Philly May Pause Reopening As Cases Rise Again

PHILADELPHIA — A second wave of the coronavirus is coming to Philadelphia, when and how hard it will hit is unclear, health officials said Friday. With that in mind, the "green" phase activities may not resume on July 3, according to officials.

Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said daily case counts are going back up after declining in the recent weeks.

Friday, he announced 143 cases, bringing the city's total to 25,693. No new deaths were reported Friday, leaving the overall death toll at 1,579.

"The first wave ending and a second wave is beginning," he said. "We all need to be concerned. And to minimize our health risks in this new wave, everyone needs to take safety guidelines seriously, especially the wearing of masks."

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Community spread cases of the virus are no longer decreasing, according to Farley.

Case counts in the last week averaged more than 100 per day, which is an increase from what was reported previously.

Farley said more tests are being administered, but that fact does not account for more cases.

He said the percent of positive tests is between 5 and 6 percent. Last week, the rate was less than 5 percent, he said.

It's unclear which demographics are seeing increased cases, but Farley confirmed a spike in teens age 16 to 19, likely due to social events. He said that follows a trend seen nationally.

Nationwide, he said cases have increased by 50 percent over the last 14 days.

Cases are rising in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey he said, calling it another wave which will inevitably hit Philadelphia to some degree.

With more cases, Farley said activities planned to resume July 3 may not resume then due to target figures not being met.

To move to green, the city aims to have fewer than 80 new cases per day, or a less than 4 percent positive rate out of 2,000 tests of more. Farley said Friday that its very unlikely those targets will be met next week.

Permitting "green" phase activities, especially those both indoors and where mask use is not practical such as indoor dining, may be paused.

"Yellow" phase activities that were permitted to begin Friday — such as residential swim clubs and private pools, barbershops, beauty and nail salons — will go on as scheduled, he said.

Friday, the city issued a mandatory mask order that requires everyone to wear masks in indoor public spaces as well as outdoors when they are closer than 6 feet to others not part of the same household. Children under 8 are not included in the order.

The order will not be enforced by the city, but Farley said it's up to Philadelphia residents to enforce the order on themselves and encourage others to do so.

Farley said the city is now recommending residents avoid social gatherings and urging residents to avoid travel to high instance area, as well as other from high instance areas coming to Philadelphia to self-isolate for 14 days.