>> good afternoon, everyone. thank you so much for joining us. last week when we announced some rollbacks around the restaurants and a number of other businesses, we did make it clear that we are sadly seeing an increase in the number of covid cases and in fact, last week our reproductive rate was at 1.2 and today it is at 1.3. just this past friday we have

seen an increase in over 20 # o cases. our case as of today are 13,756 with 38 people who are hospitalized, 156 people who have lost their lives since the beginning of this pandemic in san francisco in particular and the positivity rate is at 1.87. dr. grant colfax is joining me to talk more specifically about the numbers and what they mean and where we are, the same way he did so last week. what we're seeing here and what we've seen all over the country is what looks like to be a significant uptick, one that we have to pay i a tension to. and more importantly, one that has put san francisco which has been really a leader on fighting against this pandemic, it has put all of the incredible gains that we have made at jeopardy. effective tomorrow, we have been informed by the state of

california, and we will be going from the yellow tier which we were so proud to be at to the red tier. and what that means is, sadly, a number of things will need to come off the table. one of the things that i have made clear from the very beginning is we are going to proceed with caution so that we can do everything we can to avoid a complete shutdown. and as of tomorrow, we will need to unfortunately roll back nonessential office space, making sure that people who are nonessential, that have opened their office spaces will need to close them at this time. and unfortunately, the gyms will need to go from 25% down to 10%. these particular things were mostly chosen because under state law in red we have to follow those guidelines, but also we understand that there are certain things that put us

more at risk of increasing the virus than other activities. and again, dr. grant colfax is joining me today and will explain some of the specifics around what this means for our city, especially in light of what we see happening. and we want to continue to make sure that we don't go backwards. and how do we do that? we don't go backwards by not getting comfortable, not getting complacent. the weather has been pretty nice even though it's been cold. but the sun has been shining. people have been enjoying san francisco. i had an opportunity to walk around the city this weekend, and i saw so many people out and about enjoying the parks, doing -- walking, jogging, hanging out at the restaurants and other things. a lot of people were outdoors. and what we have to continue to do is not get comfortable because the fact is the virus is

still out there. and we are still going to have to adjust to this so that we don't continue to see a significant spike in san francisco. what's happening next week, of course, is one of our favorite holidays, and that's thanksgiving. and so we know that so many people want to travel and then there's other family members that want to come visit. the department of public health has put out a travel advisory asking residents to avoid nonessential travel, but more importantly, we need to think about the folks that come to visit us as well, especially in places where we are seeing higher case numbers. this year we're asking people to sacrifice because of thanksgiving when we get together and we see large family gathering, especially indoors, when those happen, we could be dealing with the impacts of those decisions by christmas with a significant increase in hospitalizations.

so what we're asking people to do is sacrifice. sacrifice and put off the things that we all know and love especially during the holiday season. for the sole purpose of trying to get to a better place and for the sole purpose of making sure that people don't continue to catch this virus and so that folks aren't continuing to be hospitalized and that we don't see increased number of deaths as a result of wanting to come together for the holidays. this is where we are now. this is me sounding the alarm. this is me asking san franciscans to do exactly what i have been asking this entire time, to make adjustments, to make sacrifices, and to do everything you can to remember that this virus exists and make sure that our behavior and what we do helps to avoid circulating

the virus in the first place. we remember not too long ago the when we finally made the announcement that we would be opening gyms and hair salons and nail salons. just think about how good it felt to feel normal. to go and get your hair done or your nails done or to go and workout at the gym and enjoy your time there, but just think about how much more important it was to the people who were finally able to open their business, who were finally able to get a paycheck, who finally had some level of certainty in their lives that they would be able to take care of themselves. now, think about what's happening now. i'm sure that so many of those people are scared. last week we told the restaurants that they would no longer be able to operate indoors. what that meant was not only layoffs, but it also meant that

there was a lot of lost revenue because of the food that they no longer were able to use. when you think about some of the things and the sacrifices that people are making, that's what makes me continue as much as i want to be around people and i want to be around friends and family, it's why i choose to make sure that i am doing my part by keeping my distance and by avoiding large crowds and by not getting complacent. it's not just because i'm the mayor of the city and i am asking you to do, but it's because i want to get our kids back in school. it pains me every time we have to make an announcement to close a business because i know what that means financially for that business. and it has been very, very difficult for so many people. we know that since the pandemic

began, almost 300,000 san franciscans have filed for unemployment. and we know that people continue to suffer financially. and we also know that people are still in the hospital and people are nervous and concerned about their own personal health. we know that we disproportionately have seen a lot of infections in our latino community, and we made significant investments and we are seeing a real difference. i'm really proud of that work, but there's more that needs to be done because when we look at the data, which has been the driving force behind every decision that we have made, we make good decisions. we make adjustments as it relates to the data. one of those such adjustments is moving soma location, a testing location, to the alamany

farmer's market because we know in this community which touches the o.m.i., touches the bayview hunter's point, and it touches that whole region, we know there is a need for more access, more consistent testing. this location was doing over 500 tests a day, and in san francisco, we're going close to 5,000 tests a day. when i think about how far we've come, being able to provide people their test results anywhere between 24 and 48 hours, it is significant. when i look at the maps of what shows us specifically where the areas which carry the higher infection rates and where the areas are that have testing both public and private, we have to make an adjustment. we had no choice. so tomorrow that location will be at the farmer's market.

and i am really grateful to the department of public health and the work that was done in order to make the adjustment and to move the site to this specific location as well as the work that has been done to get us to this point where we are adjusting to the needs of the people of san francisco. this will continue to be a challenge, and it's hard to get up here and tell people that you're going to have to close your business. you're going to have to make some adjustments. can't see your grandmother who is in a nursing facility. you can't hang out with your friends. children can't spend time with one another like they used to. it pains me. and so because of that, we need everyone's cooperation so that people's lives aren't impacted

as a result of our decisions. we've come a long way, san francisco. we have been a leader on combatting this virus. we should be so proud that we've done an incredible job. and now i'm asking for more. and i know it's hard. i know it's hard every single day that you have to make that decision. i know it's hard, but i'm asking for more. as we come upon the holiday season with different kind of flu and hopefully you got your flu shot, we know that this is going to be a next tough couple of months. so let's continue to do our part. let's continue to be creative and keep our distance. let's minimize the number of households and the people that we interact with. let's cutback on those holiday

dinners with large families gathering on the inside. let's do what we can so that we can see the change. and as we see the change, that will put us in a better situation to begin to reopen our city and to put our economy back on track and to put our kids back in school and to look behind us and say because of everything we did, we are in a better place and we are so grateful for the sacrifices that we all made to get there. thank you, all, so much for your cooperation, and at this time, i want to introduce dr. grant colfax to talk specifically about the data, where we are, what we need to continue to do, and information from the department of public health. dr. grant colfax.

good afternoon and thank you mayor breed. we are now experiencing on the national, state, and regional level. so let me be clear that san francisco is in the midst of the major surge of covid-19 cases.

it is sobering that we have reached this point again. as you know, this is the third surge we have experienced and unfortunately, the virus is moving aggressively in our community. unlike the previous two surges, this surge is impacting every state in the nation. in the last two weeks, deaths have increased and the c.d.c. cited a new record and as you can see on this slide, san francisco is trending behind the national average of cases per 100,000. and that is no reason for us to believe that we couldn't catch

up to the average and catch up quickly. and in california, we are seeing the fastest growth in daily cases since the pandemic began. the rate of increase that we are seeing in california is faster and steeper than the summer surge. and here in san francisco we are seeing an explosion of new cases throughout is city becoming more widespread. we are now averaging 10 dayses per 100,000 people in the red zone and you can see represented in the blue bars the sharp increases in cases we have had since october. and the black line represents the seven-day rolling average of new cases in our city. from october 10 to november 10,

daily new covid cases jumped from an average of 29 cases a day with the additional perspective, let me share additional numbers. it took us 29 days to go from 11,000 to 12,000 total cases in san francisco. it took us 18 days to go from 12,000 to 13,000. and now we anticipate that it will take us just 12 days to go from 13,000 to 14,000 cases. let's go to the next slide. this slide shows the increase in cases in san francisco per 100,000. you see the rapid rise.

this rate of rise is higher than ever before. right now the other health indicators remain stable. the hospitalizations remain stable at the green level. however, and unfortunately, we do expect to see an increase in hospitalizations. we currently have sufficient hospital beds in i.c.u. and intensive care unit capacity, but if the surge continues, we could exceed that capacity as, unfortunately, we are seeing in certain regions and states across the country. and we continue to test more than 5800 people a day with the testing rate and contact tracing

over 85% of cases. so let me take a moment to talk about the state tier changes. today the state announced they have seen an increase in cases and in most cases that increase has been dramatic. the state has placed them in the most restrictive purple tier. and we have moved from the least restrictive tier, yellow, to where virus transmission is minimal to this red tier where virus transmission is substantial. that means instead of moving back to just one tier to orange as was previously anticipated under is state system, we have unfortunately moved back two tiers. this is indicative of how fast

and due to the red tier designation, we will have to have people return to return to remote work and reduce gyms and indoor climbing walls to 10% capacity. i do not want to continue to move backwards. additional restrictions could be necessary if each of us does not take immediate action today to do our part to limit the spread of the virus. so let's take a moment and think about that. let's think about how that relates to the upcoming holidays that i wish we could celebrate in the normal times. next week is thanksgiving.

so as hard as it is to say this, please do not travel. please do not travel. stay at home with the immediate household. as hard as it might be, we must exercise caution and do our part. and please do not use testing to determine whether you can travel or not. we have seen the repeated failure, the repeated failure of this type of testing strategy across the country including in washington, d.c. a negative test cannot be an excuse to put yourself or others at risk. remember, please remember, that people who test negative can still harbor the virus if they are early in their infection. that is why when people are exposed to the virus, they must

quarantine for 14 days regardless of their test results. san francisco, once again, we simply must double down or triple down and do everything we can to stop the spread of the virus. we cannot be reckless or complacent and take everything precaution to protect ourselves, our family and the community. the choices we, the choices you, the choices i make in the next two weeks will determine the remainder of the holiday season. we have the ability to bead back the third surge in other parts of the country. and we can choose by the actions we take this week and the upcoming week.

the safest way to celebrate is to to not expose and i strongly recommend against it and strongly recommend against it keep it to no more than six people and keep the masks on, period. the best way is to give your friends and family the gift of good health. as we have learned, the past months is we have learned that together we can beat it back. so we have done it twice and we can do it again. i know that everyone is tired and fatigued. and i know i can sound like a

broken record. but covid 19 is not resting. and neither can we. remember, we know how to sol slow the spread of the virus. limit gatherings and wear your mask and let's be cautious, diligent and safe. let's make sure that we and our loved ones are here for that vaccine so that we can really celebrate big next year. thank you. thank you. >> thank you, dr. colfax. and welcome, madam mayor, as we begin the q and a portion.

the first question somes from should public schools continue to aim for a january 20 target date? >> absolutely. it is essential to get our schools open as safely as possible and before the science makes it clear that the spread of covid amongst elementary and middle school students and is not the same as amongst adults and kids who are in high school. so we know what the data is.

we know that educators and others are involved and we know that it's so critical that between now and january we do the work to prepare to safely open as quickly and possible. so we are hopeful to get to a better place. they have provided a significant amount of resources to continue the process so that we are prepared to open as quickly and safely as possible. we now have a few health-related questions for director colfax.

in terms of testing, is there an increase in demand or are they providing better access? as the major mentioned, we are to go to where the virus is now averaging 5800 tests a day, higher than any other jurisdictions we are aware of. and from the beginning we focus on insuring that people have access to the testing to the essential workers who have symptoms and who have a high rf risk exposure and who do not have insurance. the city is also currently conducting 55% of the 5800

tests. with the probably testing and kaiser, for instance, has greatly eliminated many barriers in testing. any explanation on this? >> this reflects the overall surge from across the city and is important to emphasize that the virus remains concentrated in the communities most impacted by the the the virus and it is

important no matter where you are that everyone does their part to reduce the risk of the viral transmission. this is not a time to let up and not a time to socialize in close quarters with other people. keep activities outdoors and wear the masks. >> thank you, doctor. the last set of questions. is there any plan to reduce ak pan si at retail store or personal services such as salons? -- to reduce occupancy. and if san francisco were to drop to purple, what would that mean for businesss? >> we are focussing on trying to keep from moving further backward which is why it is so important as the holiday season that we see the surge that everyone do their part. if we do into purple, we will need to take the steps that the state requires and purple require. right now we do not have any media plans to place further restrictions. as you know, indoor dining

closed on saturday. this is with madam mayor for your time. there are no further questions and this concludes today's press conference. thank you.

>> supervisor ronen: good morning, everyone. the meeting will come to order. good morning and welcome to the november 16, 2020, meeting of the rules committee. with me is vice chair catherine stefani and supervisor victor mar. mr. clerk, do you have any announcements? >> clerk: