Philadelphia To Lift Nearly All COVID Restrictions Next Week

Philadelphia will lift almost all of its restrictions related to COVID-19 on Wednesday (June 2).

That's a week earlier than originally planned.

All capacity limits and social distancing rules will be lifted effective that day, instead of the previously announced date of June 11.

The policy requiring masks to be worn indoors will remain in place, and so will the restrictions which call for restaurants to end dining at 11 pm.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the city has fallen to its lowest point since September 2020. They're about to reach the lowest levels since the pandemic began in early 2020.

"These are encouraging signs that vaccination is truly turning the tide in Philadelphia," Dr. Cheryl Bettigole, the city's acting health commissioner, said on Friday. "We still have work to do to reach all Philadelphians, but we also want people to celebrate the good parts of life that we get back by getting vaccinated."

The Health Department said it will continue to review the COVID-19 case counts and could lift the mask mandate on June 11, but that is not definite.

The vast majority of COVID-19 restrictions in New Jersey were lifted as of today (May 28). That includes the state's indoor mask policy and capacity limits. In Pennsylvania, meanwhile, the state will lift a majority of its COVID-19 restrictions this Monday.

Throughout the pandemic, however, the city of Philadelphia has acted on its own timeline, often being more restrictive than the state of Pennsylvania.