March 14, 2020
Kate Frese/for Philly Voice
The City of Philadelphia shared a public health update Saturday in a daily coronavirus update with government officials. There are now four confirmed cases of coronavirus in the city, the libraries will close, and students will have access to free meals during the days of school closures.
UPDATE: Philadelphia residents can now also get boxes of free food at various locations throughout the city. Information and locations for food pickup can be found here.
Philadelphia officials announced designated meal sites for students home from school due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the closure of all Free Library locations Saturday's daily coronavirus briefing.
School District of Philadelphia superintendent William R. Hite spoke at the briefing and announced that schools across the district will provide meals Monday through Friday for kids that need food.
The official list of sites follows a morning when misinformation circulated on social media about where these meals would be available, a problem which Hite addressed.
"Please consider your sites when sharing information," Hite said at Saturday's briefing while providing the officials of school meal sites.
The locations were posted on the school district website. On March 20, the list of meal sites, the hours open for distribution, and the number of meals allowed per family were changed.
The new list of 80 meal sites was changed, although some of the locations remain the same. Families will now be allowed six meals a week per student: three meals for breakfast and three for lunch. The sites will be open from 9 a.m. to noon only, and all children and youth are eligible, no form of self identification is required. The changes can be found here, and take effect March 23.
The following is a table showing the updated meal site locations.
| School | Address |
| Baldi Middle School | 8801 Verree Road |
| Barton School | 4600 Rosehill Street |
| John Barry Elementary School | 5900 Race Street |
| Mary McLeod Bethune School | 3301 Old York Road |
| John Bartram High School | 2401 S. 67th Street |
| Jay Cooke Elementary School | 1300 W. Louden Street |
| William Cramp School | 3449 N. Mascher Street |
| A.L. Fitzpatrick School | 11061 Knights Road |
| Benjamin Franklin School | 5737 Rising Sun Avenue |
| CAPA (Philadelphia H.S. For Creative and Performing Arts) | 901 S. Broad Street |
| Andrew Hamilton School | 5640 Spruce Street |
| William H. Hunter School | 2400 N. Front Street |
| John B. Kelly School | 5116 Pulaski Street |
| Martin Luther King High School | 6100 Stenton Avenue |
| Benjamin B. Comegys School | 5100 Greenway Avenue |
| William H. Loesche School | 595 Tomlinson Road |
| Russell Conwell Middle School | 1849 E. Clearfield Street |
| J. De Burgos Elementary School | 401 W. Lehigh Avenue |
| Mayfair School | 3001 Princeton Avenue |
| Stephen Decatur School | 3500 Academy Road |
| Tanner Duckrey School | 1501 W. Diamond Street |
| Thomas A. Edison High School | 151 W. Luzerne Street |
| Roxborough High School | 6498 Ridge Avenue |
| Samual Fels High School | 5500 Langdon Street |
| Thomas K. Finletter School | 6100 N. Front Street |
| Frankford High School | 5000 Oxford Avenue |
| Franklin Learning Center | 616 N. 15th Street |
| Horace Furness High School | 1900 S. 3rd Street |
| Horatio B. Hackett School | 2161 E. York Street |
| John H. Webster School | 3400 Frankford Avenue |
| Warren G. Harding Middle School | 2000 Wakeling Street |
| Juniata Park Academy | 801 E. Hunting Park Avenue |
| Kensington CAPA | 1901 N. Front Street |
| Henry W. Lawton School | 6101 Jackson Street |
| Abraham Lincoln High School | 3201 Ryan Avenue |
| Thurgood Marshall School | 5120 N. 6th Street |
| Hon Luis Muñoz Marín School | 3300 N. 3rd Street |
| Northeast High School | 1601 Cottman Avenue |
| One Bright Ray Mansion | 3133 Ridge Avenue |
| Overbrook Educational Center | 6722 Lansdowne Avenue |
| Philadelphia Learning Academy-South | 4300 Westminister Avenue |
| Rhodes Elementary School | 2900 W. Clearfield Street |
| Roosevelt Elementary School | 430 E. Washington Lane |
| William L. Sayre High School | 5800 Walnut Street |
| South Philadelphia High School | 2101 S. Broad Street |
| Gen. Louis Wagner Middle School | 1701 Chelten Avenue |
| Grover Jr. Washingotn Middle School | 201 E. Olney Avenue |
| West Philadelphia High School | 4901 Chesnut Street |
| William H. Ziegler School | 5935 Saul Street |
| School | Address |
| Aspira Charter- Stetson | 3200 B. Street |
| Aspira Olney Charter High | 100 W. Duncannon Avenue |
| Lindley Academy Charter - Birney | 900 Lindley Avenue |
| Mariana Bracetti Academy | 1840 Torresdale Avenue |
| Mastery Charter - Cleveland | 3701 N. 19th Street |
| Mastery Charter - Clymer | 1201 W. Rush Street |
| Mastery Charter - Gratz High | 1798 W. Hunting Park Avenue |
| Mastery Charter - Harrity | 5601 Christian Street |
| Mastery Charter - Lenfest Campus | 35 S. 4th Street |
| Mastery Charter - Mann | 5376 W. Berks Street |
| Mastery Charter - Pastorius | 5650 Sprague Street |
| Mastery Charter - Pickett | 5700 Wayne Avenue |
| Mastery Charter - Smedley | 1790 Bridge Street |
| Mastery Charter - Thomas Campus | 927 Johnston Street |
| Mastery Charter - Wister | 67 E. Bringhurst Street |
| Mastery Prep Elementary Charter | 1801 W. Pike Street |
| Philadelphia Montessori Charter | 2227 Island Avenue |
| Richard Allen Prep | 2601 S. 58th Street |
| Universal Audenried Charter | 3301 Tasker Street |
| Universal Charter - Bluford | 5720 Media Street |
| Universal Charter - Daroff | 5630 Vine Street |
| Universal Creighton Charter | 5401 Tabor Avenue |
| Universal Vare Charter | 2100 S. 24th Street |
| PHA Community Center | Address |
| Abbottsford Homes | 3226 McMichael Street |
| Bartram Village | 5404 Gibson Drive |
| John F. Street Center | 1100 Poplar Street |
| Raymond Rosen Homes | 2301 W. Edgley Street |
| Westpark Apartments | 300 N. Busti Street |
| Wilson Park | 2500 Jackson Street |
Next in the press briefing, Dr. Tom Farley, the Philadelphia health commissioner, announced that the number of COVID-19 patients in Philadelphia has increased by one from Friday, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in Philadelphia to four. The new patient is a woman in her 30s, who is staying at home.
Farley also said that there continues to be a lack of tests in Philadelphia, which is part of larger national issue. Of the national issue, Farley said "That is real and it is effecting our ability to test people in Philadelphia. We know we are not testing enough people."
Also on Saturday, the Free Library of Philadelphia announced it would be closing all of its branches at the end of the day Saturday. Library staff will report to work on Monday.
In a letter posted to the Free Library's website, president Siobhan A Reardon, said the public libraries would remain closed through March 29, at least.
"If you have physical library materials checked out, don't worry: all loan periods and holds will be extended until we reopen," Reardon said. "We will also be fully refunding any paid tickets for Free Library and Rosenbach events previously scheduled to occur during this period."
In the meantime, Philadelphia residents were redirected to the Free Library's digital collections and databases and reminded that library card holders have access to the digital edition of the New York Times.
The health and safety of our staff and customers are our utmost priority. In the interest of limiting the impact and spread of COVID-19, all Free Library locations will be closed to the public March 15-29, at which point we will reevaluate.
— Free Library of Philadelphia (@FreeLibrary) March 14, 2020
More here: https://t.co/K4baPZjCQz pic.twitter.com/1aHka8IiTv
Mayor Jim Kenney's repeated the message he has maintained throughout the coronavirus crisis, urging Philadelphia residents to remain calm and support the economy and those in the service industry which are both suffering now.
"Stay calm and move forward. At some point in time this will end," Kenney said. "Go out to dinner and tip your waiter."
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