>> mayor breed: today i am joined by the department of public health in place of doctor grant colfax. we have doctor susan phillips. we are also joined by the director of the department emergency management as well as our police chief bill scott and from the homeless services agency we have abigail stewart. thank you for joining you today. i just want to start by saying

that i know that the last few weeks have been very challenging for families, especially parents with children who are no longer in school, and also especially kids who have not been able to hang out with their friends and do the things that, of course, kids love to do. i know this has been very challenging for all of us, and especially for families as you juggle to work at home, home school your children, and deal with the difficulties that we know have happened over the past couple of weeks. more porely, what -- more importantly, what we are going to deal with over the next month to two months of staying at home and trying to abide by the order that has been issued. we know that it is important

that while children are at home that they continue to access learning. for some, having access to a laptop and internet is a luxury that other kids may not have. we also know that the school district has been working really hard to implement policies around distance learning that they are interested in launching within a week's time. what we have done in partnership with the school district and two nonprofit organizations, education superhighway and 1 million project foundation, we are working together with them to provide free wi-fi or super-spots in the areas where we know that they are needed the most, including in our public

housing sites, single room occupancy buildings, community centers and neighborhood locations where student lack connection to the internet. i want to also express my appreciation to the department of telecommunications that the department has been working with several public housing sites. we know at least in six public housing sites there is access to free internet including bayview-hunters point and western addition. in sunnydale and other locations where we have large populations of children who may not have access to the internet, this is going to be critical to ensure that they have the support they need. the school district has been able to purchase over 4,000

laptops, and we are currently working with can school district to secure an additional 4,000 or so laptops to support those students who may not have the devices they need at home for the plans to launch distance learning. we really want to thank the tamo bravo. a private equity firm which provided $2 million to the school district to help with this effort. this donation along with others will ensure real equity, and will make sure that every kid in our school system has access to high-quality internet service as well as laptops that they need with the tools that they need so that everyone has access to learn during this very difficult time as we know it.

it is really amazing to see the community come together, and so many people go out of the way to provide this level of resources that are instrumental to all children in san francisco having access to tools to learn. if you are interested in continuing to help in that effort, please feel free to reach out to us. i want to talk a little bit about the small business and economic recovery task force that was announced yesterday. i want to thank the president of the board of supervisors, norman yee, as well as the four co-chairs of the recovery task force. the treasure, executive director of the san francisco chamber of commerce and the director of the san francisco labor council. we know that the challenges that

we are facing now as it relates to public health, that our economy will be tremendously impacted. as we struggle to provide resources to our small businesses and people who have lost their jobs, we also know that after this is over because it will come a time where this will be over, that it is going to be necessary that we have a plan on how we as a city will recover. the fact is we have all seen those very grim numbers released this week by the controller's office that estimate we anticipate a 1.1 to $1.7 billion budget deficit over the next two years. that is just early reports based on what we are seeing. we know this is going to be very difficult for all of us. a lot of difficult decisions

around our current and future budgets will need to be made. our goal is to do everything we can to support our businesses in san francisco, our city work force, but it will be difficult and there will be difficult decisions to be made. as a result we brought together folks from labor, the business community and elected leaders responsible for the finances of the city in order to develop a long-term plan of recovery so that we can hit the ground running on day one. we know there are things we need to do now, and we are focused on trying in collaboration with the support that we are getting, hopefully, from the state and federal government, we know there are other needs. yesterday we announced a fund to provide additional $10 million to support our small businesses where small businesses can

request up to a $50,000 no interest loan with a flexible repayment schedule. we added additional moneys to the grant program for small businesses as well. we know that in the stimulus package provided by the federal government there will be resources for small businesses. we also know that there is a lot of uncertainty, and we want to make sure we are providing support and resources necessary to support our small business community and also to support our work force. if you are a small business or if you are an individual who has financial needs, please visit our website oewd.org. there is a lot of resources that are provided with clarity around what programs could be made available. we also know that the governor, as i mentioned before, has

extended the eligibility requirements for those who can apply for unemployment insurance. we want to encourage as many people as possible to apply. we want to make sure that people have access to resources. if you have any questions or concerns or you need access to resources, please visit oe oewd.org. i want to talk a little bit about the announcement made yesterday by our county health officers in the bay area with a strong recommendation that people who are going out of their homes wear masks. i want to be clear that, number one, this is a recommendation from our county health officers, and, number two, this does not take the place of physical

distancing. we want to make sure people understand that the policy of social distancing has been put into place as a way to prevent the virus from spreading. this is an additional precaution that is necessary to help continue to flatten the curve as we continue to talk about what is necessary to do that, additional recommendations will come into play. i also want to be clear, and dr. phillips will talk about this later, it is not necessary if you are not working in a hospital with patients who possibly have the virus, then there is no need for you to wear an n95 mask. we want be to reserve those for healthcare workers. please continue to follow our orders around social distancing

and please continue to do everything you can to keep you and your families safe. the other thing i would like to talk about today as part of our public health response, we have been focused from the very beginning on securing hotels in our city. i want to be clear that our priority has to be public health and so the system that we developed for acquiring hotel rooms has everything to do with that. we had a number of people who were in our hospitals who were in hospital beds that didn't need to be in hospital beds. with that particular population of those who had the virus who do not need hospital beds and

who do not have a home to go to or who live in congregate setting thes, we through the hotel program have provided hotel rooms to make sure that they are isolated from other members of the public for the recommended time of two weeks. then the next step is to provide them access to one of our expanded shelter systems like the one open in moscone west. the goal is to deal with public health and make sure our hospitals are not inundated with people who don't need to be in the hospital because we need to preserve those beds for people who are really, really sick. there are people who have those symptoms and they are not in need of a hospital bed, but for those who are in need of one, we have got to keep our system clear to make sure they have

access to one. in the past when trent rhorer provided updates about the categories of people that will receive hotel rooms, i want to just reiterate, our goal is to serve public health and to provide access to hotel rooms for those who don't need to be hospitalized but have been tested positive with covid-19. we also have plans to provide hotel rooms for our elderly homeless population, those over 60, those who have underlying conditions and those who are in our shelter system now so that people are able -- so that we are able to practice social distancing in the shelter system now. the goal is to really focus on this particular population, and

that is exactly what we are doing. we want to be clear hotel rooms will be provided to our first responders, our healthcare workers who have contracted covid-19 or who do not want to go home in fear of transmitting covid-19 to members of their families. that is where we are as it relates to the hotel rooms. the rooms that we have secured so far have supported those folks, and i know that many of you here, dr. colfax talked about the surge and what is coming. i just want to remind everyone because people wonder when is it? what is going on? what surge? what are you talking about? i want to remind people when we declared a state of emergency in february, on february 25 of this

year, not one person was diagnosed with the coronavirus in san francisco today we are at 497 people with seven deaths. i know it is hard to trust the information we are providing when you can't necessarily see it, and what i want to say is it is important that you trust the decisions that we are making as to how we manage this public healthcare crisis. we have some of the best healthcare experts anywhere in the world right here in san francisco. u.c.s.f., c.p.m.c., san francisco general is world renowned for so many things, especially around trauma and saving lives. u.c.s.f. institutions and

research and work they do is world renowned. we are working together to make sure that we have a system to address what we know, sadly, will be a situation where possibly all of our beds could be occupied, which could be very challenging to serve people in need of a bed. this is where our hotels will be very strumental. if someone does not need to be in a hospital bed and they are homeless, the opportunity to provide them with a bed in a hotel is so critical to their recovery and limiting their ability to spread it to other people, and it is important to making that bed available for someone who really is in need. we are focused on what is

necessary to save lives. we know that there are a lot of frustration and emotion attached to what we know is a real homeless problem in our city. we are not going to be able to solve our homeless problem in san francisco with this crisis. we cannot deviate from what information we have and what systems we are putting in place in order to address this challenge and really truly flatten the curve. this is our ultimate goal, and we are busy focusing on exactly that and doing everything we can to support the most vulnerable homeless population that is sleeping on the streets now. in fact, our goal is to really target those who are over 60 and those who have underlying

conditions who are not yet in the shelter system. the ability to provide sufficient capacity for the expanded shelter bed programs, hotels, food, cleaning, management, oversight, work, resources, wraparound support services, all that we have to do to address this issue is a very challenging thing to do when many of the folks that we have working in this field are already still showing up to work and working very hard to keep our existing programs running. we have to also protect them. this is more complicated than opening up every hotel room in san francisco and making it available. if that were possible we would do it in a heartbeat. there are a lot of other things that come with doing this right. ultimately our goal is to focus

on our public health experts and recommendations there and to do this in a way that truly provides the help and the support that we need to those who are most vulnerable to get through this. i want to thank you all again for your understanding and your patience as we grapple with these challenges. i also want to say as the weekend approaches, today is friday, i think it is going to run. the sun is out. i just want to remind people how important it is to follow the directive. we are in week two of this stay at home order, and we know that it is not easy when you are in line at the grocery stores, follow the social distancing order. when you are out at a park or walking around your

neighborhood, please continue to follow the social distancing order. this is so critical to the success of our city. when you think about what is happening in san francisco and compare it to places like new york, people are -- the numbers in new york, sadly, skyrocketed out of control. the united states have surpassed other countries in the world, and here in san francisco we have been able to really, i think, do a tremendous job in maintaining numbers that people thought would be completely out of control at this time. yes, it will get worse before it gets better. yes, we will have challenges ahead. the reason why everyone is praising san francisco for our swift action in closing down the city and looking at the numbers and what is happens is because

everyone here knew how important it was to follow the instructions and everyone come dated the request for the most part in our city. that is going to get us through and make us successful as a city. that is going to keep us safe because we know that when we come together and we work to follow the instructions provided that we will get through this. the last thing i want to say before i ask susan phillips to come up is, you know, put positivity out into the world. this situation is like nothing that i think anyone alive today has ever experienced in their lifetime.

it can be scary for some people, especially people who are struggling financially and have a lot of uncertainty about their future. there is a lot of anxiety, frustration, fear. there is a lot of things that are going on in various people's lives and households, and what i think is important is that when we are going through all of this, yes, there is work that needs to be done and the people at the emergency operations are working every single day to do that work to make things better for all of us, but at the same time we need to continue to put out that positive energy, to put out that love and goodness in the world. an example is exactly what we know some neighbors gather and they open their windows or come outside to the front of their places at, i think, 7:00, they

clap and thank the healthcare workers. we saw on the cell force tower there was clapping to help the healthcare workers. we lit up city hall in blue to thank the health care workers. if we continue to put out positive energy and love and feeling of togetherness and comfort, that is going to help us through because we can drown out all of the negativity, all of the hate, other stuff that divides us by focusing on what matters. this really has put so many things into perspective even for me and how short life can be, how precious it is that we are all here today, and what we can do with our voices, our commitment, our passion. how we can really demonstrate it by example and how we can help

others get through it. i want to bring up the note that i mentioned before that i received from a neighbor that just basically said here is my cell phone number, my e-mail address. if you need someone to run errands, grocery store run or pharmacy or someone to talk to, i am here. that means a lot to someone who may not have received a visitor this whole time. i just want to remind us to be good to each other. the kindness of so many of you has gone a long way and really helped people get through it because when i say we will get through it together, we will get through it together when we support and uplift one another. that is exactly what we need to do as time goes on because this is going to get even harder, and the only way to get through this is by trying to focus on

supporting each other, uplifting each other and just really trying to push for more positive outlook on things because there will be a time that we will wake up and life will be back to what we know and love. at this time i would like to ask from the department of public health, filling in for doctor grant colfax, we have doctor susan phillips.

>> good morning morning. i am deputy health officer san francisco. thank you, mayor breed. i would like to update you on our ongoing work to respond to coronavirus and protect our community. todays there are 497 san francisco residents with confirmed cases of coronavirus. six are in hospitals across the city and half of these are in i c .u.s. sadly, seven san franciscans died from the disease. i would like to send condolences to families and friends. as we continue to fight the pandemic, i would like to remind you that our top priorities remain reducing the spread of the virus in the community, protecting vulnerable populations, healthcare and first responders, preparing health system for an expected

surge of hospital patients and expanding testing capabilities. in all of this work we see continuously to do better as we incorporate the latest science, data and facts. we have known from the start this this is a rapidly evolvingation and that continues to be true. we are working quickly to integrate new information and adjust recommendations accordingly so we are providing the best most up-to-date information and advice that we can. the issues of mask and face coverings is a good example. yesterday bay area health officers joined to recommend members of the public cover their mouthsanos when -- mouth and nose when they go outside. cloth face coverings combined with physical distance and hand washing may prevent additional transmission of the coronavirus.

the state health department issued new guidance this week as well. key point is this. if you cover your face, you are protecting other people around you. we know people may be contagious before they have symptoms or people with coronavirus could get only mildly sick. it could be you or me. covering your mouth is a good way to be a good neighbor and community member. this is not a substitute for physical distancing, staying at home and washing our hands. these are the mainstays. it is an additional tool and one to use. i also want to stress medical masks such as isolation or n95 masks are in very short supply and must be reserve would for healthcare and first responders. face covering can be a towel, scarf, anything to absorb droplets is fine.

this is new advice. there will be questions and frequently asked questions on sfgov.org and those will be updated. update on laguna honda. we are concerned about an outbreak. we are continuing to do everything we can to protect the health of residents and staff there. we gathered some of the best minds to help prevent the spread of this virus. we have some of the experts at u.c.s.f. and expanding to work with the california department of health and with experts around the country. we also know long-term care centers are at great risk. if we can make progress here, it will benefit people in other places. experts from the california department of public health and u.s. centers for disease control and prevention are on site at at

laguna honda are working closely with us advising how we should do contact tracing investigations and giving us recommendations for further improved preparedness going forward. we are all working together on the preparedness and response plan for the long-term care facilities in san francisco. i also want to give you an update as of today laguna honda has 12 confirmed cases of coronavirus. 10 are among staff and two are residents. of the staff, seven are in patient care positions and three have not. as we speak the california department of public health and centers for disease control are on site helping us with contact tracing and investigations. to date 94 patients have been tested throughout the hospital. to date 278 staff members have been tested.