Coronavirus Philadelphia: City Leaders Still Reviewing Whether To Reopen Golf Courses Friday As Death Toll Tops 500
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia leaders are still reviewing whether golf courses in the city can reopen Friday. Gov. Tom Wolf gave the OK for courses to reopen at the end of the week.
With the commonwealth of Pennsylvania just days away from loosening some restrictions on certain businesses and recreational activities, Philadelphia is still in the grips of climbing COVID-19 cases.
"I want to acknowledge another unfortunate milestone in our battle against COVID-19. With today's newly reported deaths, more than 500 Philadelphians have perished due to the virus," Mayor Jim Kenney said.
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Philadelphia saw 577 new positive cases reported on Tuesday, bringing the total to 13,445. Despite the rise since the day before, health officials still feel confident that the city is in the downward spiral of its peak.
"The best thing to look at is something like the seven-day average. When you look at that, it looks like we may have hit a peak around April 10 through April 12 -- April 8 maybe. And we're down since then," Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said.
In the interest of creating more outlets, the state will be allowing recreational facilities like golf courses, marinas and privately-owned campgrounds to reopen on Friday.
New safety protocols would have to be put in place, but the city is still reviewing how that will work.
"At this point, because we haven't made a decision about whether golf courses can open on Friday, we're asking folks to stand down until we can make a final decision," Philadelphia Managing Director Brian Abernathy said.
State health officials are continuing to balance reopenings with safety throughout different regions, and while Philadelphia is likely weeks away from any possible reopening, experts see promise.
"I think that it is past the peak," Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said about southeastern Pennsylvania. "We'll see and the virus determines the data."
Statewide, the number of COVID-19 cases has exceeded 44,000 as the death toll has topped 1,900.
