>> hello every one. thank you so much for your patience. good morning i am san francisco mayor london breed with dr. colfax giving an update what is happening with omicron because we are anxious to know when is this going to start dying down? good things are starting to plateau. it doesn't mean we take our guard down. even though we are still seeing additional cases, even though our hospitalizations are very high, we have the capacity to handle what is coming our way, we are starting to see just a number of plateaus and trends from other parts of the country

afternoon world show the people ahead of us and the cases skyrocketing. we are paying very close attention. it seems like san francisco is behind all of that. we are following a very similar pattern to other cities across this country. if that is any indication plus with san francisco being 82% vaccinated it is really hopeful for the future and hopeful that we will continue to move forward. we will see some additional improvements as the days go on. i know it has been a very challenging couple of weeks over the holiday season. as we continue to say one of the most consistent things through out the course of two year pandemic the light at the end of the tunnel is here. we may go through another tunnel

but know there is hope and there is light. i am here just to also say because i know that many people are asking a lot of questions. what is going on with testing? what is going on with the tenderloin emergency plan? why are things not moving as quickly? many of us should understand the city and bureaucracy is challenging. keep in mind that we see these numbers of the omicron variant spike. we also see them spike with city employees. a lot of police officers, firefighters, muni drivers, department of public health workers and those at san francisco general are out with omicron. we are going to continue to experience this challenge for some time. we ask for people to be very patient with us, to know we are

doing our best, working to backfill those positions when they are out with over time and the number of other resources. these are the times we are living in. as a result we just have to adjust to our environment. to talk more specifically about where we are with omicron, what to expect for the future and you know the hopefulness when doctor colfax is smiling and excited and hopeful and giving an indication things are going to get better. i know that is what is going to happen. we get to come outside and play, right, dr. colfax? please welcome for an update on the covid-19 omicron variant and what is happening in san francisco here is dr. grant colfax. >> good morning everybody. thank you, mayor breed for your

leadership as we enter the third year of the pandemic. third year. we are seeing covid-19 cases drop relatively rapidly in the city. we can now say that we are on the beginning of the downward trajectory with regard to the surge. latest data showcases peaked on january 9 with seven day average of 2164 cases per day. it has steadily dropped each day since then to 1076 per day on january 12th. this is good news. it has been a rocky start to 2022. hang in there a little longer. the surge is not over yet. hospitalizations which trail the peak in cases will still continue to go up. fortunately, for now we expect to meet capacity within the healthcare system to take care of people with covid and other

healthcare needs in the hospitals. we are urging people to remain particularly vigilant for a little bit longer. cases are still very high. cases are still very high especially compared to prior surges. we all need to get well past this peak. look, i know that everybody is exhausted. let's give gratitude to front line staff who as the mayor said have been working over time to patch together coverage as colleagues become infected and have to stay home. many of them became infected, too. tonight bely, for the vast majority of our cases in the city, cases are mild because people were fully vaccinated with the first series and for many people they were up-to-date on vaccinations with regard to boosters. at this point, it looks good

with regard to making it through. we are likely to make it through the surge and come out in a much better place. it is important to emphasize with case rates so high what we see across the country, the state and locally we are in a far different place than a year ago with our prior surge. we are getting through omicron, the most transmissible yet. it is more transmissible than alpha and delta. we managed to keep hospitals, clinics and essential services open. most cases have been mild or asymptomatic especially for those up-to-date on vaccinations, especially for those who get the booster. we have proven covid doesn't have to upend our lives even if we have to be vigilant, smart and flexible to adapt to what is needed when needed.

as your public health department i want to stress that our goal is not to prevent every case of covid. omicron proved that is not possible. our goal is to prevent the worst outcomes, severe disease. hospitalizations and deaths. with regard to that, i want to ground ourselves in comparison to last year. last year we lost 165 san franciscans to covid in january of 2021. this month to date we have lost five. now we don't know what covid has in store for us, but we do have great defenses against this virus. vaccinations and boosters and i expect in the relatively near future effective antiviral medication. we know how to layer defenses. during periods with high

transmission when we must protect front line workers and vulnerable by masking, testing, improving ventilation. staying home when sick. omicron taught us we have vulnerabilities in the system of care. we need testing to be accessible, affordable and fast to truly use this tool together safely. we are working with our state and federal partners to make rapid over the counter tests easy to come by and requiring the healthcare system partners to step up and do their part with regard to testing as they have done with hospitalization. we anticipate new tools to become available soon such as retroviral medications to better protect people who are especially vulnerable to severe disease. as we come out of onl omicron we

will drop restrictions when and where they may being sense. we acknowledge that individuals have different level of comfort with the risk of covid and because of certain medical conditions. your risk assessment may vary. what you are willing to do with yourself and family may change depending on your risk assessment. individuals may want to adapt to their own risk and comfort level within the conditions stipulated under our health orders. we ask you to be tolerant and work together to make each other feel comfortable and supported. it is certainly possible we will deal with other variants in the future, hopefully, we will be able to wait covid among the other infectious diseases we have to contend with by not

letting them up end our lives. san francisco, thank you for all you have done and continue to do as a city and we will continue to get through this together. thank you. questions? >> i am confused. you are saying that the cases are beginning to fall rapidly downward. the surge is not over? >> well, the cases are still high. it depends if you depend surge as straight up. we are still in the surge. cases are higher than ever before. i just want to make sure that people understand that we are not out of the woods yet. cases are still extremely high. they plateaued and are going down. they are at a high level.

we are looking at data from other places where it had been ahead of us and it showed that cases could go up fast, come down fast. we are on the downward trend. they could go back up. we hope that is not the case. given where we have been for over two years now, i think the point is cases are starting to come down. hospitalizations are still going up. the rate of increase is starting to slow down. the important news is that hospital capacity still remains robust. we still have capacity to take care of people if they have covid or other medical conditions in the hospital system that is a key metric going forward. >> what type of restrictions are you talking about? >> well, it will be combination of factors we are looking at. it is too premature to speculate the order they would be lifted.

we would look at similar processes by which we have lifted restrictions after the prior surges. it is the layered defenses we required. you know we have had the indoor masking back into place. that is something we would look at in other similar restrictions. i don't want to jump too far ahead. we are still at high rates. hospitalizations are going up. they will level off we expect soon. important thing is after having been through the surges we want to be responsive in a way that reflects that we need to live with this virus. we don't want to hold onto restrictions waiting for omicron or covid to go away. that is not going to happen any more. we will reach a place where covid is endemic. we will live with the virus.

our lifting of restrictions will reflect that new reality. [indiscernable] >> the prior boosters is that going to help us? >> i refer you to the healthcare orders with regard to where people are required to have boosters. our point is that omicron has shown that people need to be up-to-date on vaccinations to be as protected as possible from omicron with regard to hospitalizations which is our goal here. getting people access to boosters is key. one of the reasons we have been so successful with the surge is because we have a high booster rate. 61% of people vaccinated in the city have received a booster and are up-to-date on vaccinations.

that is far higher than the national or state average. we want people to continue to get boosters. we will make them available in the healthcare systems including health department and pharmacy partners. [indiscernable] >> it is clearly important that we have testing capabilities throughout san francisco that people can trust. unfortunately we have had challenges with bad operators. i really applaud the city

attorney's office and the city attorney for taking action and paying close attention to challenges that could arise for people taking the situation for granted. >> it is not unchecked power for the police department. the fact is we want to address the challenges of crime in our city. in facts, you know, everyone is now carrying around all of these gadgets, phones, some someone's face in the public. anyone not law enforcement can see everything going on. people from all over the city and when you talk about a situation for example what happened in union square. the fact that there was a lot of online chatter, our officers were aware and needed another resource through video to observe the behavior and because of our ordinance could not,

there are a lot of things that could have been prevented based on information we get. we are not only asking to allow this to happen based on evidence. part of my ordinance is to say we have to also report this information like when this is accessed by the san francisco police department it will be made public, it will be provided to the board of supervisors. if there is a need to do an investigation or anything about why they chose to do it and it t wasn't necessary, that will be dealt with. the goal is to address public safety. the fact we need the tool. responsible use of this tool to do so. [indiscernable] >> my response is that the

voters will decide because we are talking about the fact that, you know, we have major challenges with public safety. when i say public safety not just about theft. it is about assault and the number of people who have been attacked on our streets, the number of people who have been robbed and as salted. we want to make sure that we are using every tool at our disposable responsibly to keep people from san francisco safe. i don't think what i propose in my ordinance is unreasonable in light of everything that has been happening in san francisco. >> the voters of san francisco support you. go forward with it. >> thank you very much. from the mouths of citizens. >> mayor, could you address the businesses and restaurants in san francisco that have had a lousy christmas. >> everyone had a lousy

christmas. >> what words do you have for them for some of the restrictions to be lifted? >> my hope is that yes, as dr. colfax said. we also have a responsibility to follow the state orders. mostly when we look at the data, hospitalization rates, number of people who sadly passed away, it makes it possible for us to potentially remove a significant number of restrictions. i think ultimately regardless of the restrictions that is not keeping people away from these places. it is really not wanting to contract omicron. that is really what people are focused on is keeping distance to not get it. it is highly infectious and challenging, people are getting it. the good news is that people for the most part are not ending up in the hospitalizations and dying in numbers we experienced

this last year before we had access to the vaccine. i am hopeful and optimistic for the future and sadly so many small businesses and restaurants and families and people not able to get together is very, very challenging. my hope is as we begin to reopen and see numbers decline we are careful and go out and support our restaurants. we order pick up from the restaurants and support our small businesses. it is going to take all of us to get through this. part of that is san franciscans doing more to support our businesses. my drycleaner i have been going to the same drycleaner since i had a drycleaner. i am not getting as many clothes cleaned as before.

talking to find out how can i as long time customer be supportive? donations are helpful to the businesses you care about and support in that way. >> thank you very much everyone.

you're watching san francisco rising with chris manors. today's special guest is dr. steven zutnick.

>> hello. the show is focused on restarting, rebuilding, and reimagining our city. the director of the therapy center of san francisco and he's a professor in counseling psychology at usf. he's here today to talk to us about resocializing, and returning to the office. welcome to the show. >>. >> thanks, chris. good to be back. >> as we re-open, people are having different reactions. some are embracing the recent shifts while others are having a hard time readjusting. >> yes. i think it's an excellent question. my basic bias on this i think to give you a general overview is we ought to be following cdc suggestions and requirements, what they say, because that's where a lot of the things come.

should i wear a mask. should i not wear a mask. my answer is, yes, absolutely. i think we should wear a mask. i think we should social distance. it not only makes an impact on covid, it makes an impact on other diseases as well. as you and i were chatting, the deaths from flu usually average 30,000 a year. we've had 2,500 deaths from the flu so far this year, but at the very least, you need to be vaccinated. >> going back to the office is also an issue. there are some people are thrilled returning to work, others are nervous about it and there's a group of people who've been working onsite all along. let's start with those who are worried about returning to the office. what can be done to relieve their concerns? >> i think identifying a cohort of colleagues, fellow workers

who you can just talk to and share experiences with. you know, when you look at the advantages of groups, the major one is when we sit and talk to other people, we suddenly discover, oh, this isn't just me, i'm not some strange guy here. so everybody else i'm talking to is worried about the same thing. i think that will raise awareness among people. to say, oh, i don't know, what are we going to do? do we have fresh air in here? can we open some windows? does the boss care if i wear a mask? >> how about those who've been going to work all along. possibly the most traumatized. how would you talk to them about managing the possible stress and resentment they may have been feeling. >> the most at-risk population is the essential worker who

because they are also one of the lowest paid populations, have taken the biggest hits and the most risks. they're still at high risk. so they're dealing with a lot. they're dealing with depression, anxiety, insomnia quite a bit. and you've got a lot of ptsd by the way one last point on the health care workers. that's the tip of the iceberg. these are also the people who often have the least access to therapy. so we've got all these people out of there who've been in the trenches the entire time, never had a break, suffering a lot of trauma, and there are no services available for them. >> lastly, let's talk about management. with varying attitudes towards the lifting of restrictions, there may be some struggles in the work place. how would you advise management to ease the transition? >> management can encourage

vaccination or require it. they can keep masks, physical distance, hand washing, all of these things. and hopefully management will be responsive. i think, you know, given the title that the series, this is all new. we're all just moving in to a whole new phase. we haven't begun to see the research that's going to come out of what we've just been through. we've been through a terrible pandemic. there's been a huge toll and i don't think we've seen the tip of the iceberg on the impact. >> do you have any final thoughts to share? >> yeah. i think this pandemic has highlighted a lot of things. for me, certainly, is mental health professional and a behavioral scientist. it's clear to me, we need to educate people about science. this is not unknowable to

people. the basic of science is constant questioning. when you ask a question in research, you get one answer and about five new questions. things evolve continuously. so, yeah, when the cdc first came out a year and a half ago, they said, no, we don't need masks and then they said oh, we do and then everybody went crazy. oh, look how bad the sciencetists are. that's exactly what science does. we thought we didn't need it. then we discovered it was air born. i think we're seeing we have huge holes in the health care system and conversely, i think we're finding with the vaccination, what it means for everyone to have access to health care without worrying about how am i going to pay for it. so i think this is really forcing us to look at everything. it's been a very difficult

time. it's going to continue to be a difficult time for people, but i think that's also getting us to look at some really critical issues in health care. >> well, thank you so much for coming on the show dr. zlotnick. well, thanks again. we'll be back with another episode of san francisco rising shortly. for sfgov tv i'm chris manors. thanks for watching.

>> i am so happy. african-americans in the military from the revolutionary war to the present, even though they have not had the basic civil rights in america. they don't know their history. in the military the most sacrifice as anyone in this country to be willing to lay down your blood and fight. i believe that all african-americans have served because they love this country and the hope that the citizens.

>> welcome to the first -- let me take my mask off. so you guys can see who we're talking about. my name is aaron. i'm the executive director of the northern california martin luther king, jr. community foundation and we're elated to inaugurate with our partners the san francisco human rights commission. and the university of san francisco.