Philadelphia Officials Recommend Residents Quarantine Upon Returning From 15 High-Risk States, Stay Away From Jersey Shore This July 4th
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Pennsylvania reported 832 new coronavirus cases Thursday, the highest one-day total of new cases since May. There are 25 additional deaths in the commonwealth.
For the first time, Pennsylvania is advising travelers who are going to high-risk states to self-quarantine for 14 days when they return. Wearing a mask in public is now required in Pennsylvania.
Independence Day has never been just a day. It's a weekend, a celebration steeped in tradition.
"Usually someone invites me to the cookout, family and friends," one man said.
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The usual Fourth of July festivities won't fly this year, though. Instead of the waves down the shore, the focus has been on a second wave of COVID-19 infections. In the past two weeks, the Philadelphia area has seen a spike in cases of people under 30.
"We continue to get reports of people with infection who traveled before they got infected to the Jersey Shore," Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said.
"I went to the shore last weekend. It was not too bad, everyone stayed apart, but it has been getting a little more crowded," one man said.
Philadelphia officials have recommended that city residents not go to the shore this holiday weekend.
That is on top of a city and state recommendation to steer clear of 15 states with high infection rates.
"States that were hit particularly hard are the states in the South and the West," Farley said.
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Health officials recommend travelers who have been to those regions quarantine for 14 days upon return.
But without any official enforcement, will those who planned a holiday weekend away heed the warning?
"Nothing is going to stop people from doing what they want to do and what they have been doing practically their entire lives," resident Earl Murray Jr. said.
For some though, the ability to enjoy the holiday depends on friends and family playing it smart.
"I think I'll be able to enjoy it, we're going to make the best of it. The people we are surrounded with are taking precautions," resident Jacqueline Rizzo said.