During a press conference Tuesday afternoon, health commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said that based on the data and peaks in positive cases after past holidays, the city will continue its current restrictions for the most risky environments until at least January 15.
This includes restrictions on:
– Dine indoors
– Indoor meetings and events
– Theaters
– Casinos
– Colleges
– Indoor organized sports
Farley said these activities are still considered a higher risk because they take place indoors and involve a large number of people, people who spend long periods together, people who don’t wear masks, and / or they’ve had major outbreaks before they did not follow guidelines for social distance.
“We have made progress and saved lives with our Safer at Home restrictions,” said Farley. “Now we have to be very careful about the way we get the business to resume, especially around the holidays, so that we don’t cause another increase in the virus.”
Philadelphia officials also announced planned changes to the restrictions that would take effect when Governor Wolf’s order expires on Jan. 4. If rates for business don’t rise more than expected, the city will allow some lower risk businesses and activities to resume.
This includes:
– Museums
– Outdoor sports
– Gyms
– Personal learning for secondary schools
– Outside events
On Tuesday, health officials announced 928 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 86,723. Officials also confirmed 89 additional deaths in Philadelphia.
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