PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia health officials say the city is starting to see a drop in the number of new COVID-19 cases identified, but say the new numbers don't mean the danger has passed.
Last week, Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole stated that the city may be starting to see a peak in the wave brought on by the omicron variant.
Since then, Bettigole says the number of new cases has dropped. However, the city is still seeing nearly 2,000 new cases per day. "Three weeks ago that number would have been the worst we've seen in the entire pandemic," Bettigole said Wednesday. "It's only because things are slightly better this week than last week that we are hopeful."Despite the hope brought on by last week's numbers, Bettigole says the drop in new cases does not mean that the omicron wave is over.
In the past two weeks, officials say 25,179 Philadelphians have been diagnosed with COVID-19. As of Tuesday, the city is seeing an average of 1,979 new cases per day – compared to more than 3,500 cases per day last week. RELATED HEADLINES: The percentage of tests coming back positive is down to 21%, but the city believes they are still missing a significant number of positive cases in the community.