Managing Director Brian Abernathy stated "Obviously this is a difficult situation and we certainly recognize that many businesses and individuals rely on these sorts of events for their livelihood, but we do so out of an abundance of caution.

[2] On March 17, 2020, there were 96 cases in the state of Pennsylvania, more than half of which were in the Philadelphia area, with Montgomery County holding the highest number.

[3] As daily cases began to rapidly increase, Mayor Jim Kenney and Dr. Thomas A. Farley, Health Commissioner of the City of Philadelphia, issued a stay-at-home order beginning at 8 a.m. on March 23, 2020.

[10] On the evening of April 8, 2020, during a White House COVID-19 press briefing, Vice President Mike Pence and Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Birx warned that Philadelphia may soon become one of the outbreak's next hotspots.

[12] The corpses were tagged as coming from Einstein Medical Center located in the hard-hit Olney section of Philadelphia.

[12] In late May and early June 2020, large George Floyd protests and riots took place in Philadelphia, raising fears that COVID-19 would surge.

However, by mid-June, weeks after the protests, not only did new COVID-19 cases decline, they reached the lowest rates seen since the start of the pandemic.

[16] The city kept some additional restrictions in place until July 3, 2020; on that date, museums, libraries, shopping malls, and casinos were allowed to reopen.

[19] On October 2, 2020, restaurants were allowed to increase to 50 percent capacity for indoor dining after completing self-certification documents.

[23] On July 28, 2020, with COVID-19 continuing to mount, the School District of Philadelphia announced that students will only receive online instruction through November 17, 2020,[24] By late summer of 2020, Brewerytown, the neighborhood encompassing parts of Temple University, quickly emerged as the city's new hotspot for COVID-19 with a positivity rate nearly twice that of the overall city rate.

[26] Following Temple University's closure, the infection rates in Brewerytown and surrounding North Philadelphia neighborhoods declined substantially.

The restrictions included no indoor dining at restaurants, capacity limits at retail stores and religious institutions, telework for office workers required unless it was not possible, a ban on indoor gatherings of any size, outdoor gatherings limited to 10 percent occupancy with a cap of 2,000 people, and no youth or school sports.

In addition, theaters, bowling alleys, casinos, gyms, museums, and libraries were ordered to be closed during this time.

[30][31] On March 3, 2021, the Federal Emergency Management Agency opened a mass COVID-19 vaccination site at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

[35] After the state announced it was loosening several restrictions on April 4, 2021, including allowing bar service, allowing alcohol to be served without the purchase of food, and increasing capacity limits at various businesses including restaurants, gyms, and entertainment, the city of Philadelphia announced on March 23, 2021, that it would not follow the rest of the state in adopting the loosened restrictions due to a rise in cases and hospitalizations in the city.

The city did however increase the maximum capacity of outdoor catered events to 250 people and allowed for food to be served at business meetings.

[42] On August 13, 2021, the city announced that healthcare workers and students and staff at colleges in Philadelphia would be required to be vaccinated by October 15.

In addition, the city announced essential businesses including grocery stores, pharmacies, doctors offices, and urgent care centers would only be allowed to have a mask mandate and not the option requiring proof of vaccination.

[44] On December 13, 2021, the city announced that proof of a COVID-19 vaccine would be required for indoor dining at restaurants and food establishments beginning on January 3, 2022.

[45] On December 15, 2021, city health officials warned against holiday gatherings involving multiple households due to an increase in cases and hospitalizations.

[46] On December 22, 2021, Temple University announced that classes for the first three weeks of the spring 2022 semester would be held virtually due to the rise in COVID-19 cases caused by the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant.

In the next tier, "Caution", a mask mandate will be in place while either proof of vaccination or a negative test will be required for indoor dining.

In the highest tier, "Extreme Caution", a mask mandate will be in place while proof of vaccination will be required for indoor dining.

[51] On April 5, 2022, the city recommended people wear masks indoor again due to an uptick in cases caused by the BA.2 subvariant of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant.

[55] On May 23, 2022, the School District of Philadelphia began requiring masks again for students and staff in buildings and on buses and vans due to an increase in cases.

[60] In October 2020, CMS stopped reporting the number of COVID-19 deaths at St. John Neumann Center for Rehabilitation & Healthcare.