Philadelphia School District goes back to masking as Covid cases rise across Delware Valley

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) has recommended that universal mask-wearing be resumed to protect the health and well-being of everyone. Therefore, starting Monday, which is May 23, 2022, and continuing until further notice, all School District staff and students will be required to wear masks during the school days and all working days. They would also be required to wear masks while commuting on school buses and school vans.

In 2021- 2022, Philadelphia schools will be closed for less than one month before the start of the new school year.

Monica Lewis, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia School District, says that with only three weeks left in the school year, the district is concerned about the safety of its students so they may continue teaching and learning in person.


According to Lewis, it would be terrible for them to have gone a whole year of having in-person learning just for students to have to end their school year and kickoff their summer months at home. He said that he wants to do whatever is possible to keep their students safe.

Approximately 364 new cases of COVID-19 are reported in Philadelphia every day as of May 16, according to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.

However, no mandate has been issued by the department for masks to be worn in indoor public settings.

Schools in other Pennsylvania cities, including Cheltenham, Lower Merion, and Norristown, have also reissued the mask mandate.

Lewis further said that hopefully people will understand their way of showing that the government cares for them, and the government wants to keep them safe.