Second, by deviating so much from CDC guidance, Philadelphia is adding to confusion around public health recommendations. Federal health officials have already changed their focus from preventing infection to reducing severe illness. President Biden’s new coronavirus response coordinator, Ashish Jha, said this week that he is not “excessively concerned” about the rise in BA.2 and that the administration does not expect any substantial changes to its masking guidance. Anthony S. Fauci, Biden’s chief medical adviser, echoed that shift away from top-down mandates to individual decision-making.

Are Philadelphia officials saying that they disagree with and won’t follow the Biden administration’s approach to the coronavirus? Or do they believe that hospitals will become strained, despite evidence to the contrary? Neither instills confidence, which is crucial to compliance and restoring trust in public health.

Third, and relatedly, I worry that if mask mandates are being brought back when they aren’t needed, it will be hard to get people to abide by them when they are. This is the classic case of “crying wolf”: If you tell me the wolf is coming now, but then it doesn’t come, why would I believe you next time?