As COVID-19 cases rise, Philadelphia has become the first major city to reinstate its indoor mask ordinance.
On Monday, the city announced that they would require residents to wear their masks while inside buildings a month after dropping the mandate. The move comes as the BA.2 Omicron subvariant has sparked a sharp increase in hospitalizations and deaths across the region. It has become the dominant strain in the U.S.
Philly sees a daily average of 142 new cases, which is nearly 50 percent higher than ten days earlier. Still reeling from 750 deaths in the city during the winter surge, Philadelphia hopes that reinstating the mask mandate will curb new infections.
“We can still go about our daily lives and visit the people and places we love while masking in indoor public spaces. I’m optimistic that this step will help us control the case rate,” stated Mayor Jim Kenney.
Philadelphia Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole says she suspects the next wave of infections will be smaller but is not taking any chances.
It remains unclear how long the mandate will stay in place, but Bettigole did confirm that lifting restrictions will be based on hospitalization data.
The mask mandate goes into effect on April 18th.
