Philadelphia Reinstates Indoor Mask Mandate

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Philadelphia is reinstating its indoor mask mandate after reporting a sharp increase in coronavirus infections.

The city’s top health official said Monday COVID-19 cases have risen more than 50% in 10 days.

That’s the threshold at which the city’s guidelines call for people to wear masks indoors.

The city is reporting more than 140 cases per day, a fraction of what it saw at the height of the omicron surge.

The city’s health official says the recent increase indicates the city might be at the beginning of a new wave.

Philadelphia is the first major U.S. city to go back to requiring masks since cases declined at the beginning of the year.

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