Masks still required in public indoor spaces, including schools

PHILADELPHIA  – The Philadelphia Department of Public Health today reported an additional 9,986 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Philadelphia since last reported on Thursday, February 24. This brings the total number of fully vaccinated Philadelphians to at least 1,010,996, and the number of Philadelphians with at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine to at least 1,220,558. Currently, 81.4 percent of Philadelphia adults are fully vaccinated, and more than 95 percent* of Philadelphia adults have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

All residents ages five and older are eligible to be vaccinated in Philadelphia. 53.6 percent of 5-to-11-year-olds in Philadelphia have received at least one vaccine dose. Among eligible Philadelphians ages 12 and older, 75.4 percent are fully vaccinated, and 91 percent have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

The Department of Health reports 183 patients with COVID-19 are currently being treated in Philadelphia hospitals, with a total of 31 on ventilators.

In the last two weeks, 2.8 percent of COVID-19 tests in Philadelphia have come back positive. Thus far during the pandemic, 274,707 Philadelphians have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and 4,765 have succumbed to the virus. Philadelphia is averaging 88 new cases of COVID-19 per day over the last two weeks.

“For the time being, we are continuing to follow our COVID-19 Response Levels rather than the CDC’s latest model,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole. “Our Response Levels were developed based on analyses of detailed local data with the goal of predicting and preventing high rates of hospitalization. We examined multiple models to identify key metrics that would better catch a more severe wave early, before it can cause high levels of hospitalizations.”

Masks Are Still Required in all Philadelphia Schools: 

“Currently, Philadelphia is still in the Mask Precautions Response Level, meaning that masks are required in all public indoor spaces, including schools,” said Dr. Bettigole. “We are aware that some other jurisdictions are dropping the requirement that students and teachers wear masks in school, but we are being cautious about that. Going to school is not optional, so all of the children who are still not vaccinated or have chronic conditions that put them at a higher risk of COVID-19 complications could be put at risk. Beyond that, having an outbreak in a school could interrupt in-person education, which is something else we want to avoid. Right now, we are talking with both public and private school administrators about what’s happening in other places that are dropping their mask mandate in schools. If things go well there, we could drop the school mask requirement within the next couple of weeks.”

*Note: All vaccine administration percentages will be capped at 95 percent to account for U.S. Census estimates.

Weekly COVID-19 Response Level: This week’s COVID-19 response level is Level 2: Mask Precautions. This means there is no vaccine requirement for places that serve food or drink. Masks are required in indoor public places. The criteria and mandates for each COVID-19 response level are listed online.

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