Philadelphia sees drop in new COVID-19 cases, says Acting Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) – Philadelphia health officials shared positive news during their COVID-19 update on Thursday morning.

According to Acting Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole, the city is starting to see another drop in new COVID-19 cases.

Bettigole said safety measures, like wearing a mask and proof of vaccination, may be one of the reasons we are seeing infection rates drop.

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“There is evidence that we have come down from a summit,” she said. “There are 288 (new cases) compared to 307 last week and the percentage of positive tests is also down. As of August 23, 7% of tests came back positive and yesterday only 5% came back positive.”

In terms of vaccinations, 67% of adults in Philadelphia are fully vaccinated and nearly 82% of adults have received at least one dose of a vaccine.

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Bettigole said those infected are predominantly the unvaccinated population.

“Our highest rates are for young adults between the ages of 20 and 34 and black adults, young black adults. These are the lowest vaccine groups and we are targeting those age groups,” she said.

The state of Pennsylvania announced a new grant partnership with United Way, offering church groups and nonprofit organizations that run immunization campaigns from $ 400 to $ 40,000 depending on the number of people vaccinated.