PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Indoor and outdoor events and gatherings in Pennsylvania can have more people in attendance starting on Monday as the commonwealth loosens COVID-19 restrictions. Later on in the week, Philadelphia, New Jersey and Delaware will follow suit with changes of their own.
The maximum occupancy limit increases to 50% for indoor events and gatherings and 75% for those that take place outdoors in Pennsylvania, with the exception of Philadelphia. The Wolf administration said this includes fairs, festivals, concerts, shows and wedding receptions. More people will be allowed to watch a movie in a theater or be in a business meeting or conference.
Pennsylvania completely lifts restrictions on Memorial Day, however, the state is already following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on wearing face coverings. Fully vaccinated people can go without a mask in most situations, unless a local government or business says differently.
Over the weekend, top U.S. health officials defended the CDC's decision. Dr. Anthony Fauci, on CBS's Face the Nation, said it was based on evidence, particularly because of the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines.
"It is even better than in the clinical trials - well over 90% protecting you against disease," Fauci said. He added that studies also showed the vaccines protected people against the coronavirus variants making the rounds and that even in breakthrough cases, there was a very low chance that the virus could be passed on to someone else.
"In other words [fully vaccinated people] become a 'dead end' to the virus. And when there are a lot of 'dead ends' around, the virus is not gonna go anywhere. And that’s when you get a point that you have a markedly diminished rate of infection in the community," he said.
With more people getting vaccinated, and COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in decline, more mitigation efforts are being eased or lifted in the Philadelphia area later in the week.
On Wednesday, New Jersey will lift most of the restrictions in the state, including the capacity limit on indoor dining, shops and gyms.
Then, on Friday, Philadelphia will raise its indoor dining capacity and lift occupancy limits for places including offices, retail businesses, libraries, museums and bowling alleys. The city will fully lift restrictions, except for mask wearing, on June 11.
Delaware will lift its mask mandate on Friday but will still recommend that unvaccinated people continue to use masks.