Just a few days after allowing restaurants to reopen for outdoor dining, San Francisco leaders are moving the city into the next phase of reopening.
The city moved into "Phase 2B" Monday as planned, allowing retail businesses to welcome shoppers back inside stores with restrictions, and outdoor events with a maximum of 12 people.
“San Francisco retail businesses and residents have been waiting for a while to get to this next phase, and we’re committed to continuing to make progress on reopening so people can get back to work and regain some sense of normalcy in their lives,” said Mayor London Breed in a statement. “As we do reopen, we want to make sure that we do so carefully and safely, and that we’re ready to adjust if we see a spike in cases."
The new phase of reopening allows businesses to reopen with 50% capacity and other safety restrictions, including requiring masks. Manufacturing, logistics and warehouse business can resume without set limits on capacity, as long as social distancing is observed. Non-emergency medical appointments and in-home private services such as cleaning can also resume, and outdoor events can take place with a limit of 12 people including summer camps, fitness classes and religious gatherings.
City officials say that while more activities can resume, the virus is still active in the community and individuals should weigh the level of risk that they are personally comfortable with.
"Residents must continue to take precautions and sustain the habits that have gotten us where we are today," said the city's Director of Health, Dr. Grant Colfax. That includes continuing to wear masks whenever residents are around people who are not part of their households, regularly washing their hands and staying home where possible.
