Philadelphia lifts remaining COVID-19 restrictions June 2, Masks still required indoors

Philadelphia will lift its COVID-19 restrictions on June 2 — one week earlier than the city planned.

Starting next Wednesday, all "Safer at Home" restrictions, like maximum capacity limits, density limits and distancing rules will be lifted, officials announced Friday night.

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Masks will still be required indoors, and restaurant dining past 11 p.m. will remain prohibited.

On June 11, the Health Department will review the state of the pandemic and could drop the remaining restrictions.

Officials said the restrictions were lifted earlier than planned because COVID cases in the city fell to the lowest point since September 2020 and the percent positive rates are below 3%.

"We’d like to thank our front line and essential workers who risked their own well-being to care for COVID-19 patients, kept our city running, and administered more than 1.3 million doses of vaccine so far," the city said in a press release.

This announcement follows Pennsylvania and New Jersey's move to lift its restrictions on Memorial Day. Pennsylvania announced earlier this week that it will lift its indoor mask requirement on June 28 or once 70% of the population is vaccinated, whichever comes first.

City officials encourage residents to get the COVID-19 vaccine if they haven't yet. As of Thursday, 47.5% of Philadelphia's population over 10 years old have received at least one shot, while 36.5% have been fully vaccinated, according to health department data.