PHILADELPHIA –The Philadelphia Department of Public Health today announced 148 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 novel coronavirus in Philadelphia. That brings the number of confirmed cases to 142,735. In addition, the Department of Public Health also announced 35 new probable cases from rapid antigen tests. 

The Department of Public Health confirmed five additional fatalities in Philadelphia. This brings the number of residents who have succumbed to the virus in Philadelphia to 3,581. Of the 3,581 total deaths, 1,205 (34%) were long-term care facility residents.

The Department of Public Health reports 241 patients with COVID-19 are currently being treated in Philadelphia hospitals, with a total of 39 on ventilators.

Health Department Announces Updated Mask Guidance for Fully Vaccinated Philadelphians: Beginning Friday, May 21, fully vaccinated people will no longer be required to wear masks outdoors in Philadelphia. This includes all outdoor venues, including outdoor gatherings, outdoor professional and youth sports, outdoor restaurants, and outdoor performances. This guidance is the same as New Jersey announced earlier this week. People are considered fully vaccinated at least two weeks after their second dose of two-dose vaccine or two weeks after receiving a Johnson & Johnson vaccine. 

The Health Department also announced that they will be reviewing case counts, positivity rates, hospitalizations, and vaccination rates during the week of June 6 to see if Philadelphia will allow fully vaccinated people to go unmasked indoors beginning Friday, June 11. 

In Philadelphia, this pandemic hit our Black and Brown communities hard, causing high rates of hospitalizations and deaths. We know that many frontline and essential workers are Black and younger Black city residents have lower vaccination rates than other groups. We feel that the benefit of waiting a few more weeks to help give this group more time to get vaccinated is worth the relatively mild inconvenience of keeping indoor mask use for a little while longer. 

City Launches New Homebound Vaccination Program: The Health Department has been piloting a program to provide COVID-19 vaccine to people who cannot make it to a vaccine clinic and is now officially launching it. People who are homebound, and their caretakers, can register to have a partner vaccine provider visit their home and vaccinate them. This service is free and open to any homebound person in Philadelphia. To register, call 215-685-5488 (311 coming soon), or visit bit.ly/homeboundvaccinephl. Providers who are interested in joining the effort are asked to email vaccines@phila.gov. More information about the program is available on the City’s blog post about vaccinating homebound Philadelphians.

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