The city will move to the second level of Covid-19 restrictions, which requires Philadelphians to wear masks in all indoor public spaces, including schools, businesses, restaurants and government buildings. “As of today, I urge all businesses and institutions in Philadelphia to dig up these old signs required for the masks and start hanging them on your windows,” Bettigole told a news conference. Monday’s death toll is more than 50 percent higher than it was 10 days ago, Bettigole said, noting that the number of people being treated is still low. The city now has an average of 142 cases per day. “By wearing masks consistently, we can continue to do our daily life and continue to participate in the life of our city without contributing to the increased transmission of Covid-19,” Bettigole said. Last week, city health officials announced that they were considering issuing a mask and advised people to start wearing masks indoors, even though the city was at the “Level 1: Clean” level. To stay at Level 1, Covid-19 city metrics must meet two or more requirements: new daily cases must remain below 100 new daily average cases, hospitalizations must be below 50, and cases must have ‘increased by less than 50% in the previous 10 days’. The city has now exceeded Level 1 requirements, although Bettigole believes that cover-up precautions could prevent cases from rising to previous levels. “I suspect this wave will be smaller than what we saw in January,” he said. “But if we wait to find out and put on our masks again, we will have missed the opportunity to stop the tide.” On March 2, the city moved to the lowest level “All Clear”, which rejected the order for an indoor mask. At the time, major cities and states in the United States were abandoning their mandates.
Many countries are seeing an increase in cases
Nationwide, cases are on the rise in more than half of the states, although incidence rates are still relatively low. With an average of about 34,000 new cases a day, the daily incidence rate in the US remains one of the lowest since mid-July. The numbers of Covid-19 cases are expected to increase and decrease during the pandemic, said White House Covid-19 Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha on CNN’s New Day Monday and said the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the steps to take is in the right place. “As for what we need to do about it, we really want to be guided by the CDC on it,” Jha said. “The CDC’s policy is right on this and I have been following this for months, and this is what we have to do.” According to the CDC, the Covid-19 community level for Philadelphia County – where Philadelphia City is located – is low. In such communities, the CDC urges people to stay informed about Covid-19 vaccinations and get tested for Covid-19 symptoms, but does not recommend wearing masks. Jha also said the CDC will share a scientific framework this week for the federal transfer mask mandate, which expires on April 18. The federal mandate requires masks on public transportation such as planes, trains, buses and junctions such as airports and bus terminals. On NBC’s Today Show on Monday, Jha said the extension of the federal transfer mask mandate is “absolutely on the table”, adding that the CDC will make a decision based on the scientific framework it creates. CNN’s Raja Razek, Naomi Thomas and Amanda Watt contributed to this report.
