Joseph A. Gambardello is a Team Now morning staff writer. A former wire service reporter and foreign correspondent and New York City newspaper journalist, he joined the Inquirer in 1995 and has worked on the City, South Jersey, Features, and Online Desks.
The country has been "sitting on a powder keg for quite some time, and it has burst,” Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said, while Mayor Jim Kenney said Monday that Philadelphia is “in the middle of one of the biggest crises in the city’s history."
As Pennsylvania officials prepare for a potential second wave of the virus in the fall, Gov. Tom Wolf said the state hopes to never again have to implement a shutdown.
Once Pennsylvania restaurants, hair salons, malls, and gyms reopen to in-person services in the “green” phase, they can operate only at 50% occupancy, according to new guidelines.
And, Mayor Jim Kenney is encouraging Philadelphians to follow social distancing guidelines over the holiday weekend, and to resist the urge to hold gatherings.