9 Coronavirus Cases In Philadelphia Now: Officials

PHILADELPHIA — There are now nine cases of the new coronavirus, known as COVID-19, in Philadelphia, officials said Monday.

Officials with the Philadelphia Department of Health Public health Monday said one new case was confirmed, bringing the total to nine cases in the city.

On Sunday, officials said there were eight cases.

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The new cases are:

• A man in his 30 who was exposed to international travelers not known to be ill;
• a man in 30s, no known contact but travels frequently and comes in contact with many people in the region;
• women in 60s, exposed to travelers who later became ill with COVID-19;
• a man in his 20s;
• and another man in his 20s who traveled to a heavily affected area.

All five are isolated at home.

There are also 104 people who are "medium risk to high contact to the known cases" who are being monitored at home.

Since Sunday, Philadelphia has gotten 88 test results back, all of which are negative, except for the new case announced Monday.

"We expect the cases to grow rapidly," Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said Sunday. "These new cases appear to be spread from people who had not yet developed symptoms. Because of that, and because of increased testing availability, we are now encouraging physicians to test more widely. And that will help with containment."

Officials said the ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people is still in place, and officials are still recommending no gatherings of 250 to 1,000 people.

"These are not easy decisions, and they are decisions that have a significant impact on the poorest big city in the United States," Managing Director Brian Abernathy said. "As we’re trying to manage this health care crisis, we are also trying to manage through deep poverty, and making sure we have appropriate services for our most vulnerable populations. We want to make sure they are protected as well."

Residents are encouraged to call the Greater Philadelphia Coronavirus Helpline at 1-800-722-7112. The Helpline — free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week — is staffed by trained healthcare providers and is for anyone in the Greater Philadelphia area, including the public and healthcare providers, to help answer questions about COVID-19.