PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Department of Public Health today announced 156 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 novel coronavirus in Philadelphia. That brings the number of confirmed cases to 24,107.

The Department of Public Health noted continued progress in congregate settings, including nursing homes and the Department of Prisons. No additional symptomatic incarcerated individuals have tested positive. There are currently no positive symptomatic cases at correctional facilities. Current and cumulative totals of positive cases in Philadelphia prisons are now posted on the testing and data page of the City’s COVID-19 website.

The Department of Public Health confirmed one additional fatality in Philadelphia. This brings the number of residents who have succumbed to the virus in Philadelphia to 1,434. Of the 1,434 total deaths, 748 (52%) were long-term care facility residents.

The Department of Public Health reports 322 patients with COVID-19 are currently being treated in Philadelphia hospitals, with a total of 598 people hospitalized in the region (including Philadelphia).

Support for Small Businesses: The City today announced additional supports and solutions for Philadelphia’s small neighborhood businesses to help them restart and reopen after being seriously impacted by successive crises—the COVID-19 pandemic and recent civil unrest. The new efforts include: 

  • $1.4 million in initial funding for the Restore and Reopen Program. The new grant program is dedicated to helping businesses in historically disadvantaged communities that experienced damage or inventory loss from the recent civil unrest to cover expenses needed to recover and reopen. The Commerce Department is partnering with the Merchants Fund to launch the grant program and is actively seeking to raise additional funds in order to reach more impacted businesses. Earlier this week, the Commerce Department solicited detailed information from Community Development Corporations (CDCs) about the extent and scale of the damage to businesses on the corridors they serve to inform the design of the program. The program will be administered by the Merchants Fund, and application guidelines will be posted on merchantsfund.org and circulated to Commerce’s community partners once available.

  • $3 million Restart PHL Loan Fund. Created by PIDC, this loan program provides flexible low-cost capital to small businesses with less than $5 million in revenue for costs associated with improved business resilience or growth, including working capital, fit-up, inventory, technology, mobilization, re-hiring and employee training. The fund is targeted to historically disadvantaged communities with a specific focus on Black- and Brown-owned businesses located on commercial corridors in low-income areas. The loan application will be released along with additional program details later this month.

  • Guidelines for outdoor dining. Provides businesses throughout Philadelphia the opportunity to reopen with safe outdoor dining options, including how businesses can obtain any permits and registrations they need.

    • Restaurants that have patio areas on their properties or already have sidewalk café licenses are authorized to offer outdoor seating beginning Friday, June 12, provided they follow COVID-19 safety precautions and have current, valid restaurant licenses.

    • Outdoor dining will be expanded to give restaurants four potential options based on their location. All applications will be available online late Friday, June 12 with review beginning on Monday, June 15.

      • Sidewalk Café — Allows for daily use of sidewalk area in front of the business for restaurant seating.

      • Streetery — Allows for curbside parking at street level (or platform built on street) to be converted into outdoor dining or take-away area for food and beverages.

      • Temporary Use of Private Lots for Dining  — Allows restaurants to convert spaces in their parking lots into restaurant seating and to place seating onto vacant lots in most commercial and mixed use zoning districts.

      • Temporary Street Closure — Pilot program beginning this summer that allows for temporary closure of certain streets for shared restaurant seating.

Additional information on the relief programs and outdoor dining guidelines was released earlier today and can be found here.

“These efforts are intended to provide equitable and immediate relief to ensure our small businesses can sustain themselves and return in a manner that allows them to thrive,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “Philadelphia businesses, especially those that are minority-owned and on neighborhood commercial corridors, have experienced successive, devastating economic setbacks over the last three months. We thank the Merchants Fund for partnering with us on this effort and are especially appreciative of the continued work of Congressman Dwight Evans in advocating for additional relief.”

Construction Restrictions Lifted: Construction activity in Philadelphia restarted on a limited basis on May 3, and most construction work was reauthorized in the following weeks. Today the City is lifting the remaining limitations on where, when, and what types of work are allowed. Most significantly, weekend residential construction, demolition of attached properties, and non-emergency work inside occupied dwelling units are no longer prohibited.

Construction was allowed to restart with strict COVID-19 safety precautions at worksites, and these requirements, along with the Safer at Home guidance, must be followed. Work within occupied dwelling units also requires the following measures:

  1. No more than four non-occupants may be present at any one time.
  2. All non-occupants must wear masks at all times.
  3. Occupants should wear masks unless there is a floor or door between them and the workers.
  4. The contractor must disinfect surfaces at the end of the work day.

The Department of Licenses and Inspections has posted Construction FAQs at phila.gov/li.

Testing Site Map: A testing site finder at phila.gov/testing helps people find a free COVID-19 test in Philadelphia. Anyone can search for a site by address, click on a map location for specific site information, and filter by day of week and by drive-thru or walk-up.

Guidance for COVID-19 Testing for Protestors: Because of the large number of people that have participated in protest activities in Philadelphia, the Department of Public Health believes that there may be an increased likelihood that participants may have been exposed to COVID-19. Those who were at or near a protest—even if they wore a mask—should follow these recommendations to combat the spread of the virus:

  • Monitor for symptoms like new-onset fever, cough, or shortness of breath for 14 days.
  • Try to stay away from other people for 14 days; if you can’t stay at home, be sure to wear a mask properly and try to stay at least six feet from others.
  • Get tested for COVID-19 seven days after having been in a crowd; those seeking testing do NOT need to identify that they were at a protest but instead should say they were near someone who may have had COVID-19.

Safer at Home (Yellow Phase): Philadelphia entered the Yellow Phase of reopening on June 5. The City’s Safer at Home plan and executive order outline how Philadelphia will begin to reopen for business. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health continues to advise residents that they are “safer at home,” and should only leave to engage in essential activities.

Lower-risk activities permitted to operate within certain parameters during the Safer-at-Home Order (Yellow Phase) include:

  • Restaurants (including food trucks and walk-up ordering; no dine-in service; no outdoor dining until June 12)
  • Retail businesses (curbside and delivery are strongly encouraged)
  • Child care centers
  • Outdoor youth day camps and recreation
  • Outdoor parks-related amenities
  • Office-based businesses (telework still required whenever feasible)
  • Consumer banking
  • Automobile sales
  • Real estate activities
  • Manufacturing
  • Warehouse operations

Continued Precautions: As they restart, businesses will be required by the Safer-at-Home Order to follow a safety checklist of operations called “Safe Mode” to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Additional recommendations for different types of businesses and activities are detailed in a separate set of industry-specific guidelines available here.

COVID-19 Resources:

  • City’s COVID-19 homepage: phila.gov/covid-19.
  • COVID-19 resources translated into multiple languages.
  • Greater Philadelphia Coronavirus Helpline: 1 (800) 722-7112.
  • Residents can text COVIDPHL to 888-777 to get updates sent to their phones.
  • Find out more about testing for COVID-19.
  • Businesses with questions about the applicability of the new Safer-at-Home Order’s guidelines to their operations should email business@phila.gov.
  • The PHL COVID-19 Fund continues to solicit donations to aid nonprofits that are on the frontline of the pandemic.

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