics, local officials announced cases had dropped enough to move the city to an “All Clear COVID Response Level,” according to a statement.
<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1646242088917,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000179-379a-dbb2-a7fd-bfda8bfc0000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1646242088917,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000179-379a-dbb2-a7fd-bfda8bfc0000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_46150082", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"964148"} }); ","_id":"0000017f-4b92-d4fe-a7ff-dfda18030000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video Embed
The “Health Department published new COVID Response Levels that use pandemic metrics, like the number of people testing positive every day and how many people are in the hospital with COVID, for example, to help know when the City’s public mandates would be enforced,” the statement read.
WATCH: KAMALA HARRIS STRUGGLES TO DEFEND ADMINISTRATION ON MORNING SHOWS
While the metrics represent an environment that is safe to go maskless indoors, the city noted the pandemic is far from over.
“If a new COVID variant were to come to Philadelphia or cases started to rise again, we may need to move to the Mask Precautions Level or higher and start enforcing the public mandates again,” according to the statement.
Along with this sentiment, authorities in Philadelphia said higher-risk settings — including schools, healthcare facilities, and public transit — will continue to mandate masks.
“For schools, we will continue to watch and evaluate the data. If it continues to move in the right direction, we plan to end mandatory masking in schools on March 9. Then, we will have a 1-week mask requirement after spring break to avoid a post-break surge in cases,” they said.
“City buildings will require masks until Monday, March 7, 2022,” they continued. “Institutions are allowed to be more strict than the City’s COVID Response Levels, so some businesses may require proof of vaccination or that everyone wears a mask.”
The statement concluded with guidance to residents who plan to remain masking.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“There’s nothing wrong with this and these people do not deserve harassment,” it read. “Some may have a family member that is at high-risk, some may be sick and are actually protecting you, and some may just want to be safe. All of those, and more, are valid reasons to keep wearing masks.”
