Even though the city aims to strongly encourage’ the usage of face masks, it has not said when the mandate will be lifted.
The city’s COVID-19 indoor mask ban, which was reinstated less than a week after it was implemented, will be phased down, officials revealed Thursday night.
Officials with the Department of Health and Human Services say the Board of Health voted on Thursday to halt the implementation of the mandate.
According to a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services, there have been 19 hospitalizations and the number of cases has stabilized.
In an announcement on April 11, the Philadelphia Health Department stated that face masks will be required indoors beginning on April 18th, which happened to be this past Monday. Before that, on March 2, the city had lifted its ban on wearing masks inside buildings.
As a result of the unexpected reversal on Thursday, the agency stated that more information would be given on Friday.
Following the reinstatement of the indoor mask ban in a major US city, the city faced significant backlash and was forced to file a court challenge.
The city will encourage people to wear masks in public places rather than requiring them, according to a statement from the health department.