Philly Alters Indoor Mask Mandate

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia's indoor mask mandate has been dropped.

The Philadelphia Health Department Wednesday said coronavirus metrics have dropped enough that the city has moved into the "all clear" tier of the recently rolled out coronavirus response system.

"The metrics that we’re following have reached the level where the Health Department feels it is safe to stop enforcing the indoor mask mandate," the department's website says. "However, it’s important to remember that the pandemic is not 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."

Despite being in the "all clear" tier, masks are still required in certain settings, such as like schools (including public, private, Archdiocesan, charter, and early childhood education), healthcare settings, and public transit.

The health department is watching data and if the data trends positively, masking in schools is expected to end on March 9. After that, there will be a one-week mask requirement after spring break to avoid a post break surge in cases.

City buildings will require masks until Monday, after which masks will be optional for visitors and fully vaccinated staff. Unvaccinated staff are still required to wear two masks while indoors and around others.

Businesses and other institutions can impose stricter guidelines than the city, and some may require masking or proof of vaccination.

The health department Wednesday said in the last two weeks, 1.7 percent of tests in Philadelphia have come back positive.

As of Monday, 274,707 Philadelphians have been diagnosed with the virus, and 4,765 have succumbed to it. Philadelphia is averaging 88 new cases per day over the last two weeks.

The total number of fully vaccinated Philadelphians is at least 1,010,996, and the number of Philadelphians with at least one dose is at least 1,220,558. 81.4 percent of Philadelphia adults are fully vaccinated, and more than 95 percent of Philadelphia adults have received at least one dose, as of Monday.

Officials said 156 patients with coronavirus are being treated in Philadelphia hospitals.