Philadelphia’s vaccine mandate for indoor dining could end this week, according to sources familiar with new benchmarks expected to be released by the city health department.

If cases continue to decline, the mask mandate could also lift some time later.

The benchmarks, which include COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, test positivity rates, and the rate of case increase, are expected to go into effect this week, one source with knowledge of the plan said.

As of Monday, the city is averaging 194 new cases of COVID-19 per day, 360 patients with COVID-19 are currently being treated in Philadelphia hospitals, and less than 3% of COVID-19 tests in Philadelphia were positive. Case counts continue to decline. Though specific benchmarks the health department shared with representatives from the hotel and restaurant industries last week could change, based on sources’ information, the state of COVID-19 in the city this week would warrant an immediate end to any restrictions on indoor dining.

City officials declined to comment on the information shared by sources.

The system would establish four tiers dictated by the state of COVID-19 in the city, said sources from the hotel and restaurant industry who asked not to be named because the city wanted to keep the plan private until an official announcement this week. Industry representatives learned of the tiered system in a phone call Thursday.

The tiers are:

The system would not prevent restaurants and businesses from maintaining their own requirements, and would not affect employer vaccine mandates, a source with knowledge of the plan said, including the city’s own mandate for its workers.

» READ MORE: Philadelphia’s new COVID-19 safety standards could end indoor dining vaccine mandate this week

— Jason Laughlin

Hong Kong plans to offer COVID-19 vaccines to children as young as 3 as infections rage through the semi-autonomous Chinese city.

The announcement late Sunday came ahead of another surge in cases. Hong Kong schools extended a suspension of in-class teaching for two weeks to March 6.

The wave blamed on the omicron variant has already prompted new restrictions limiting in-person gatherings to no more than two households. Hong Kong residents have been rushing to grocery stories to stock up on vegetables and to hair salons to get haircuts.

In the United States, COVID-19 vaccines have only been approved for kids aged five an up. Last week, Pfizer delayed its FDA application to expand its COVID-19 vaccine to kids four and under until April.

» READ MORE: COVID-19 vaccines for babies and toddlers will pose new logistical challenges for the Philly area

— Rob Tornoe and the Associated Press

Walmart will no longer require fully vaccinated workers to wear masks while working in stores unless required under local or state rules, the company said in a memo to its U.S. employees.

The change from the retail giant, which has about 1.6 million employees in the United States, comes after a growing number of states announced plans to ease mask rules. Unvaccinated Walmart employees must still wear masks until further notice, the company said in the update, which was sent Friday and noted that the change is in effect at Walmart and Sam’s Clubs locations.

Masks will also be required for employees who work in “clinical care settings,” including pharmacies. The company said it continues to monitor pandemic trends across the nation.

— Washington Post

The Tredyffrin/Easttown School District called an emergency virtual day for Conestoga High School Monday due to concerns about student safety amid contentious debate over masking.

“It has been our goal throughout the school year to prioritize in-person instruction and we are disappointed that the topic of masking and resulting incivility of some has compromised our ability to safely operate school tomorrow,” the district said in a statement Sunday.

The district cited “threatening statements directed toward other students, including racist and homophobic slurs and insults,” and said it was working with police.

The Chester County district continues to require masking in schools, an issue that has grown more heated in recent weeks as omicron cases fall and some schools have moved to make masking optional.

Some Conestoga students participated in a walkout protesting mask requirements Friday, while “pro-mask and pro-science students” had planned a sit-in for Monday, according to the high school’s student newspaper, The Spoke.

» READ MORE: Conestoga High School calls emergency virtual day after ‘threatening statements’ made over masking

— Maddie Hanna

Cue Health aired its first Super Bowl commercial during the third quarter Sunday, introducing millions of viewers to its at-home COVID-19 monitoring system.

Naturally, that fueled curiosity-driven Googling about what is Cue Health and what makes its smart COVID-19 testing device different?

For starters, this is a molecular test, which differs from the cheaper rapid antigen tests we’ve become accustomed to using. Experts told the Wall Street Journal that the biggest benefit of a molecular test is they can spot COVID-19 earlier — anywhere from six hours to two days. But that sensitivity also has drawbacks.

“The problem with a molecular test is that it’s so sensitive that it may detect dead fragments and not live virus,” said Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco.

Named Cue, the company says the smart device can process an instant at-home COVID-19 test in 20 minutes, with the results sent to the Cue Health App (notifying you when it’s finished). Basically you put a test cartridge into the Cue Reader, swap your nose with a stick that you place into the cartridge, then wait.

The device will also be able to process other diagnostic tests, including respiratory illnesses, sexual diseases, and cardiometabolic health, the company said in a statement.

— Rob Tornoe

As a slew of Northeastern states announced plans to end mask mandates, Philadelphia was among major cities that did not change their plans.

“Hundreds are getting sick every day and hundreds more in the hospital — you’re still in the middle of a pandemic,” said James Garrow, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. “We understand that people are frustrated and we know that things are getting better, but we’re still not at the point where we think things are safe.”

Pennsylvania does not have a statewide indoor mask mandate, and its requirement for masking in schools was struck down by the state Supreme Court in December.

City officials have said Philadelphia’s mandate will likely continue for several more months. In the coming weeks, however, the city plans to release benchmarks that, when reached, would signal a reprieve from mask mandates and, eventually, vaccine mandates for indoor dining.

Garrow acknowledged fatigue with pandemic mandates but said the health department has to balance the comfort of people at less risk from COVID-19 against the safety of people still at significant risk from the virus. The immunocompromised, for example, can get seriously ill even after receiving vaccines and booster shots, and restrictions like the city’s indoor dining vaccine mandate may give them confidence to resume activities they would otherwise consider too risky.

The city’s high poverty rate — about a quarter of the population lives at or below the poverty line — is another factor, Garrow said.

“Philadelphia is the poorest big city in the country, and with that poverty rate comes people with more serious conditions,” Garrow said. “More people are sicker here,” making them more vulnerable to COVID-19.

» READ MORE: States are dropping mask mandates. What about Philly?

— Jason Laughlin and Justine McDaniel

After months of delays, the coronavirus vaccine mandate for Philadelphia’s unionized municipal workers took effect Friday, according to Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration.

But the union representing the city’s 2,600 firefighters and paramedics has vowed not to cooperate and plans to sue the city over the mandate on Monday, said Mike Bresnan, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 22.

“The city is moving forward with implementing the vaccination mandate as announced last week for all represented employees including members of Local 22,” Kenney spokesperson Joy Huertas said. “The city has notified Local 22 that it remains ready to negotiate the impact of this policy and promptly proceed to interest arbitration to resolve any disputes, as it has been trying to do since November.”

The union, however, is encouraging its members not to comply with Friday’s deadline to submit proof of vaccination or apply for a medical or religious exemption, Bresnan said.

Bresnan said the union is pursuing an unfair labor practice complaint over an email sent to city employees this week notifying them of the Friday deadline, arguing that Local 22′s contract guarantees the union the right to an arbitration panel decision before its members are subject to a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

“That message they put out there the other day does not pertain to Local 22 members,” Bresnan said. “If that’s their stance, we’ll sue them on Monday.”

» READ MORE: Philly’s vaccine mandate for city workers has taken effect, despite opposition from the firefighters union

— Sean Collins Walsh

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to plummet across the region, though infection rates remain high, even as the omicron wave recedes.

Philadelphia is averaging 397 new COVID-19 cases a day over the past seven days, a 51% drop compared to two weeks ago, according to city data provided by the New York Times. Hospitalizations are also declining across the city, but remain at high levels due to the omicron wave.

In Pennsylvania, case rates have fallen 56% over the past two weeks, while New Jersey has seen a 74% decline in new COVID-19 cases. Delaware, which ended its indoor mask mandate on Friday, has also seen a 74% drop in new cases.

» READ MORE: What the latest numbers say about COVID-19 in the Philadelphia region

— Rob Tornoe

U.S. health regulators on Friday authorized a new antibody drug that targets the omicron variant, a key step in restocking the nation’s arsenal against the latest version of COVID-19.

The Food and Drug Administration said it cleared the Eli Lilly drug for adults and adolescent patients with mild-to-moderate cases of COVID-19. Lilly announced work on the treatment late last year after testing revealed that its previous antibody therapy was ineffective against the dominant omicron variant.

The Biden administration has purchased 600,000 doses before the authorization and will begin shipping initial supplies to state health authorities for distribution.

It’s “an important step in meeting the need for more tools to treat patients as new variants of the virus continue to emerge,” said Dr. Patricia Cavazzoni, FDA’s drug center director.

— Associated Press

Here is a roundup of COVID-19 news from across the United States and around the globe: