There is positive news regarding the coronavirus outbreak in the Philadelphia.
The Department of Public Health reports 106 new cases today, which is a lower rate of spread than the weeks before. Last week saw the average case spread per-day at 123, and the week before hit the 160s. The total number of confirmed cases in the city is now 30,771. There have been three additional fatalities in the city, bringing the death toll to 1,695.
Falling case numbers have also been seen in the city’s surrounding counties and in the United States as a whole. Dr. Thomas Farley speculates the dip in cases may be due to an increase in mask-wearing as stricter mandates are put in place. A city-wide mask screening that tallied those in public spaces such as Septa platforms, retail, and grocery stores reported that 71% of people are wearing masks. Though this number is an improvement on earlier percentages, Farley has a goal of 90% of Philadelphians wearing masks.
Progress has also been made in the area of testing turnaround time. LabCorp, a major testing company in the city which once had a testing turnaround time of seven days is now at two. However other companies such as Quest Diagnostics have not made such progress.
On the topic of indoor-dining taking place in September and fans returning to Lincoln Financial Field, Dr. Farley says it is too soon to call. The decrease in new cases has not been the trend for a long enough period of time, and that relaxing precautionary measures at this time will erase progress made. Additional information on coronavirus in the city of Philadelphia can be found on the city’s website. Anyone in need of coronavirus testing is encouraged to use the testing site finder.
Mayor Jim Kenney announced that though trash collection has resumed a normal schedule, recycling is still experiencing significant delays. High winds and heavy downpours due to Hurricane Isaias are suspending recycling collection from Wednesday, August 5 to Friday, August 7.
Mayor Kenney has introduced the Curb Your Waste campaign to reduce trash production at a time where the city’s sanitation department is being overwhelmed.
“Industry reports note residential trash increases by more than 25 percent nationally, including Philadelphia,” Mayor Kenney said.
The program proposes 10 practices on reducing waste, including composting and staying in the weight limit of trash bags.
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