Philadelphia health officials are warning residents against hosting holiday gatherings involving multiple households due to a recent increase in COVID-19 cases in Philadelphia and across the rest of Pennsylvania according to FOX29 News.

Dr. Cheryl Bettigole issued the plea during a Wednesday COVID-19 response briefing. “Our contact tracing tells us that these gatherings, when we get together with friends and family, are when we infect each other with COVID,” Bettigole said.

“We saw it with Thanksgiving, and I worry that people who were getting together then likely contributed to the cases we’re seeing now.” On Monday, health officials stated that the city has seen COVID-19 infections rate double in the past few weeks, and hospitalizations increase by about 50%.

The city announced a new vaccine mandate impacting indoor dining establishments would be implemented on Jan. 3 in response to the rising case counts. They followed up Monday’s mandate announcement with new guidance for holiday gatherings. “Please do not get together with other households for Christmas,” Bettigole urged on Wednesday. READ MORE