PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — New COVID-19 cases continue to creep up in Philadelphia, and health officials are also finding more cases of the Delta variant.
New cases totals are currently averaging 74 each day. That’s three times what it was a month ago, but a slightly lower rate of increase than it has been over the past two weeks.
Health officials say they are also seeing an increasing number of cases caused by the Delta variant, though that’s based on a very small sample. Labs sequenced fewer than 60 cases in June to determine the variant.
The alpha strain continued to be the most common, at about 60% of cases. Because the number of Delta cases is increasing, health officials say they believe it may become more dominant in Philadelphia as it has elsewhere.
This is all the more reason, they say, to adopt the new guidance that masks be worn indoors, even by those who are vaccinated.