The city of Philadelphia has extended its Covid-19 restrictions that ban indoor dining and require casinos to remain closed from the original January 1 date to January 15. The city remains a step ahead of the state of Pennsylvania, which has required casinos to remain closed and has banned indoor dining until January 4.
Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley told reporters that the move is being taken in anticipation of a new spike in Covid-19 cases as a result of gatherings over the holidays. “Based on the data and the spikes following the holidays, we believe it’s too risky to end all of our current restrictions on either January 1 or January 4,” Farley said, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. “We need to get past that spike before it’s safe to back off.”
Farley said he decided to implement the extension because of the surge in Covid-19 cases that followed the Thanksgiving holiday.
