The city is the first major U.S. metropolitan area to bring back mask requirements after several cities and states dropped controls as cases began to go downhill in January.
“From today, I urge all businesses and companies in Philadelphia to dig out the old masks-necessary signs and hang them on your windows,” Pettigole told a news conference.
The number of cases on Monday is 50% higher than it was 10 days ago, while the number of people admitted to the hospital is still low, Pettigol said. The city now has an average of 142 cases a day.
“By constantly wearing masks, we can continue our daily lives and continue to participate in the life of our city, without contributing to the spread of Govt-19,” Pettigole said.
While Pettigol believes mask precaution can prevent cases from escalating to previous levels, the city has now surpassed level 1 requirements.
“I doubt this wave will be smaller than what we saw in January,” he said. “But if we wait to find it and put the masks back on, we will miss the opportunity to stop the wave.”
Cases are on the rise in many states
Nationally, the number of cases is still low in more than half of the states. An average of 34,000 new cases per day, the daily case rate It has been one of the lowest in the United States since mid-July.
The number of Govt-19 cases during epidemics is expected to rise and fall, White House Govt-19 response co-ordinator Dr Ashish Ja told CNN New Day Monday, and gave guidelines on what measures the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should take. Is the right place to take.
“As for what needs to be done about this, we really want to be guided by the CDC,” Ja said. “The CDC policy is the right one, and that’s what I’m been following for months, and that’s what we need to do.”
According to the CDC, the Govt-19 social status for Philadelphia County – where Philadelphia is located – is low. In such communities, the CDC urges people to stay up-to-date on the Covit-19 vaccine and get tested for Covit-19 symptoms, but does not recommend wearing masks.
Ja said the CDC will share this week the scientific framework for finalizing the Federal Traffic Mask Order by April 18. Federal mandate requires masks on public transport such as planes, trains, buses and centers such as airports and bus terminals.
On NBC’s Today show Monday, Ja said the extension of the federal traffic mask order is “absolutely on the table” and will make a decision based on the scientific framework that the CDC will develop.
CNN’s Raja Razak, Naomi Thomas and Amanda Watt contributed to the report.
