A whole new slate of activities will open up starting Thursday, May 6.
San Franciscans are finally starting to get out of their houses, and it feels great! As the City’s vaccination rate keeps going up and case rates fall, we are at the precipice of another milestone: the highly coveted yellow tier of California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
The office of Mayor London Breed announced Tuesday that the City of San Francisco will now expand and reopen the capacity of most indoor and outdoor activities. Perhaps most excitingly, the city will open indoor bars to 25% capacity up to 100 people. Up to 8 people may sit indoors together to drink at bars, breweries, and wineries, but without meals.
Today we moved to the Yellow Tier! This is a great step forward on our recovery and means we can continue to reopen and expand more businesses and activities in San Francisco.
— London Breed (@LondonBreed) May 4, 2021
Other previously closed activities to reappear include “indoor family entertainment” such as roller skating, arcades, playgrounds, golf and mini-golf, libraries, pool halls, and bowling alleys, all at 50% capacity. Saunas, steam rooms, and indoor hot tubs will open at 25% capacity.
Outdoor community events may resume with limits between 1,500 and 3,000 people depending on vaccination rates and testing of participants. The City has also announced that it will loosen mask requirements outdoors in alignment with the nation’s recent announcement allowing fully vaccinated individuals to do so.
“This is an incredible milestone for us to hit as we move forward on our path to recovery, and it is possible because of how well we are doing in our efforts to vaccinate everyone we can in this City and how well the people of San Francisco have done listening to public health officials,” said Mayor Breed. “The Yellow Tier means that no longer are there any businesses that are required to keep their doors shut in this City, and it means we are continuing to allow more activities to be done safely with more people. To keep this progress up, we need every San Franciscan over the age of 16 – and hopefully soon over the age of 12 – to get a vaccine. While we know that we all need to continue to need to be careful, the more people that are protected, the more we can do.”
According to the Mayor’s office, 72% of those eligible for vaccination in San Francisco have received at least 1 dose. Even better, 86% of SF residents over 65 have received at least 1 dose, and 73% have received both.
“Today marks a bright spot in this City’s fight against COVID-19. Our arrival at the yellow tier is due to everyone’s collective commitment to following the public health guidelines,” said Dr. Susan Philip, Acting Health Officer. “Please keep up the good work by wearing your masks in indoor public spaces and by choosing outdoor activities where the risk of transmission is much lower. If we stick with it, we can look forward to a great summer.”
[Featured Image: @barebottle via Instagram]