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Philadelphia to reinstate indoor mask mandate, first major US city to do so this spring

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The city of Philadelphia will go back under an indoor mask mandate, the city's public health department announced on Monday.

In a statement, Philadelphia Public Health said on Twitter that the indoor mask mandate would be reinstated "due to increasing COVID-19 cases."

The statement said the city would move to a "Level 2," and that order would begin this week, but masks would be required in all indoor public spaces starting on Monday, April 18 to "provide a one-week education period for businesses."


AsWPVI reported, residents would be asked to report businesses that are not complying with the mandate to the city's 311 hotline.

City officials are hoping to mitigate another surge in hospitalizations, thePhiladelphia Inquirer reported.

Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole said on Monday, “If we fail to act now, knowing that every previous wave of infections has been followed by a wave of hospitalizations and a wave of deaths, it’ll be too late for many of our residents.”