On Friday, June 11, Philadelphia will end the indoor mask mandate and the 11 p.m. last call for restaurants. These are the final Safer at Home restrictions to be lifted as the city fully reopens.

“For nearly fifteen months, the City of Philadelphia has had restrictions in place to protect each other, and I have no doubt that these restrictions saved countless lives,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “But Friday will be a day that we’ve all been looking forward to: getting back to doing the things that we love.”

People who are not fully vaccinated are strongly encouraged to wear masks when indoors or in large groups, but it will no longer be required by the city that they do so. A person is fully vaccinated two weeks after their second shot of the Pfizer or Moderna, or two weeks after the single shot of Johnson and Johnson.

Masks will still be required in some settings, including, but not limited to, healthcare institutions, congregate living facilities like prisons and shelters, indoor schools and courts. Masks are also required on public transportation, including buses, ride shares, taxis, trains and planes.

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health reported that an average of 53 confirmed coronavirus cases have been identified for each day in June. This is the lowest average since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. Hospitalizations are also nearing their lowest point of the pandemic.

While numbers remain low and reopening plans proceed, city leaders are still urging residents to get vaccinated, acknowledging that the virus still poses a danger to those who are not protected.

“Lifting the requirement for vaccinated people to wear masks indoors doesn’t mean that we are totally past COVID-19,” said Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole. “Dozens of Philadelphians are still being diagnosed with COVID-19 every day, which means that more of us still need to get vaccinated.” 

As of June 7, 67.4% of city residents have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 52% are fully vaccinated. For those over the age of 64 in the city, the Centers for Diseases and Prevention reports that 66.3% are vaccinated.

“Thanks to the more than two-thirds of adults who’ve been vaccinated already, we can finally do the things that we’ve missed doing for the last year,” said Kenney. “I urge everyone who has not been vaccinated to join the more than 800,000 fellow Philadelphians so we can continue to move forward from the pandemic.” 

The city has been loosening the Safer at Home restrictions over the spring. On June 2, capacity limits and social distancing rules were lifted, leaving only the mask mandate and 11 p.m. last call in place. The first COVID-19 restrictions went into place in the city on March 12, 2020.

As of June 7, Philadelphia has seen a total 153,724 confirmed cases and 3,671 COVID-19 deaths among Philadelphia residents since the pandemic started last year.