San Francisco is halting its reopening plans because of small but noticeable increases in cases and hospitalizations as the holidays approach.
City officials announced at a virtual press conference Friday that most of the reopening stages planned for November 3 have been delayed.
That means that restaurants, places of worship, indoor museums, zoos and movie theaters will stay at 25% capacity instead of increasing to 50% as planned, and indoor swimming pools, gym locker rooms and bowling alleys will remain closed for the time being.
"We are starting to see a slight uptick in the number of hospitalizations, which puts us in a situation where things could possibly get worse," said Mayor London Breed, especially as holidays and the election approach and could lead to an increase in gatherings and therefore transmission.
Schools are not affected by the pause and can continue to apply for permission from the city to reopen. Indoor dining at museums, some film productions and drive-in performances can also reopen as planned. While officials reassured the public that the overall numbers remain low, the city's Director of Public Health Dr. Grant Colfax pointed to a sharp rise over the last two weeks.
The case rate has gone from about three per 100,000 residents to four in that period. "That’s a 25% increase. That might not sound like a lot but when this virus starts taking off, it takes off quickly," he said.
Hospitalizations have also gone from 23 to 37.
"The good news is, our hospital capacity remains good to take care of people, but that rate of increase is concerning," said Dr. Colfax. "We do not want the virus to get too far ahead of us, because as we have seen across the country and around the world, when the virus gets too far ahead, you can’t catch up."
Mayor Breed echoed those sentiments, pointing to the new lockdowns in France and Germany.
"The last thing we want to do is go backwards. The last thing we want to do is tell a business or a school or some place that they can open and then tell them that they have to close. So we’re proceeding with caution," she said.
Mayor Breed praised the people of San Francisco for closely adhering to restrictions and helping to keep cases in the city relatively low, but said residents would have to remain vigilant especially as the temptation to hold gatherings and holiday parties increases.
San Francisco remains the only urban county in the state in the yellow COVID-19 risk tier.