FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Tuesday, January 4, 2022

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

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NEW DATA SHOWS NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS CRITICAL IN BEATING BACK COVID-19 SURGE AND PROTECTING CITY’S ESSENTIAL SERVICES

Health officials urge San Franciscans to get boosted and lower their risk exposure where possible as City prioritizes protecting essential services and vulnerable populations 

San Francisco, CA — With the Omicron-fueled surge propelling the City to its highest COVID-19 rates since the start of the pandemic, Mayor London N. Breed and Director of Health, Dr. Grant Colfax are urging San Franciscans to layer their defenses, including taking reasonable measures to lower their risk exposure to the virus where possible to slow transmission and keep schools, hospitals, homeless shelters, and other essential services operating. Additional City resources are being deployed, and health safety measures implemented in response to the surge to minimize the impact.

An average of 829 San Franciscans a day are contracting COVID-19 (as of December 27), which is more than double that of last winter’s peak at 373 cases per day. While 81% of San Franciscans are vaccinated, and 54% of vaccinated residents have been boosted, the highly contagious Omicron-variant is still able to spread as breakthrough infections, often asymptomatically or with mild illness. This raises the prospects that frontline workers could become infected and be temporarily unable to work, impacting the City’s delivery of essential services.

“San Franciscans have shown over and over that they know what to do to take care of each other and protect public health,” said Mayor London Breed. “We have one of the highest vaccination rates of any major city, and all of our City workers, including those on the front lines, are vaccinated against the virus. But even with all that, this new variant is putting us through some challenging times, especially as people are testing positive and required to isolate. While this will be tough and people should take steps to protect themselves and their families, I’m confident we will be able to continue to provide the services our residents deserve, and we will get through these weeks ahead.”

While hospitalization rates as a fraction of cases are expected to be lower with Omicron, the sheer number of people getting infected means San Francisco is experiencing increased demand for hospital beds at a time when staff is also contracting the virus because of high community spread.

“The next several weeks are absolutely critical, it is within our power to limit the damage of this latest surge but we need everybody’s help,” said Director of Health, Dr. Grant Colfax. “San Francisco is in a relatively good position compared to other municipalities. Our high rates of vaccinations and boosters are doing what we need them to do, which is prevent severe illness and disease. But the Omicron variant is challenging us even more than Delta to manage this disease while keeping our economy, schools and other essential services open. We need to quickly adapt to periods of high transmission, like right now. For the individual that means lowering your risk exposure where possible so we can protect our critical infrastructure, and for the City that means deploying the right resources to beat back the spread of the virus.”

San Francisco’s priority right now is to protect essential services and the most vulnerable populations. In response to the surge, San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH)-affiliated sites have rapidly expanded to more than 25,000 tests a week across the City, nearly doubling capacity from three weeks ago. SFDPH is currently conducting about half of all COIVD-19 tests in the City and is prioritizing disaster service workers and symptomatic individuals for testing. SFDPH has also ordered test kits from suppliers to support first responders and the most vulnerable, such as residents and staff of skilled nursing facilities. These will begin to arrive in weekly deliveries starting mid-January.

Some of the City’s other efforts include:

• Expanded hours and additional appointments and drop-ins for vaccinations and boosters at SFDPH-affiliated and health systems partner sites, including mobile pop-up events at schools and focused efforts on reaching all long-term care facilities and senior housing in San Francisco.
• Coordinating with other healthcare systems across the City to support SFDPH hospital systems and to further expand testing and vaccine hours.
• Updates to San Francisco’s Safer Return Together health order requiring boosters for health care workers and in other high-risk settings, and temporarily suspending the mask exemption for limited settings like offices and gyms to lower the chance of spread among groups of vaccinated people.
• Limiting the number of visitors and requiring on-site testing at skilled nursing facilities.
• New safety protocol at homeless shelters that enable the continuation of services by grouping residents based on COVID-19 status.

With children returning to school this week after the holiday break, SFDPH reaffirms that schools have been low-risk settings with the proper safety protocols in place and that even with the certainty of additional cases, the mental health and educational impacts on students due to social isolation far outweigh the challenges of in-person learning.

Residents can do many things to protect themselves and their community and lower the level of risk exposure in households. Consider taking additional measures during times of high transmission, such as getting vaccinated/boosted, upgrading masks, working from home if possible, or limiting time spent in crowded, indoor settings.

As of today, January 4, 186 SFPD members, including 167 sworn officers, 135 SFFD staff, and 85 SFMTA personnel have been exposed to COVID-19 and have entered or are entering quarantine. These departments are prioritizing essential operations and establishing emergency contingency plans to minimize disruption to services.

How to stay safe:

• Have everyone ages 5+ get their COVID-19 vaccine and booster if eligible.

• Anyone who develops symptoms of COVID-19 should isolate themselves and get tested as soon as possible.
• Get tested before travel, upon return, and again 3-5 days later.
• Take advantage of quick and easy home test kits available in pharmacies and stores.
• Outside gatherings are safer than indoor gatherings. Limit the number and size of indoor gatherings.
• Take all precautions, including vaccinations, boosters, and testing when gathering with others without masks – especially with elderly or immunocompromised individuals, and anyone who is unvaccinated or not yet boosted.
• Wear a well-fitted mask indoors and in crowded settings. To best protect yourself, wear an N95 or double mask with a cloth mask over a surgical mask to improve the seal. If possible, avoid wearing only a cloth mask during this surge.
• Unvaccinated adults should avoid travel and gatherings outside their household. 
• Wash hands or use hand sanitizer often.
• Layer your defenses, and reduce your household’s risk exposure during periods of high transmission, like the current omicron surge.

What to do if you test positive for COVID: 

Individuals who test positive, including if they are asymptomatic, should assume they are infected with COVID-19 and take measures to get care and isolate away from others. Additionally, they should notify their healthcare provider about their positive test result and stay in contact with them during their illness. Individuals who do not have a provider or need assistance with isolation can connect with the SFDPH COVID Resource Center at (628) 217-6101.

More information about what to do if you test positive can be found here.

Other COVID-19 resources:

• Isolation and Quarantine guidelines can be found here: https://www.sfdph.org/dph/COVID-19/Isolation-and-Quarantine.asp
• For a list of testing sites in San Francisco, go to: sf.gov/gettested
• For a list of vaccination and booster sites in San Francisco, go to: sf.gov/getvaccinated
• More SF COVID data can be found here: sf.gov/resource/2021/covid-19-data-and-reports

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2 January 2022 — Palm Springs, CA: Palm Springs Purple Room has announced that starting tonight, out of an abundance of caution, the iconic supper club will close for the next two weeks in light of the rapidly spreading COVID Omicron variant. 

“The health and safety of our employees, artists and audience is our primary concern,” said Purple Room spokesman David Perry. “We urge everyone to get vaccinated and boosted, practice social distancing and be extra vigilant with all COVID protection methods especially in light of the Omicron surge. We look forward to reopening as soon as is safe.”

Starting in August when it reopened following the pandemic shutdown, the Purple Room has taken a leadership role in requiring all employees, artists and audience members be fully vaccinated. 

*** PRESS RELEASE *** 

SAN FRANCISCO TEMPORARILY TIGHTENS UNIVERSAL INDOOR MASKING REQUIREMENT AND AUGMENTS VACCINATION REQUIREMENTS AMID OMICRON SURGE 

Indoor mega-events will require up-to-date vaccinations, including boosters,  

starting February 1, 2022 

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London Breed N. Breed and San Francisco Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax announced today updates to the Safer Return Together Health Order in response to the sharp increase of COVID-19 cases driven by the rapidly-spreading Omicron variant. Major changes include (1) the City’s alignment with the State to require boosters among workers in healthcare and high-risk settings – as well as some additional higher-risk settings not covered by the State requirements – by February 1, 2022, (2) a temporary suspension of the indoor universal mask exemption that allowed removal of masks for stable groups of 100% fully vaccinated individuals in certain settings, and (3) a requirement that attendees and staff of indoor mega-events are up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations, including boosters if eligible, starting February 1, 2022.  

In addition, San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) plans to align its guidance on Isolation & Quarantine with the recently announced modifications recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), which include shortening the isolation time for people who are COVID-positive. 

“Our residents how shown time and time again that they understand the importance of protecting public health,” said Mayor London Breed. “Thanks to our high vaccination rates we are in a much better place than last winter, but there is real danger out there for those who are unvaccinated. We will continue to focus on taking the steps necessary to deal with this latest surge of cases, while also keeping our businesses open and keeping our kids in school, which is so important for our young people and their families. Do your part and get yourself and your family boosted so we can all continue to protect each other in the weeks and months ahead.” 

San Francisco’s COVID-19 7-day average case rate as of December 21, 2021 was 398, surpassing the peak average during the Delta surge, and more recent data show the rate has continued to increase in the past week. Cases are rising three times faster than during the summer Delta-fueled surge and further rapid increases are expected. While the hospitals currently still have ample capacity, the rate of hospitalizations has also started to increase but so far remains low compared to last Winter. 

“We know that our focus in this Omicron surge must be on reducing hospitalizations and maintaining our capacity to care for San Franciscans, and these measures will help ensure this,” said Dr. Susan Philip, San Francisco Health Officer.  “We do not want to wait until it’s too late to implement these measures to better protect our community.” 

San Francisco is taking precautionary measures to keep schools and businesses open, and limit severe illness, hospitalizations and deaths.  

“As COVID-19 becomes endemic, we need to ensure everyone eligible gets vaccinated and boosted, we sustain our hospital capacity, and protect the most vulnerable – these updates to the Health Order help us achieve that,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, San Francisco Director of Public Health.   

Several changes to the Health Order are temporary as the City continues to monitor impacts of the Omicron variant. 

“While it is difficult to move backward after all the progress the City has made, the Omicron variant has shown that responsible steps, including introducing a short-term mask mandate, should be taken to bridge the gap until all residents have the opportunity to benefit from the protection of a booster shot,” said the San Francisco Independent Fitness Studio Coalition. “We know fitness plays a crucial role in helping people stay both mentally and physically safe as we battle this pandemic, and our employees and clients are ready to meet the moment and do their part to protect the residents of San Francisco.” 

In addition to the Health Order update, SFDPH will be updating local guidance on isolation and quarantine. The CDC announced that people who test positive for COVID-19 but are asymptomatic are recommended to isolate for 5 days instead of the previously recommended 10 days, with masking for an additional 5 days.  

The CDC also announced that for people who are unvaccinated or are more than six months out from their second mRNA dose (or more than 2 months after the J&J vaccine) and not yet boosted, individuals are recommended to quarantine for 5 days followed by strict mask use for an additional 5 days. Alternatively, if a 5-day quarantine is not feasible, CDC considers it imperative that an exposed person wear a well-fitted mask at all times when around others for 10 days after exposure.  

For individuals who have received their booster shot, the CDC states these individuals do not need to quarantine following an exposure, but should wear a mask for 10 days after the exposure. 

SFDPH will formally adopt these policies once written guidance is adopted by the CDC and CDPH.  SFDPH will provide updates to local Isolation & Quarantine guidance here: https://www.sfdph.org/dph/COVID-19/Isolation-and-Quarantine.asp  

Summary of Key Changes to the Health Order: 

Booster Requirements for Workers in Healthcare and High-Risk Settings 

The State of California recently announced that workers in healthcare and certain other high-risk settings must receive a booster by February 1, 2022. San Francisco’s revised Order conforms to the updated State Health Order and extends the booster requirement to other designated higher-risk settings that are already covered by San Francisco’s previous requirements for personnel in those settings to receive their full initial series of the COVID-19 vaccine.     

Personnel working in high-risk settings who are eligible for a booster and have not yet received one must be tested once or twice a week for COVID-19 (depending on the setting) and provide proof of a negative test until one week after they receive a booster. Due to the threat Omicron poses to hospital capacity, eligible personnel in high-risk settings are strongly urged to receive their booster as soon as possible before the deadline. 

Temporary Suspension of Indoor Universal Masking Exemption 

The Order suspends the indoor universal masking exemption for stable cohorts of 100% fully vaccinated people in select settings including workspaces, gyms, religious gatherings starting at 12:01 a.m. on December 30, 2021 until January 31, 2022. 

CDPH imposed a universal indoor masking requirement for the state on December 14, 2021, but granted exemptions to San Francisco and other counties that already had local indoor masking policies in place.  This update to the Order brings San Francisco in alignment with the State.  Universal masking means the requirements apply to everyone, regardless of their vaccination status. 

Additionally, participants in indoor youth sports are required to wear masks through January 31, 2022.  

Up-to-Date Vaccinations 

The Order adds the concept of being “up-to-date on vaccination” which includes having received a COVID-19 booster when eligible, similar to other types of vaccines that are recommended for regular upkeep. For information on booster eligibility, visit: https://sf.gov/information/get-your-booster  

Beginning February 1, 2022, operators and hosts of indoor mega-events (1,000 people or more under state and local guidelines) are required to verify proof of up-to-date vaccinations, which includes a booster received at least one week prior to an event, for eligible patrons and staff.  Patrons between 5 and 11 years old (or their parents or guardians) must show proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken within one day (for antigen tests) or two days (for PCR tests) prior to entry into the event venue, and children between 2 and 4 years old need a negative test. 

Operators and hosts of large outdoor events (with between 5,000 and 9,999 people) and outdoor mega-events (10,000 people or more under state guidelines) are encouraged to consider the same up-to-date vaccination verification as indoor mega-events. 

The Order strongly urges that certain indoor facilities that currently must check for proof of full vaccination, such as restaurants, bars, clubs, and gyms and other fitness centers, require patrons and staff to show proof that they are up-to-date on vaccination, including boosters if those individuals are eligible, and to implement that requirement as soon as possible.   

Schools 

The updated Health Order clarifies, in relation to schools, that based on the demonstrated effectiveness of measures that reduce the risk of transmission in school settings, including the requirement for universal masking indoors, the use of rapid testing, and vaccinations for children age five and older, the Health Officer strongly believes that schools can and should remain open for in-person classes for all grades.  The Order strongly recommends that teachers, staff, and administrators in TK-12 schools be up-to-date on vaccination, including boosters, and the Health Officer will be updating school and youth-related directives to require masks for participants in indoor youth sports, through January 31, 2022.    

Skilled Nursing Facilities 

The Health Officer will also be issuing a temporary requirement later this week regarding visitors, requiring on-site testing of visitors at the time of the visit and limiting the number of visitors per day through the end of January 2022 in order to further protect residents at those facilities.   

Updates to the Health Order will be available at: https://www.sfdph.org/dph/alerts/coronavirus-healthorders.asp  

Additional COVID-19 resources are available at: https://sf.gov/topics/coronavirus-covid-19  

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Contact: dempress@sfgov.org

PRESS RELEASE

San Francisco’s New Year’s Eve Fireworks Show Canceled Due to Concerns Over Public Health and Safety

Priority for continuity of key public safety operations prompts proactive measures as surging COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant impact staffing levels

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Mayor London N. Breed and City public safety leaders today announced plans to cancel this year’s New Year’s Eve fireworks show due to the ongoing surge of COVID-19 cases. The decision was made after closely monitoring local health indicators and impacted public safety staffing levels. Enacting proactive measures that will best protect San Franciscans and essential front-line workers as the Omicron variant is increasingly prevalent remains the City’s top priority.

Currently, 84% of eligible San Franciscans are fully vaccinated and 55% have received a booster dose, but the community spread of the Omicron variant still poses a significant risk. And, with recent increases in holiday travel and gatherings, the City is taking all necessary and precautionary steps to manage the highest transmissible COVID-19 variant we have seen to date.

“While we are all understandably eager to ring in a new year with San Francisco’s customary New Year’s Eve fireworks show, we must remain vigilant in doing all we can to stop the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant,” said Mayor Breed. “Thanks to our employee vaccine mandate, our public safety workers are well-protected against COVID, but they still must take all precautions to help limit the spread. By canceling the New Year’s Eve fireworks show we are reducing everyone’s exposure to COVID-19, while ensuring continuity of citywide public safety operations.”

Limiting large public events like the City’s New Year’s fireworks show will provide an additional layer of protection to San Francisco first responders. City public safety agencies are experiencing reduced staffing levels due to public health isolation and quarantine requirements brought on by COVID-19. “The newest variant is here and spreading fast. It is impacting everyone in the community, including our public safety staff,” added Mary Ellen Carroll, Executive Director, Department of Emergency Management. “The health and safety of our first responders, front-line workers, and community is our top priority. Canceling this New Year’s Eve fireworks show not only reduces the risk of Omicron exposure, but also minimizes impacts on critical safety systems like 9-1-1, allowing dispatchers to remain available to those in most critical need.”

The annual fireworks show at the Embarcadero requires increased deployments for critical public safety staff like police officers, fire fighters, paramedics, and 9-1-1 dispatchers.

“San Francisco is taking yet another smart, prudent and necessary step to protect one another from the spread of COVID-19 — this time, from a highly contagious Omicron variant — by canceling New Year’s Eve fireworks,” said Chief of Police Bill Scott. “Minimizing needless exposures among our officers and professional staff is key to maintaining the police staffing levels San Franciscans expect of us, and it’s important that we all do our part as San Franciscans to help reduce community transmission citywide.”

The momentous spread of Omicron throughout San Francisco, the Bay Area region, and the country exposes the serious risk this variant poses not only to New Year’s Eve celebrations, but as part of everyday, routine schedules. “Due to the sudden, widespread surge in COVID cases, the SFFD supports the difficult decision to cancel the traditional fireworks display on New Year’s Eve. We urge you to join us in celebrating safely at home with your close family members and friends with all COVID safety measures in place,” said Chief Jeannine Nicholson, San Francisco Fire Department. “The cancellation of the traditional fireworks display will allow us to focus our resources on emergency services and day-to-day operations without the addition of large crowds and the potential incidents that arise from such crowds.”

Even though the City has made remarkable progress in the fight against COVID-19, residents, visitors, and businesses are encouraged to remain vigilant throughout the holiday season. “The arrival of Omicron calls us to take swift action to mitigate preventable further spread in the community to help protect the most vulnerable and maintain hospital capacity. We thank San Franciscans for their understanding as we work to keep our city safer, continue to conduct essential activities, and keep our schools and businesses open,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, Director of Health. “Boosters for all eligible, along with masking and testing, are vital to prevent a sharp rise in hospitalizations during this surge.”

Despite the canceled fireworks, the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management (DEM) will still activate the City’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for New Year’s Eve to support citywide coordination, situational awareness, and resource management. The public is reminded to call 3-1-1 to report any noise complaints, such as illegal fireworks, and call 9-1-1 only for life safety emergencies. The public also is encouraged to register for AlertSF at www.alertsf.org or by texting their zip code to 888-777. This is the fastest way to be informed of any type of emergency impacting your area.

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