Second Coronavirus Wave Delays Philly Indoor Dining Another Month

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia's top doctor Tuesday said the second wave of the coronavirus has hit Philadelphia and has pushed back allowing indoor dining yet again.

Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said after a few weeks of declining coronavirus cases in late May and June, daily case counts indicate the city is now in the second wave of the pandemic.

Luckily, Farley said cases counts are not rising nearly as fast as first wave in March.

With a second wave in the city, officials said indoor dining is now planned to resume Sept. 1. Indoor dining was planned to resume Aug. 1.

One hundred forty-two new cases were identified Tuesday, bringing the city's total to 29,945 since the beginning of the pandemic. No new deaths were identified Tuesday, leaving the total death toll in Philadelphia at 1,678. Of those deaths, 855, or 51 percent, have been nursing residents.

Farley said new daily cases averaged 111 three weeks ago, and 141 two weeks ago. Last week, he said daily cases averaged 164. Farley said lags in reporting tests results will likely make that 164 average go up.

The city's positive case rate is at 5.1 percent. The positivity rate has hovered between 5 and 6 percent over recent weeks.

Increased daily case counts are tied partly to ramped up testing. Last week, roughly 3,100 tests were administered daily, up from about 2,100 the week prior.

Farley said increased cases are still among younger people. Of Tuesday's cases, 36 percent were under 30 and 51 were under 40.

While daily cases are going up, hospitalizations of people with the virus are not increasing, but officials are watching hospital admissions. However, Farley said emergency departments are seeing a small increase in number of people with fever or cough.

Farley provided figures on data gathered via contact tracing residents who test positive.

Twenty-seven percent of cases traveled out of state when they might have been infected, with New Jersey beaches being the most common place residents traveled. Fifteen percent traveled to other Pennsylvania counties.

Forty-eight percent knew they were exposed to someone with the infection. Of that 48 percent, 36 percent said it was a household member they were exposed to; 18 percent it was someone they visited or someone who came to their house, typically a relative; 14 percent said they were exposed at a social event with relatives and friends; 12 percent said workplace exposure.

The city's health department is recommending resident avoid travel to nearly half of the country. Anyone who travels to any of the 25 states below should self isolate for 14 days:

• Maryland
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Georgia
• Florida
• Alabama
• Kentucky
• Tennessee
• Mississippi
• Wisconsin
• Iowa
• Missouri
• Arkansas
• Louisiana
• North Dakota
• Nebraska
• Kansas
• Oklahoma
• Texas
• New Mexico
• Idaho
• Utah
• Arizona
• Nevada
• California