PHILADELPHIA — Just days after re-imposing the indoor mask mandate in Philadelphia, city officials confirmed Thursday night that they will end the requirement, citing improving numbers for COVID-19 hospitalizations and confirmed infections.
A city spokesperson said officials will release more details Friday morning.
“Due to decreasing hospitalizations and a leveling of case counts, the City will move to strongly recommending masks in indoor public spaces as opposed to a mask mandate. Given the latest data, the Board of Health voted tonight to rescind the mandate,” Kevin Lessard, spokesperson for Mayor Jim Kenney, said in an email Thursday night.
Earlier on Thursday, Kenney defended the controversial mandate that has made his city an outlier in the national COVID-19 response.
”I have committed through this whole dilemma, this whole pandemic, to follow the guidance of health professionals,” Kenney said Thursday in a video interview with The Washington Post, indicating, “and that’s what we’re doing here.”
Kenney expressed hope that slightly declining hospitalization rates could be a sign the requirement is already showing positive results.
The number of people with COVID-19 in city hospitals dropped to 65 Thursday, the lowest figure reported in a week.
The recent peak of 82 was reached Sunday, the day before the mask mandate took effect.
