PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Department of Public Health today announced 143 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 novel coronavirus in Philadelphia. That brings the number of confirmed cases to 25,693.

The Department of Public Health noted continued progress in congregate settings, including nursing homes and the Department of Prisons. Current and cumulative totals of both symptomatic and asymptomatic positive cases in Philadelphia prisons are now posted on the testing and data page of the City’s COVID-19 website.

The Department of Public Health confirmed no additional fatalities in Philadelphia. The number of residents who have succumbed to the virus in Philadelphia remains at 1,579. Of the 1,579 total deaths, 808 (51%) were long-term care facility residents.

“We are all eager to restart activities closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the situation nationally and locally is worrisome,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley. “Nationally, cases rose by more than 50 percent in the last 14 days, and in Philadelphia, both the number of daily cases and the percentage of positive results are rising slightly. It is possible that the targets we laid out for the Green Phase may not be met by next Friday. We will reconsider those Green Phase activities and discuss with businesses involved, while redoubling our efforts to encourage everyone to wear masks.”

Mandatory Mask Order: Today, Mayor Kenney will sign a Mandatory Mask Order, which requires masks to be worn in any indoor public spaces and outdoors if there is less than six feet between people from different households. There will be only a limited number of exceptions, including for children under 8-years-old. This order will not be enforced by the police. The goal is to send a clear message that mask usage cannot and should not be optional while cases continue to rise across the country.

“As we’ve said throughout this pandemic, taking simple steps like wearing a mask, washing your hands, and maintaining six feet of distance between yourself and others can save lives,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “This new Mandatory Mask Order is a signal to the public that we are serious about the need to follow critical public health guidance.”

Bill Signings: Mayor Kenney signed a series of bills recently passed by City Council, including the FY21 budget and measures related to COVID-19 response. Among the bills signed today was the Essential Workers Protection Act, which promotes public health by protecting workers from retaliation for speaking out about working conditions that violate mandatory state or City public health orders. The Mayor also signed Bill No. 200329, which allocates $40.4 million in federal CARES Act funding—allowing Planning & Development to address emergency COVID-19 housing and community development needs.

Regular Weekly Trash and Recycling Resume July 6: Effective Monday, July 6, the Streets Department will resume collecting recycling every week along with trash. Regular trash and recycling collections will continue on or as close to its normal schedule as possible. Residents should not set out their recycling materials the week of June 29 as the every-other-week collection schedule continues until July 6.

Summer of Census Plan and Philly Counts Milestone: The Philly Counts team is focused on promoting census participation through their Summer of Census plan, which includes actions such as yard sign and door hanger distribution, phone banking, spreading the word using social media, promoting census completion at various points of service, and digital census events. The goal is to reactivate Philly Counts’ network of community partners and Census Champions to assist the team in executing this plan. If members of the public are interested in getting involved in Philly Counts’ Summer of Census plan, they can sign up here.

Philly Counts has continued engaging hard-to-reach communities during the pandemic through phone banking. Every day, the Philly Counts team and its volunteers call thousands of households in Philadelphia to make sure they have what they need to stay safe and healthy and create census awareness. To date, the Philly Counts staff and volunteer phone bankers have made 139,419 calls to households in Philadelphia, and have made a Census participation plan with over 7,000 households. If members of the public are interested in supporting Philly Counts phone banking efforts, they can sign up to volunteer here.

Residents can complete the 2020 Census over the phone by calling (844) 330-2020, online, or via paper questionnaire until October 31, 2020.

Testing Site Map: A testing site finder at phila.gov/testing helps people find a free COVID-19 test in Philadelphia. Anyone can search for a site by address, click on a map location for specific site information, and filter by day of week and by drive-thru or walk-up.

COVID-19 Resources:

Resources for Media:

###