number of scientists and looking to confirm the transmission and the increased transmission risk but i think that to emphasize the need for people not to travel and to stay t a home and for the travel quarantine guidelines to stay home so people returning to the city do not transmit covid-19. >> thank you, doctor. we will give it just a moment. thanks for your time.

>> all right, dr. colfax. that is it for today. thank you to madam mayor and for your time. that concludes today's press conference. >> thank you so much. goodbye. >> good morning. thank you for joining us today. we know this year has been hard on our kids and families. the fact the public schools haven't opened is really challenging. we are seeing the impact every day as kids fall further and further behind. as city we don't control the schools. we have been providing a much-needed support, as much as we can to help get them open.

right now, we are working with the district to set up the testing system. we shared funding and staff to help facilities get ready we will do whatever we can to get our classrooms open. i know it is not easy. it is for the good of our entire community, and for our kids and families. nothing matters more. back in summer when it was clear schools weren't going to open this fall, we knew we had to do something for the kids struggling with distance learning, including my niece and nephew. that is where we launched this community hub initiative. as the first semester of the initiative comes to a close, we have an opportunity to look back on all that we have accomplished with this incredible program. as i said when we first started the program, it takes a village

to get the children the resourceses they need to thursday five. that is especially true during the pandemic. we have an incredible village in san francisco. in a matter of weeks we got the program up and running with the help of community organizations, city departments and private partners. i especially want to thank the department of youth and families and phil ginsburg from recreation and parks who stepped up and drove this program from the beginning. thanks to the hard work of every one involved over the past three months of operation we served 2000 students at 78 locations throughout the city. that is 2000 students who have been able to get help with distance learning, receive healthy food and snacks, and most importantly have a place to go where they could be around

other kids their own age. that is thousands of san francisco parents who can focus on working during the day, knowing their children are being looked after. these hubs have made a difference in people's lives. they have been safe, even during this challenging time. from day one, keeping our young people in the hub, staff safe and healthy is the top bright. the community hub follow strict health and safety protocols. so far there hasn't been one single covid-19 outbreak at any of our hubs. that is thanks to the hard work of the staff and department of f public health who worked on the hub set and safety plan. the lessons we learn can inform the hard work we are doing right now to reopen public schools. while some people are questioning whether that is safe to bring our public school

students back to the classroom, keep in mind we haven't had any outbreaks at these hubs or the private schools that have already opened for in-person learning. yes, we know it is hard. it will take a lot of work. i believe we can and we must open in-person learning in a safe way as soon as possible. along with health and safety, we have emphasized the importance of equity throughout our response to covid. that applies to the hubs as well. the community hubs initiative was created specifically to serve the highest need students from san francisco. we want to reach kids and families who needed extra help and support and most vulnerable. our children are already struggling and falling behind. focused enrollment at the hub we reached many students who otherwise would have a hard time

with distance learning. over 400 students ars are resids of public housing, 150 homeless. 64 in sros with crowded conditions, 18 foster and 287 require language support provided by the hub. we have been successfully enrolling students from historically underserved communities. 96% of the students are children of color. as we realize that covid-19 wasn't going to make distance learning the new normal for students, -- we realized it was the new normal. we worked with department of technology to stock devices and make sure they were connected to the internet.

digital equity made sure they had what we need for kids to log on and participate in distance learning. comcast is an incredible partner and worked with more than 30 community organizations to connect the hub sites with high-speed internet. when a hub sight was going to be without internet due to issue with another internet service providers, comcast technicians showed up and got the job done so kids could participate in distance learning. in addition to connecting sites with internet, they have contributed to support digital literacy and we are grateful for partnership. today comcast committed to 800 brand-new computers to our students that come from these under served communities. we are grateful. you will hear from them in a

moment. thanks to the village students have a place to go where they know they have reliable internet, access a computer that works and healthy meal to it. along with colleagues and the library sheep has been instrumental in creating the hub and keeping the program running. maria. >> good morning. thank you, madam mayor for the lovely introduction. i struggled to believe it is 40 weeks since you issued the shelter-in-place order in march. thanks to your steadfast leadership and vision, the city and county of san francisco has been a model for the nation on how we keep our residents safe, healthy and resilient. as you shared, san francisco will recover from the covid-19

pandemic, but that recovery will depend on all of us, all of our behaviors and actions. it will take all of us to support each other, stand up for each other and do what is right for each other. i am so produce to partner with -- to partner with the department of children youth and families, recreation and parks, san francisco public library and other city departments. our school district, community partners and private sector partners to join forces and to do our part to ensure the safety and well-being of our city's most vulnerable children and youth. we answered your call to action,

madam mayor, and stood up to the community hub initiative for youth. a lot of support from the department of public health. our highest need children are receiving the very necessary in person support with their distance learning curriculum and getting the much needed enrichment activities and social well-being support. we understood about the distance learning efforts this past spring has increased historic disparities in our communities. many students who already face large achievement gaps, family support, assistive device and access to the internet were barriers to engagement. with equity and digital access at the forefront we moved

quickly. the covid avalanche that we knew was hitting our children. i am so happy to share today we celebrate the community health initiative completion of this school year's first semester. for the past 14 weeks our 78 hubs provided an extended circle of educational, social emotional and family support of children and youth surrounded by kind caring adults to provide a safe and nurturing environment for learning, play and a lot of fun. the initiative success is maintaining health and safety protocols across all 78 hubs by meaningful data for the department of public health and the city's covid command as we support our schools to reopen

safely. while 2020 has not been an ordinary year, it has brought out the extraordinary. especially when it comes to our collaborative partners in our communities day in and out. throughout the pandemic our community partners consistent have been on the front lines responding to the needs of our communities by providing essential support. they are our san francisco youth development first responders. i want to join the mayor in thanking comcast and our other partners as we are so grateful for your support and proud to welcome you into the mayor's village. together we make san francisco a great place to grow up, even during the pandemic. thank you, mayor. >> mayor breed: thank you,

maria. community partners have been essential in taking care of our kids at these sites day after day. i would like to introduce betty field ashbury for the tom embarcadero ymca providing staffing. thank you and welcome, betty. >> thank you, madam mayor, maria, it is such an honor to be here speaking about our work at the treasure island community hub. i first and foremost want to thank the families and caregivers that entrust us with the chair of their young people. it is the most awesome and humbling responsibility, particularly during this time while we are figuring out how to get through the pandemic that

none of us were ever anticipating or prepared for. we on the island, our community is going through an enormous amount of physical transformation and with that comes feelings of separation and isolation from the city. that is compounded during this pandemic. for us at the community ymca remaining stable was imperative and call to action for all of us, and my team on the island working seven days each week as we led to the launch of the hub. it has been an overwhelming lift and beautiful cingular investment from all of the community partners to be ther tr

interest and investment in caring for the most vulnerable kids. that has been evidenced in the way they have helped through the planning process. san francisco beacon initiative has supported us all in the vision. we have had the city departments led by may or london breed drive this initiative, and at the center of it as maria was saying, our youth development workers and professionals are reimagining and innovating creative ways to keep young people safe, healthy and engaged during this time in a space and context where they can't necessarily touch or be close or play in the ways that they are used to. they have done an incredible

job. we are managing multiple children's schedules, getting them engage with the school day and learning skills about safety, community responsibility and care and compassion. it is so beautiful and meaningful to see this happen. i think that this work can't be done on behalf of one individual entity, but as i said it has been a cingular kind of focus around the safety and care for young people that are vulnerable. it has been so rewarding and refreshing. i feel so proud and humble by the fact that our staff has been safe, our young people have been safe, we haven't experienced any covid outbreaks. we haven't experienced covid exposure based on hub

participation. we are excited to keep partnering, and we are so supported by all of the partners and the work that has come our way. comcast has made sure the internet could support the 36 young people in the hub and getting technology homes to families. we have worked with island partners to distribute food and deliver packages and provide virtual opportunities for families that aren't in our physical space. while this time has been scary and unprecedented, it has also been triumphant in how we can come together and what we can do for our young people when we are facing this kind of challenge. i want to say thank you. i want to appreciate the caregivers and the families that entrust us with their children

and the youth workers and activists and organizers who are in the center of all of this may being it happen. >> thank you so much, betty. next we want to highlight the people most impacted by the hubs. families, which day in and day out are struggling with distance learning. it is one thing to hear from me, it is another thing to hear from our parents. this is shanna who enrolled her daughter in the community hub program in september. welcome. >> thank you, mayor breed. i am the mother of brooklyn, fourth grader. she has been attending the first hub since they opened. i want to say that because my baby was able to attend, life has been a little easier.

it is very, very stressful. i recently quit my job in an effort so brooklyn would be attending, i applied at another job. it all worked out for me. i feel like not only is she doing well in school, i feel safe, i feel like she is safe, and they are very caring. they are more like family than school. or the after school program or how ever you want to call them, it is a family thing and i am leaving her with her family for the day. with the covid thing. they may being sure everything

is clean and safe. they wash before and after everything they do. i just appreciate whoever opened up these hubs. i appreciate you all. it was a struggle before, single parent. once it opened everything got a little easier for me, very easier. thank you for having me. >> mayor breed: thank you. how old is brooklyn? >> 9 years old in fourth grade and she loves her staff. >> mayor breed: thank you so much. glad she is doing so well. next up we have -- we really want to highlight the work that comcast has been doing through this pamdemic. we relied on support to help with community initiatives. i would like to introduce the

vice president of external affairs in california. >> thank you, madam mayor. so great to be here. i think the word that many of us would use about this year is unprecedented. we have seen unprecedented challenges requiring creative solutions. in response to the challenges this year, i am extremely proud of everything comcast has done to support employees, customers and communities. last week comcast announced we will provide free internet service for 60 days for new international essentials customers and free access to the more than 1.5 public wi-fi hotspots through june of 2021. this continues our commitment that we first made in mid-march at the beginning of shelter-in-place. comcast is committed to closing

the digital divide and creating digital equity for more than a decade. we have made great strides. we have connected to the internet more than 8 million low income individuals nationally. 1 million of whom from the great state of california. we did this through our internet essentials program which provi provides high-speed internet access at home to eligible low income individuals and supports non-profit partners for digital literacy skills. there is still more we can and will do. during this decade long journey, we are learned it takes partnership to be successful. madam mayor, i thought your quote about the village is so appro pro. we are grateful to be part of that village. we want to thank you, mayor breed, for your vision and

leadership to launch the community hubs, not only for connection but for vital wrap around services to children and families. of the thousands of partners we work with nationwide, i could not be more proud to be here today with each of you. i am extreme lee proud that comcast is a key partner enabling the tremendous success of the community hubs in san francisco. the 30 plus locations we are supporting in the city is part of a larger commitment whereby comcast will launch 1,000 lift scopes nationally. wait. there is more. we have exciting news to share about continuing commitment to san francisco. in addition to powering the community hub locations throughout comcast lift zone program, comcast will donate $140,000 to give to sf.

to support digital literacy training, food insecurity efforts during the pandemic and holiday season along with other services offered at the community hubs. comcast, as the mayor mentioned, will provide 800 youth with laptop computers which are theirs to keep and free internet at home for a year through internet essentials program. by providing free wi-fi access at community hubs and combining with free laptops and free internet access at home, comcast will help ensure the youth actively participate in class work and complete assignments wherever they are. as a result, the children can receive the best possible education and be set up for a

more equitable prosperous future. the partnership with mayor breed, the director and dcyf team, all of the other city departments, community-based organizations like ymca, comcast has been successful because of the commitments we all have to ensuring we educate and empower the san francisco students and families. we so look forward to continued partnership. thank you so much. back to you, madam mayor. >> mayor breed: thank you, breath. i hope brooklyn will get the laptop and internet so she has all she needs to thrive in the city. comcast support has been strumental to make sure the killeds have access to internet at the hub and this new contribution of 800 laptops is great news in addition to the contribution to staff and the work they will continue to do.

we appreciate you joining us today. thank you all again. you can tell we are all excited about the community hubs initiative and what it means for families and students in san francisco. it has been a team effort. it has shown what this city can do when we come together to focus on what is most important. i am looking forward to continuing to work with everyone involved to ensure it remains a success in the new year and can help inform the school district's ongoing work to get students back in the classroom. at this time i will turn it over to nubia for question and answer from the press. >> thank you for speaking about such an important program. i am with the san francisco command center. i will help facilitate questions from the press. we have a question for maria.

we have a question for the examiner. how will the hubs expand outreach to ensure eligible families know about it? >> thank you for the question. we are currently working with our school district to identify additional young people who would benefit from a spot in the hub. we have planned to serve 3,000 children in total. we have more spots available in the hub. we are hoping to identify those young people and enroll them. we have already worked with the school district for two learning hubs where we were able to identify a number of young people and have already registered them. we are also working with our community-based organizations on

a daily basis. we are identifying families who continue to need this additional support. we will continue to expand as resources are available. our commitment is to ensure up to 3,000 children will have this opportunity by the end of the program. >> we are done with questions. thank you all so much for joining us. i know shauna is looking forward to making sure brooklyn gets her new laptop and internet service and so many kids so deserving. thank you for joining us. have a wonderful holiday season. take care. >> okay.well tom twelo

hearing our last hearing of the year. on february 25th the mayor declared a state of emergency. reveen remotely through the shelter in place. congratulations commissioners. remote hearings are moaf