There is a new date of April 11, 2022.
Philadelphia will be the first major city to put its indoor mask mandate back in effect in response to rising Covid-19 cases linked to the highly transmissible omicron BA.2 subvariant.
People wearing face masks are walking in Philadelphia.
The city will give businesses a one-week education period before the mandate takes effect next week.
Philadelphia went into a higher tier for its Covid-19 response on Monday due to higher Covid-19 cases, meaning there are less than 100 new cases per day.
Bettigole said there was no reason to panic, and residents should still go about their normal activities.
The current surge of Covid-19 will be smaller than the initial wave over the winter, according to the health commissioner.
If we mask up now and find that hospitalizations don't increase in the U.S., then great. If we don't act now, there will be a wave of hospitalizations and deaths.
884. According to the city's health department, the average number of new Covid-19 cases in Philadelphia over the last two weeks is two.
The policy lab at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia had opposed the city reimposing its mask mandate, and that it advises against required masking given that hospital capacity is good. Bettigole said Monday that hospital capacity wasn't the only factor that went into the city's decision to require masks again.
In the last few months, mask mandates have been lifted across the country as cases have plummeted following the initial omicron variant surge. As areas like Philadelphia, New York City and Washington, D.C., see cases rise again and the highly transmissible omicron BA.2 subvariant becomes the dominant coronaviruses strain nationwide, the question of whether to require masks again has returned. The federal mask mandate for planes and public transportation is set to expire on April 18.
The White House says that the mask mandate for airplanes should be extended.
Air travel may be sticking around for some places.
A poll found that most Americans want to wear masks to at least some places.
Live updates on the coronaviruses.
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