Philadelphia WILL RETURN mask duty as cases ‘hidden’ variable fuels increase

Philadelphia is reinstating the inner mask mandate just a month after it was cancelled, as the number of Covid cases is starting to rise again.

Health commissioner Cheryl Bettigole announced at a briefing that the eastern Pennsylvania city will re-enforce the mask mandate starting Monday, April 18.

Officials also announced that, while nowhere near the peaks reached during Mikron’s winter peak, Covid cases have risen 86% to 149 a day in the past two weeks.

The city is also reporting 46 ongoing hospitalizations linked to the virus.

The move comes as Covid numbers start to rise nationwide after an almost three-month decline since the virus peaked in mid-January and the BA.2 stealth variant is starting to establish itself in the United States.

Usually cautious, Dr. Many officials, including Anthony Fauci, reassured Americans that this latest increase in the number of cases is unlikely to turn into a real increase.

Officials point out that the criteria for why masks are returning are set criteria, as the recent increase in cases has seen the city once again reach thresholds requiring closed masking.

Philadelphia Public Health said on Twitter on Monday that the city will now enforce “Level 2: Mask Precautions,” as invoked by the density of recent cases.

Philadelphia health commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole announced the move on Monday

After one week of adaptation, all closed public places such as schools, businesses, restaurants and government buildings should use internal masking.

“Philadelphia’s COVID-19 response levels allow us to be open, transparent and predictable in our response to local conditions,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement. Said. chirp†

“Given the increase in the number of cases, we will move to level 2 on April 18 to avoid higher ranks.”

‘Our city remains open; We can go about our daily lives by disguising ourselves in closed public spaces, visiting people and places we love.’

Philadelphia discontinued the use of enclosed masks between craters in early March and has now brought it back just a month and a half later.

The move could be a setback for small businesses in the city hoping to resume normal operations after two years of Covid restrictions.

“This announcement was a blow to the thousands of small businesses that were hoping to see a recovery kick in this spring.” The Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association said: declaration†

Many others were also outraged by the strange behavior of the city’s paramedics.

“Philadelphia is giving back a mandate for indoor masks. We cleared it. If you don’t want to, if you fit this point by wearing a mask, then you become a supporter of tyranny,” Blaze TV producer Keith Malinak said in a statement. chirp†

‘F*** that Philadelphia! We’re not going to stick with it,” says former mixed martial artist Jake Shields. tweeted out†

“What a joke.” Greg Price, digital strategist at X Strategies LLC said†

“Philadelphia is reinstating a mandate for domestic masks as naive leaders believe it will somehow stop or slow the spread of Covid,” said Townhall author Scott Morefield. said†

“Philadelphia better ignore these cruel and ignorant clowns.”

Case numbers are not considered a reliable criterion by many federal officials when assessing the status of the pandemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revised its statistics earlier this year to prioritize hospitalizations when recommending mask orders for certain populations.

According to the Philadelphia County Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which includes the city, one of 95 percent of counties considered at “low” risk of Covid, and masks are not recommended indoors.

The country’s leading infectious disease expert, Fauci, said this week that Americans must decide for themselves how they will deal with the pandemic in the future, based on the amount of risk they are willing to accept.

“There will be — and we’ve said this many times, including in discussions between you and me, there will be a level of infection,” Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told ABC. It’s Sunday this week.

“This will not and will not be eliminated. And what will happen is that we will see that each individual will have to make their own calculations of the risk they want to take when they enter restaurants and attend events.”

The mask returned to Philadelphia a month after its mission was canceled in early March. Pictured: Philadelphia mask that survived a Covid test on December 20

Others noted that despite the recent increase in the number of cases, Americans still really don’t need to worry.

White House Covid Response Coordinator Dr. “I don’t think this is a time we should worry too much,” Ashish Jha said. NBC TODAY on Monday.

‘… We must not let this infection go wild, we must monitor and control it closely. At the same time, we no longer need it to determine our lives.’

With these recent increases fueled by the “hidden” BA.2 variant, which now accounts for 72 percent of active cases, cases are increasing in 26 US states, according to the CDC.

“It’s incredibly contagious, even more contagious than the original Omicron subvariant, and has caused a significant increase in cases in Europe,” said Jha. Monday’s MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

The subvariant is as mild as the original BA.1 strain of the variant that dominated the world last winter.

A study authored by the Committee on the Release of Welfare and published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that Pennsylvania as a whole ranks 41st in overall response to the pandemic.

The work measure is based on unemployment, Covid death rate, school openings and general economic activity.