San Francisco Could Soon Reopen as Infection Rate Falls
The city also opened its first mass vaccination site
Welcome news for our city’s small businesses (and the rest of us): San Francisco Mayor London Breed gave a hint today that the city could reopen soon if the Covid-19 infection rate continues at its current rate or declines.
The Bay Area has been in a second shelter-in-place for more than a month, since December 16, with no end in sight. The order was originally set to lift on January 7 but then was indefinitely extended due to continued dismal ICU capacity rates. Given the struggles small businesses have already faced this year, this news was hard to grapple with for many local business owners and workers.
Thankfully, it appears things could be looking up. The Bay Area can emerge from its state-ordered shutdown once the regional ICU rate is projected to hit at least 15% capacity within a four-week period. The current rate is 6.6% (up from its lowest point at 0.6% just a week ago), and with the infection rate back under 1%, that should lead us to a 15% or greater ICU rate soon if we all keep doing our part in slowing the spread.
In other news, San Francisco also opened its first of three planned mass vaccination sites today. This site is on City College of San Francisco’s main campus on Ocean Avenue in the Oceanview, Merced Heights, Ingleside neighborhood and is in partnership with UCSF Health. It will start at 500 doses a day with the goal of eventually issuing 10,000 vaccinations per day.
Two additional mass vaccination sites will be set up at the Moscone Center in SoMa and the SF Market in the Bayview. This is all part of the city’s plan to vaccinate every resident by June 30.
“Large vaccination sites like this one at City College are going to be critical for getting people vaccinated quickly and safely, and getting our City on the road to recovery,” Breed said in a press release, saying also that “San Francisco has a plan and we are ready to distribute 10,000 doses per day once we have enough vaccine. To fully deliver this plan, we need more vaccine and we will continue to do everything we can to be ready when our supply of vaccine does increase.”
These are promising pieces of news we love to see, capping off an already hopeful week. Enjoy your weekend at home, Bay Area, while we continue to wait.
Sign up for The Bold Italic newsletter to get the best of the Bay Area in your inbox every week.
