Philadelphia ended its indoor mask mandate Wednesday, at least for now, days after federal health authorities recommended people in areas like the region no longer needed to go masked.
“The metrics that we’re following have reached the level where the Health Department feels it is safe to stop enforcing the indoor mask mandate,” said James Garrow, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, in a news release Wednesday.
The announcement comes just two weeks after the city introduced its own benchmarks for COVID-19 safety restrictions. That system required three of the four following conditions to be met before masking could end: average daily cases to drop under 100; fewer than 50 people hospitalized with COVID; a test positivity rate under 2%; and cases not rising by more than 50% within the past 10 days. The city was close to meeting those standards, but health officials had estimated it might be a few weeks before the mandate could end.
That changed, though, when the city began including antigen test results in its calculations of the positivity rate, city health commissioner Cheryl Bettigole said Wednesday. Previously, the city had only included PCR tests in its estimate of the positivity rate. With the antigen tests included, the city’s positivity rate dropped to 1.7%, meeting the standards for the end of the mask mandate.
As of Tuesday, Bettigole said, the city was averaging 87 new cases a day and 156 people testing positive for the virus in hospitals.
Health officials have said it is possible mandates, including the mask requirement and proof of vaccination to eat indoors, could return if a new variant emerges or Philadelphia experiences another surge.
Masks are still required in health-care settings, and on public transit. The mask mandate for schools is expected end March 9, city health officials said, and then would be reinstated for a week following spring break. Bettigole also recommended, but didn’t require, people to wear masks in large crowds.
Businesses can still set their own COVID precautions, including requiring proof of vaccination or mask wearing, she said.
The end of masking drew immediate praise from one of the city’s largest indoor event venues.
“This is a day we’ve been waiting nearly two years for, and finally, our fans can watch the Flyers, 76ers, concerts, and more just like they used to at Wells Fargo Center,” said Valerie Camillo, President of Business Operations for Wells Fargo Center and the Philadelphia Flyers.
