With cases surging, San Francisco joined most other Bay Area counties in the purple tier this weekend.
Mayor London Breed announced the county’s move to the most restrictive purple tier in a tweet this past Saturday, November 28. The move, which many were expecting to happen earlier, is a result of the alarming increase in cases over the last weeks, including a hike to an average of 118 new cases per day from 73 just a few weeks ago.
The addition of San Francisco and San Mateo counties this past weekend puts the tally at nine Bay Area counties now in the ‘widespread’ purple tier, with the exception of Marin County, which remains in the ‘substantial’ red tier.
This is the most aggressive surge SF has seen to date. We're currently averaging 118 new cases per day compared to 73 per day in the first week of November.
For the week of November 16th, we had 768 diagnosed cases compared to 217 diagnosed cases the week of October 12th.
— London Breed (@LondonBreed) November 28, 2020
The change means that San Francisco and San Mateo counties will now be working under California’s statewide limited stay-at-home curfew. The curfew prohibits non-essential businesses and personal gatherings between the hours of 10pm and 5am, starting this evening (November 30) at 10pm. The Stay At Home order will be in effect until 5am on December 21, but it may be extended if necessary.
Activities associated with the operation, maintenance, or usage of critical infrastructure or required by law will be exempt from this order and it doesn’t apply to any persons experiencing homelessness. While you may still leave your place of residence, gathering or mixing with persons from another household will be prohibited.
Under purple tier restrictions, many indoor activities are again prohibited. While indoor dining was already suspended as of November 14, other indoor activities such as indoor movie theaters, indoor gyms and fitness centers, indoor services at houses of worship will now be closed.
Beginning tomorrow, November 29th at noon, San Francisco will roll back or reduce capacity of certain activities to conform with the State's requirements. pic.twitter.com/69qfmTIrJu
— London Breed (@LondonBreed) November 28, 2020
Standalone outdoor activities at family entertainment centers such as carousels, Ferris wheels, train rides and trampolines are now also suspended.
Activities that may continue include outdoor dining, indoor retail (now reduced to 25%), indoor personal services, outdoor fitness and limited indoor one-on-one personal training at gyms or fitness centers. Outdoor playgrounds, skate parks (limited capacity), batting cages, mini golf, outdoor zoos, and museums will also stay open.
“We all need to do our part, now more than ever, to stop the spread of COVID-19,” urged Mayor Breed in a tweet. “That means doubling down on the things we’ve all been doing: wearing a mask, keeping your distance from others, not gathering with people outside your household, and washing your hands frequently.”
Officials are also asking residents not to travel outside of the county, and recommend those that do to quarantine for 14 days. Find more details about San Francisco’s reopening plan here.
[Featured image: Unsplash]