COVID-19 Update

COVID-19 numbers continue to trend down, new funds revive the hospitality sector

by Kate Dolan
Posted 6/18/21

A week after Philadelphia fully reopened, COVID-19 numbers continue to show a downward trend and nearly 1,000 hospitality businesses get a financial boost from the city.

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COVID-19 Update

COVID-19 numbers continue to trend down, new funds revive the hospitality sector

Posted

A week after Philadelphia fully reopened, COVID-19 numbers continue to show a downward trend and nearly 1,000 hospitality businesses get a financial boost from the city.

Over the last two weeks, the positivity rate among those tested for COVID-19 is 1%. The city is averaging 33 new cases of COVID-19 per day over the last two weeks, down from an average of 53 cases reported on June 9 for the first week of the month. In Philadelphia hospitals, 87 patients are being treated for the virus. Of those patients, 14 are on ventilators. One month ago, over 250 patients were being treated for COVID-19 in the city’s hospitals.

Overall, 144,714 Philadelphia residents have been diagnosed with COVID-19 during the pandemic and there have been 3,719 fatalities.

On the vaccine front, 683,906 city residents are fully vaccinated as of Thursday, June 17, and the number of residents with one dose of COVID-19 vaccine is 866,778. In percentages, 55.1 percent are fully vaccinated and 69.8 percent have received at least one dose of vaccine.

In partnership with Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), the city also announced this week that 981 Philadelphia businesses will receive a total of over $17 million from the Pennsylvania COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Program (CHIRP). The program was created by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to help reduce economic losses for hospitality businesses, an industry hit particularly hard by the pandemic.

“While the pandemic impacted businesses in every industry and of every size, businesses in the hospitality sector — a key part of Philadelphia’s economy — were especially hard hit,” said Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney. “Thanks to this funding from the Commonwealth, we’re able to provide much-needed support to hundreds of small businesses in the hospitality sector that power our city’s economy.”

According to a press release this week, all of the businesses awarded the grant money demonstrated that they lost at least 25 percent of gross receipts. Sixty percent had a loss of 50 percent or more and 40 percent of the businesses are located in high-poverty areas.

Additionally, the recipients represent diverse groups of people across the city. Demographic information showed that over 50 percent of awards went to businesses owned and operated by people who self-reported as Black, Hispanic, Native American, Asian American, or Pacific Islander. Businesses owned by women, immigrants, disabled persons, or veterans made up 39 percent of awards.

Businesses can expect to receive a check within four to six weeks once grant details are finalized. Grant recipients will be available for the public to view on www.PIDCphila.com/CHIRP.