City Provides Update on COVID-19 for Thursday, September 3, 2020

PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Department of Public Health today announced 166 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 novel coronavirus in Philadelphia. That brings the number of confirmed cases to 34,310.

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 1,759. Of the 1,759 total deaths, 876 (50%) were long-term care facility residents.

Eviction Diversion Update: Mayor Kenney today reminded residents of the Eviction Diversion Program, launched earlier this week, which enables landlords and tenants to work out agreements without having to go to Court. As of September 1st, this program is required for all landlords with tenants in the city of Philadelphia who have had difficulty paying rent due to a COVID-19 related hardship.

Under this program, landlords must participate in a mediation meeting before taking other steps to evict. Mediation helps tenants avoid an eviction, while also helping landlords avoid vacancies and unit turnover costs. To schedule a mediation, landlords must first submit a request through the web portal. Once it is confirmed that the request is complete, the landlord and tenant will be scheduled for a mediation conference within 30 days. In order to protect themselves from eviction, tenants who meet this criteria should fill out a Declaration form and share it with their landlord. For more information and to download a Declaration form, you can go to www.phillytenant.org.

Concurrent with the launch of the City’s program is the latest Order issued by the CDC, which will provide relief to many Philadelphians who may face eviction. The CDC Order bans evictions for the non-payment of rent for certain qualified tenants. It will help those who have an inability to pay full rent due to a substantial loss of income; made best efforts to make timely partial payments; have a household income of less than $99,000 or $198,000 if filed jointly; and who, if evicted, would likely become homeless or forced to live with others in close quarters.

The Order does not relieve tenants of paying rent, but helps them stay in their homes through the end of the year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This Order is expected to become effective on Friday, September 4, 2020. More information on the impact of the CDC order will become available in the coming days.

City Services Impacted on Labor Day: All City of Philadelphia offices will be closed and City services curtailed on Monday, September 7, in recognition of Labor Day. The Departments of Licenses and Inspections, Revenue, and Water will not be accepting appointments or providing in-person services to the public on the Concourse Level of the Municipal Services Building on Labor Day. The City’s eCLIPSE system for online permitting and licensing and online file and payment website at www.phila.gov/pay remain available 24/7.

Trash and recycling will not be collected on Labor Day. Residents with collections on Monday should set out their trash and recycling for collection on Tuesday, September 8. Trash and recycling collections will be one day behind schedule for the remainder of the week.

The Philly 311 call center will be closed on Labor Day, however, residents can still submit service requests online anytime through the app, web portal, email, and social media.

All City District Health Centers are closed on Labor Day, as are the North and Northeast Municipal Service Centers; the Marriage License Bureau; all Philadelphia Parks & Recreation facilities; the Free Library of Philadelphia and all of its branches. Field offices of the Department of Licenses and Inspectors remain closed to non-employees.

The executive offices of the Philadelphia Parking Authority, as well as its Violations branch, at 9th and Filbert Streets will be closed. Additionally, the Philadelphia Parking Authority will not be enforcing meters, kiosks, or time limits on residential streets.

All Philadelphia Department of Prisons facilities remain closed to civilian visitors due to COVID-19 precautions.

City offices will reopen on Tuesday, September 8, 2020.

Driving Safe on Labor Day Weekend: Mayor Kenney reminded residents to drive safe over the long holiday weekend saying, “To help save lives during the long holiday weekend, our police are teaming up with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to crack down on drivers under the influence. It doesn’t matter what term you use: If you are feeling a little high, buzzed, stoned, wasted, or drunk, then you are impaired and should not get behind the wheel. Stay home or drive sober this Labor Day, and every day.”

Traffic crashes are a serious public health threat to Philadelphians and impaired driving is one of the major causes. Between 2014 and 2018, 174 people were killed or seriously injured on Philadelphia streets in impaired driver-related crashes. For more information on the City’s plan to end traffic deaths by 2030, visit visionzeroPHL.com.

Daily Trash and Recycling Update: Residents can check the daily trash and recycling update blog post to see the current status of trash and recycling collections.

  • Trash: On schedule, residents should put out trash on their regular collection day.
  • Recycling: On schedule, residents should put out recycling on their regular collection day.

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.

COVID-19 Resources:

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