Philadelphia Drops Indoor Vaccine Requirement For Dining, Concerts & More
Philadelphia officials just lifted the city's vaccine mandate for indoor dining and establishments that serve food or drinks.
However the city's indoor mask mandate remains in place, and it won't expire any time soon. So here's a breakdown of what you need to know:
VACCINE REQUIREMENT LIFTED IN PHILADELPHIA -- WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE DUA LIPA CONCERT AT THE WELLS FARGO CENTER?
You won't need to show proof of vaccine to get into the Wells Fargo Center, effective as of tomorrow night's Philadelphia Flyers game.
However, we think you may still need a vaccine for Saturday night's Dua Lipa concert (February 19). The restrictions are up to individual tours, and we have reached out to Live Nation for further clarification.
As of this moment, you should pan on needing proof of vaccination at the show.
"Over the past two years, we've invested tens of millions of dollars in state-of-the-art health and safety measures at Wells Fargo Center, and those investments have been a major success. Now, we're ready to start getting back to normal, and so are our fans," Valerie Camillo, President of Business Operations for Wells Fargo Center and the Philadelphia Flyers, said on Wednesday.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR INDOOR DINING IN PHILADELPHIA?
You will be able to enter bars and restaurants in the city without showing proof of a vaccine, effective immediately. The procedures — which was announced at the height of the omicron variant — only fully went into effect in February.
"As of today, we no longer need our city's dining establishments to check vaccines," Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole announced Wednesday.
WHEN WILL THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA LIFT THE INDOOR MASK MANDATE?
City officials announced a new color-coded response system to the pandemic today. The city's response will directly coincide with the number of cases reported in the city.
It's a four-tier restriction system based on metrics such as case counts, positivity rates, and hospitalizations.
As of Wednesday, the city is reporting 189 cases per day. This is significantly down and reaches the "Mask Precautions Only" level of protection.
The all-clear level will hit when certain criteria are met in the city's number of COVID-19 cases. Essentially it calls for hospitalizations to be under 50 persons or the average number of cases to be less than 100.
So, of course, we're wondering: when will that happen?
Dr. Bettigole is hopeful that the city will reach the all-clear level in the coming weeks, which would lift their indoor mask requirement.