SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — After photos and videos of her dancing without a mask in a nightclub circulated on social media over the weekend, San Francisco Mayor London Breed is hitting back at critics who say she violated the city's COVID-19 public indoor mask mandate.
Breed, who was photographed without a mask at The Black Cat in the city back in September, told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday she didn't break the city's rules because she was in a private part of the club "at my table and drinking drinks."
"I was in a private area with my drinks with the people I was with, enjoying myself at a venue and I had a great time and I followed the appropriate protocols," Breed said. "And yes, I was dancing and yes, I was drinking and having fun. And at the end of the day, I am doing everything I can to follow the existing protocols. And I think sadly, sometimes these videos are taken out of perspective."
Ronski, a San Francisco rapper, posted a video on his Instagram story of Breed dancing and singing along at an unnamed nightclub. Cream of Beat posted a photo of Breed, without a mask, from its performance at what appears the same venue, tagging The Great Northern on Utah Street as the location.
Breed is not holding a drink in either the video or the video. The Great Northern didn't respond to KCBS Radio's request for comment asking to confirm Breed's attendance and seeking more information about its mask policies and enforcement.
San Francisco, the City of Berkeley and eight other Bay Area counties instituted a mask mandate in August requiring everyone — regardless of vaccination status — to wear masks in public indoor spaces when they aren't eating or drinking, all in an effort to combat the delta variant's spread. Marin County is the only jurisdiction so far to hit a set of criteria, agreed upon in October, enabling a city or county to lift its mandate.
Under San Francisco's health order, a person must wear a "well-fitted mask" if they are "in an indoor public space where others who are not part of their household routinely are present." If a person is alone, or with a member of their household, "in a completely enclosed space such as an office, and people who are not part of their household are not likely to be in the same space."
Breed didn't appear to be in an enclosed space in the picture and video circulating. When she was photographed dancing without a mask at The Black Cat in September, the mayor scolded the "fun police" who criticized her behavior.
"We don't need the fun police to come in and try to micromanage and tell us what we should or shouldn't be doing," she said at the time. "We know what we need to do to protect ourselves."
