PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia officials declined to commit to the governor’s new guidelines on large gatherings based on the size of the gathering place rather than a specific number. They plan to announce next week whether they’ll go along with the new rules.
Mayor Kenney said Philadelphia has different issues and challenges than anywhere else in the state.
“When the governor and folks are getting pressure from legislators and others to do certain things and kind of open up more, it’s coming from areas that aren’t experiencing the kind of infection rates that we are, and when you’re making decisions based on people’s health, and life and death, you better make sure you’re right, or at least reasonably right, before you jump in,” Kenney said.
Related
The decision is complicated by a recent rise in new cases.
Where they’d been averaging under 100 a day for two weeks, they are back up to 110 a day, with a higher percentage of tests coming back positive.
Health Commissioner Tom Farley said that’s cause for concern.
“The reason for this increase in case activity is not entirely clear,” he said.
Farley said there continue to be clusters near colleges but also among other age groups and in other areas, such as the Northeast.
As for his own exposure to the virus, Kenney said he never developed symptoms but remains in quarantine while he awaits the results of his second test.