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San Francisco Mayor London Breed has extended the city's stay-at-home order through May, saying progress has been made in containing COVID-19 but new cases continue to rise. (Screen shot by Catholic San Francisco)
Updated April 28, 2020, 7:45 a.m.
April 27, 2020
Catholic San Francisco
Mayor London Breed has extended the city's stay-at-home order through May, acknowledging the hardship to the public but saying continued caution is needed as COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
The extension will apply throughout the Bay Area, county health officers said a joint statement.
The city had 1,424 positive cases, 85 hospitalizations and 23 deaths as of April 27, Breed told a media briefing.
"We are not out of the woods yet, and want to be very careful that we do not take steps out of frustration, (that) we don’t move too quickly and repeat mistakes that have been made in our past history."
She said that after quarantines were lifted as the 1918 flu epidemic abated, "a few days later we were even worse off than when we started. We don’t want that to happen in our city."
The say-at-home order is designed to prevent the health care system from becoming overwhelmed, to maintain essential services by protecting front-line workers and to protect the city’s most vulnerable residents, including the elderly and those living in group settings.
Breed told a media briefing April 24 that 12% of those the city has tested for the virus have tested positive. With no vaccine on the horizon, "we need to take certain precautions” to ensure the infection does not spike when social distancing is relaxed, she said.
“We need to open our economy in a responsible way,” Breed said.
She noted that dog parks and construction projects may be cleared for reopening in the first phase after full social distancing.
She said restrictions will apply to such activities as getting a haircut and attending large-scale events. Getting a haircut “may require the wearing of a mask and gloves,” she said.
Dr. Grant Colfax, the city’s public health director, said the homeless and those living in single-room occupancy hotels accounted for 9% of the positive COVID-19 cases in the city. “This is unfortunately a large proportion,” he told an April 25 media briefing.
“We know that many members of our community remain at risk of significant harm for the coronavirus,” he said. “As we look at the next step we’ll continue to protect the most vulnerable.”
Colfax said the rate of growth of new cases and hospitalizations has been flattened but warned that could change if restrictions are lifted too soon.
"We need the numbers to drop signifjcantly and for several weeks," he said. "That could happen if we continue on our current course ...
"None of us can get complacent," he said. "We need to stand our ground and maintain our game. Make no mistake, this virus is still out there and it is still a threat."
He said a cautious approach should be maintained for "the foreseeable future."
Colfax said that after the stay-at-home order is lifted, San Franciscans will be asked to adjust to a "new normal," staying six feet apart, wearing face coverings and staying home as much as possible.