Philly Considering More Restrictions As Coronavirus Surges

PHILADELPHIA — As Philadelphia records the highest daily coronavirus case count ever eight months to the day when the first case was diagnosed in the city, officials warned residents and businesses of potentially instating new restrictions to prevent the virus's spread.

Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley Tuesday reported 879 new cases of the virus, bringing the city's total case count since March 10 to 49,775. That figure is the highest daily case count yet.

Additionally, over the past week, Farley said the average daily case count was 515 per day, the highest average daily count ever recorded in the city.

While that figure is large in part due to increased testing — the city averaged about 5,500 tests per day last week — Farley said the percent positive is increasing.

The week ending Nov. 7 saw a 9.3 percent positivity rate, the highest since mid May. And as more test results come back, Farley said that figure will increase.

With cases surging, Farley said the city could instate new restrictions to help curb the spread.

No new restrictions were announced Tuesday, but Farley said residents and business should be prepared for more restrictions.

However, he said because much of the spread is now happening in homes, it's largely up to Philadelphians to stop the spread.

"Our success depends on what residents do on their own," he said.

Spread is occurring within households, when different households visit one another, at small gatherings, in office type work places, and restaurants.

Residents are urged to work from home if possible, avoid seeing people unless completely necessary, stay six feet apart when possible, wear a mask, and assume you and everyone else around you has the virus.

Additionally, he urged the public to celebrate the upcoming holidays with only those in their immediate households.

"The risk is increasing now," he said. The virus, he said, is following patterns like the flu: cases rise in the fall and peak in January and February.

He said the news of a Pfizer-made vaccine reaching more than 90 percent effectiveness was exciting for two reasons: having a vaccine and the idea that other vaccines will also work due to their expanded scope.

The first dose of the Pfizer vaccine may be administered at the end of December.

Farley said he hopes to be vaccinating residents in the first month of 2021, but he said it's unclear how well vaccine producers can scale up vaccine production to make it available for everyone.

He said it may take months to make it available across Philadelphia.

"The surge will happen before the vaccine arrives," he said.

Farley reported 12 new deaths, bringing the total deaths to 1,901. Since Oct. 15, the city has averaged about 15 deaths per week. Farley said he expects the death count to increase to a similar number of deaths from the initial wave in the spring.

Hospitalizations are still increasing and are doing so rapidly. As of Tuesday, 386 people are hospitalized in the city with coronavirus.

The lowest number of hospitalizations in Philadelphia was 90 in September. On Oct. 25, though, the number was 196, showing a doubling of hospitalizations since then. Farley said he's increasingly concerned that hospitals will be strained due to overwhelming coronavirus hospitalizations.