Philadelphia residents no longer need to wear masks in most homes, City Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Betigolle announced Wednesday.
While Philadelphia reported an average of 295 new coronavirus cases a day, about 4,000 of Omicron’s top scores, city officials said it was okay to stop the order.
The policy change came as other American cities and counties, including Chicago, Washington, DC, Los Angeles County, New York City, and Boston, quickly eased their masking obligations.
Last month, Philadelphia announced a new covide response system that linked new daily routines, hospital stays, test positive rates, and increasing levels of issues. The measurements have been adequately improved and Philadelphia could be transformed into an “all-inclusive” standard, which is where vaccines and masks are not needed in most indoor areas, the Department of Health said.
The mask order remains in place at health facilities and on public transportation, and businesses and other establishments are allowed to apply for a mask or vaccine confirmation if they choose to do so.
If the situation continues to improve, masks will not be required in Philadelphia schools as of March 9.
“Philadelphia is unique. Being the poorest city in the country makes us more vulnerable to VV-19 than many places,” said Dr. Betigolle. She added that Philadelphia people were committed to each other during the epidemic, adding:
According to the New York Times database, about 70 percent of Philadelphia people are fully vaccinated, but the number of first-time vaccinators nationwide has stopped.
Other places in the United States that announced changes this week to cover policies:
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The state of Maine announced Wednesday (March 9th) that it will lift the general mask requirement for schools, after which school districts will be responsible for formulating mask policies.
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Officials in Chicago, one of the largest public schools in the United States, have said they may soon suspend the city’s schools.
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Los Angeles County is set to lift the indoor mask requirements for unvaccinated residents on March 4.