Philly Extending Indoor Dining, Gathering Bans

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia officials announced the city's ban on indoor dining, gatherings, gym operations, and more has been extended through mid January.

During a news conference Tuesday, Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said the city has extended the ban on certain activities through Jan. 15.

"It's too risky to end the restrictions on Jan. 1 or Jan. 4," Farley said. The city's restrictions were initially planned to end on Jan. 1. The state's restrictions are set to expire on Jan. 4.

But Farley said due to the holiday season and evidence showing holidays cause spikes in coronavirus cases, officials in the city decided to extend the "Safer at Home" restrictions that went into effect in mid November.

Restrictions that are extended in the city include bans on indoor dining, indoor gatherings and events, theaters, casinos, in-person learning at colleges, and indoor organized sports.

You can see full details of the restrictions here.

Farley showed a graph that suggest the restrictions helped limit the rise of cases in November and helped speed of a decrease in cases seen in December.

Officials said these activities are considered higher risk because they take place indoors and involve many people, people spending long periods of time together, people not wearing masks, and/or they’ve had previous large outbreaks due to not following social distance guidelines.

According to Farley, the effect from Christmas gatherings are expected to be seen in the final days of December, and effect of New Year celebrations is expected to be seen by Jan. 5. Residents are urged to limit their holiday gatherings to their own households to prevent spreading the virus to others.

"We won't see the end of [holiday case spikes] until about Jan. 15," Farley said. "They may feed off each other."

However, that some restrictions could be lifted by Jan. 4 when the state lifts its restrictions.

If that does happen, Farley said lower risk businesses and activities will resume if cases do not rise as expected.

These include gyms, museums, outdoor sports, outdoor catered events, and in-person learning for high schools.

Masks must be worn for any indoor activities that resume Jan. 4. Additionally, density will be limited to fewer than five people per 1,000 square feet.

Regarding restaurants specifically, Farley said the city is working on a plan to help reduce the risk of spread in restaurants by assisting them meet a high standard of ventilation and help make sure restaurants are meeting those standards. Farley also said the city is hoping to provide funding to help restaurants meet the standards.

Regarding the latest coronavirus figures in the city, Farley reported 928 new cases — bringing the overall total to 86,723 cases — and 89 new deaths, bringing the death toll to 2,312. As for hospitalizations, 815 people are being treated for coronavirus in Philadelphia hospitals, with 138 on ventilators.

Farley said in the past week saw an average of 581 cases per day and an 8.1 percent positivity rate. Both figures are lower than the week before, which saw a daily average of 905 cases and 11.4 percent positivity rate. High case counts but clearly falling after thanksgiving spike.