Multiple businesses and residents in Philadelphia have filed a lawsuit in state court in Pennsylvania seeking to overturn the city’s renewed indoor masking mandate for COVID-19.
Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole announced on April 11 that the city would reinstate indoor masking on April 18 in an effort to stem the surge in infections, after previously ending the mask mandate on March 2.
The temporary emergency order came amid a more than 50 percent rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases in the city compared to the previous 10 days, officials said.
The lawsuit, filed in Commonwealth Court on April 16, states that Philadelphia lacks the authority to impose such a mandate and accuses city health officials of having “usurped the power and authority” of state lawmakers, the state Department of Health, and the state advisory health board.
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