dr. grant colfax. >> thank you. hi everybody. and thank you, mayor breed for your ongoing leadership in this unprecedented time. i'm delighted today that we're able to make vaccines available for all san franciscans ages 50 and over. with this expansion and eligibility, thousands of san franciscans will be able to get protection from covid, begin to safely interact with vaccinated loved ones, contribute to our collective effort to vaccinate the entire city, to achieve herd immunity, and allow us to more safely open our economy. this expansion and eligibility comes as we are very close to reaching the milestone of 50% of our adult population having received at least one dose of the vaccine. and, for our residents 65 and over who we know are most at risk for complications, hospitalizations and dying from covid-19, an impressive 82% have received at least one dose and 62% are now fully vaccinated. as a city overall, we are doing much better at slowing the spread of this virus. at the peak of our surge, ea

colfax. we certainly congratulations dr. philip and thank her for her leadership in the pandemic before and beyond and also the board of supervisors for their wisdom in unanimously approving her. it's also very fitting to maria x. martinez and her equity with any other matters within the department. commissioners, do we have any questions or comments for director colfax before we move on to our covid update? >> clerk: i apologize. there are a few people on the line folks in the public comment line if you'd like to comment on this line, please press star 3 to raise your hand. star 3. no hands, commissioners. >> president bernal: thank you, commissioner motherwitz. we'll move on to our next item which is covid-19 update. still director colfax. >> great. thank you so much. i'll just quickly go through a few slides to provide a broad city update. next slide. so san francisco cumulative cases and deaths. 36,487 cases of covid-19 diagnosed and, unfortunately, we've had 541 people in san francisco day of covid related complications

colfax. we certainly congratulations dr. philip and thank her for her leadership in the pandemic before and beyond and also the board of supervisors for their wisdom in unanimously approving her. it's also very fitting to maria x. martinez and her equity with any other matters within the department. commissioners, do we have any questions or comments for director colfax before we move on to our covid update? >> clerk: i apologize. there are a few people on the line folks in the public comment line if you'd like to comment on this line, please press star 3 to raise your hand. star 3. no hands, commissioners. >> president bernal: thank you, commissioner motherwitz. we'll move on to our next item which is covid-19 update. still director colfax. >> great. thank you so much. i'll just quickly go through a few slides to provide a broad city update. next slide. so san francisco cumulative cases and deaths. 36,487 cases of covid-19 diagnosed and, unfortunately, we've had 541 people in san francisco day of covid related complications

dr. colfax described before as a city. we have been encouraged from the covid command center to really take this opportunity to celebrate our moment of getting to 1 million vaccinations and so i do have my hashtag celebration there for you. so our health network, we put together a taskforce that was specifically aimed to work on covid vaccine and, from the start, made our mission to ensure that every patient and staff member in the health network who desires a vaccine can receive one as quickly as possible while balancing the following principles. so, first, to deploy the vaccine supplies equitably, fairly, and transparentally with the guidelines and the state. and, initially, this was really around following the evidence and the guidelines, but also making sure that we were not putting the city's vaccine supply at risk and so really learning about that risk gratification in the early days, in december as dr. colfax stated, maybe mid december. this was around some pretty complicated risk strategies around health care provi

dr. grant colfax.plause] >> well, good morning, everybody, and thank you, madam mayor, for your brave and bold leadership throughout this pandemic. the decisions you've made have saved countless lives. your support for the public health department -- [indiscernible]. >> -- and the decisions you were forced to make -- [indiscernible]. >> okay. i'll loosen up. your support deep into the nights of the discussions we had, the decisions you made have indeed saved countless lives and helped the city weather the very worst of the pandemic. and i have to say, mayor, when this is over, i'm looking forward to a big part, and dancing with you, and shouting with joy, and raising our hands and celebrating that we made it through this. and also, i want to take a moment to acknowledge the year of pain and suffering for so many, including the nearly 450 san franciscans who have lost their lives to covid-19 this year. my condolences to their families and their loved ones. in standing here today with you, mayor, and my

dr. colfax didn't get up this early in the morning. when i think about san francisco in the 1906 earthquake and how far we've come, just think about it. 250,000 people were homeless because of the earthquake and the fire. when i think about san francisco and our resilience, that's what we've been talking about this entire pandemic. we've come so far and we have made magic happen out of tragedy. the 1989 earthquake. many of us were around during that earthquake. maybe not the 1986, the embarcadero was shadowed by a freeway and now it's open and bright and available for all to enjoy and to see. the same with this pandemic with san franciscans. we go through earthquakes. we go through pandemics. we go through things. when the time comes and we need to rise up like the phoenix we are, we stand strong, proud, and together and that's what the people of san francisco did in 1906 when we rebuilt this city and that's why we come here today to show appreciation to the guardians of the city, to show respect for the people who risk their lives to

colfax. we certainly congratulations dr. philip and thank her for her leadership in the pandemic before and beyond and also the board of supervisors for their wisdom in unanimously approving her. it's also very fitting to maria x. martinez and her equity with any other matters within the department. commissioners, do we have any questions or comments for director colfax before we move on to our covid update? >> clerk: i apologize. there are a few people on the line folks in the public comment line if you'd like to comment on this line, please press star 3 to raise your hand. star 3. no hands, commissioners. >> president bernal: thank you, commissioner motherwitz. we'll move on to our next item which is covid-19 update. still director colfax. >> great. thank you so much. i'll just quickly go through a few slides to provide a broad city update. next slide. so san francisco cumulative cases and deaths. 36,487 cases of covid-19 diagnosed and, unfortunately, we've had 541 people in san francisco day of covid related complications

dr. colfax, and i want to introduce valerie coulier. she really is the mother of this community and just has been doing an incredible job in getting all of these great places set up in the community, so come on up, valerie. >> thank you, mayor, so much. i want to thank the red lightning women power group for singing and opening up for the mayor this morning, and also for sherea for the land acknowledgement. i want to thank our mayor for being with us today. i'm very, very possessive here, territorial, and every single city official. you tell us that you see us and that you see the community's hard work and dedication, and for that, i appreciate your leadership. i don't think it could have happened under any other mayor, mayor london breed. now, i think i'm going to go into an academy award speech, but i want to thank the latino task for being that, a force. all the organizations involved, all the indigenous haves, and all the committees, what you see here is just a glimpse of all the hard work that the health committee puts in. what you

dr. colfax. marleau, i'm going to ask you if we were in person, i would ask you to join me at the podium. but, instead, i'm going to ask you to turn your video on while we present to you the public health hero award. but first, i do want to say a couple words. marleau, you exemplify the best of public health improving the health and lives of san franciscans. you have an incredible and unparalleled ability to prioritize the health needs of the people we serve and balance those needs with the work experience of the people who do this really hard work. system needs and really the needs of the city as a whole. so, personally, i will say to you marlo, if you're one of my 2020 silver linings, having the opportunity to work closely with you and support your good work was really a highlight of the last year for me. i appreciate all you've done for san franciscans, for our clients, for our behavioral health staff, and really for the city as a whole. so now i'll read the public health hero award. so marlo

dr. colfax or dr. you? okay. >> thank you. thank you for your presentation. i appreciate the answer to my questions. will we be doing updates as we go along the transition to the commission? [indiscernible] >> i would defer that. >> we will be providing updates as part of our regular covid update we will keep that commission updated. >> thank you. >> unless the commissioners would like to see more. we will do more at your request. >> thank you. commissioner green? [indiscernible] >> and how much effort will be needed in order to not only make these various transitions but all the contingencies that might be involved. i guess that i am really interested in hearing about the progress because i think most of us probably with think that at some point boosters would be needed and what is really impressive is how this department and the city in general, the mere's office pivoted so rapidly and did such a terrific job when we were confronted, very suddenly, with this virus last year. and some iteration could happen again. i think we would appreciate an update. i wan

dr. colfax said if san francisco was a country, it would be second behind the island nation -- i can't say this nor word. in its vaccine. if you have questions about vaccines, as the abc7 news team. head to abc7news.com /vaccine and click on the big blue box. >>> in portland, police declared a riot after some people were involved in a protest got violent. 200 demonstrators were marking one year since george floyd was murdered by in minneapolis police officer. some set off fireworks, lit a dumpster on fire, wrote graffiti on the justice center, broke when is at city hall. houses through water bottles and aimed fireworks directly at officers. >>> in washington, d.c., senate lawmakers submit a deadline for an agreement on the george floyd policing bill. this morning they remain hopeful for a compromise. president biden wanted a deal by yesterday, the anniversary of george floyd murder. negotiations continued as he and vice president kamala harris met the floyd family at the white house. >> i've spoken with negotiators and i'm hopeful that sometime after memorial day will have an agreement on

dr. grant colfax had a special message for his team and a cake.ey also celebrated with a social media campaign honoring workers at vaccine sites with s the #sf1000000. san francisco loosening restrictions on many activities. including attendees at outdoor sports and performances will not have to show proof of covid testing or vaccination. at restaurants diners no longer have to remain seated as long as they can distance. standing around a high top table or bar is okay. tattoo and piercing parlor customers can take masks off for services. >> hopefully it will mean more business so we can continue to pay our bills and support our families. >> health officials say the changes will bring the city more closely in line with state rules for now, governor newsome said the state will fully reopen june 15th. june 15th. ju >>> just look at this. we saw some wild weather today. including hail in the north bay. in is video from lakeport. you can see a heavy mixture of rain and hail falling on that deck. look at this. coating cars. we also got reports of small

dr. grant colfax had a special message for his team and a cake. they also celebrated with a social media campaign honoring workers at vaccine sites with s the #sf1000000. san francisco loosening restrictions on many activities. including attendees at outdoor sports and performances will not have to show proof of covid testing or vaccination. at restaurants diners no longer have to remain seated as long as they can distance. standing around a high top table or bar is okay. tattoo and piercing parlor customers can take masks off for services. >> hopefully it will mean more business so we can continue to pay our bills and support our families. >> health officials say the changes will bring the city more closely in line with state rules for now, governor newsome said the state will fully reopen june 15th. june 15th. ju >>> just look at this. we saw some wild weather today. including hail in the north bay. in is video from lakeport. you can see a heavy mixture of rain and hail falling on that deck. look at this. coating cars. we also got reports of sma

dr. colfax. yes, we know that graduations are very important and we're working closely with our partners at rec and park for the sfusd graduations, many which will be held at the stadium to come up with health and safety procedures including two-hour spacing between events and making sure that distancing is safe and masking as well at the current time although we'll re-evaluate that in terms our revised masking orders. >> they've been very helpful in testing students on a very routine basis and going forward our testing numbers are down and i guess one of the concerns that i have is it if a variant came to town that would change our caseload, it's likely to be spread by young asymptomatic individuals who might know that they have acquired the condition if they're tested and along with that comes the advent of a huge number of add-home tests. i have no idea how they are priced but there's a chance that with all the competition, that could mean people are testing at home and we might not be able to

dr. colfax, but the entire apparatus that is d.p.h., over the last 13 -- depending how you want to call it -- 15 months, for their professionalism, for their care, for their smarts. as hopefully that we are emerging at least in part from the pandemic for, of course, with some urging here and there for being equitable, and for bringing vaccines to folks when folks couldn't get to vaccines. so i just want to use this as a moment to really thank the department of public health and to welcome our new chief health officer, dr. susan philip. thank you, colleagues, i think for really the intellectually honest conversation that we had a couple of weeks ago. and i think we've made the right decision. and i commend it to all of you. >> president walton: thank you so much, supervisor peskin. i could not have said any of that better myself. madam clerk, would you please call the roll. >> clerk: on item 24 [roll call vote] there are 11 ayes. >> president walton: without objection, this motion is approved unanimously. madam clerk, please call item number 25. >> clerk: item 25 is a motion to appoint the

dr. chen and thank you to the network leadership and to the network team for helping us get this far. a million vaccines in the city. >> president bernal: it's great. thank you, director colfax and thank you again, dr. chen. okay. we'll move on to our next item which is an item for action. it's amendments to the resolution that was passed back on april 6th in our meeting in support of communities of individuals of asian pacific islander descent and denouncing racism and violence against these communities. this item did appear on the agenda for our last meeting, but we went late and had to defer to this meeting, but it's appropriate that we would consider it today given that the u.s. house of representatives just passed the covid-19 hate crimes act which in the senate it also passed. it was bipartisan, but this now goes to the president's desk and passed in the house of representatives today. as well as congressman judy chiu from southern california and of course our own congresswoman speaker nancy pelosi. i'd like to hand it over to commissioner tessie guillermo to introduce this item. >> commissioner guillermo: thank you for acknowledging the passing of the anti-asian pacif

dr. colfax and d.p.h. for the latest on those. what we can say, from the financial swim lane, the demands put on those departments, especially departments that have been stretched, are going to all go back again to probably d.p.w. as well as o.c.a. and others. we don't know exactly what the when or if and how much procurement needs are going to be. i can't emphasize enough the herculean and great work the city and staff have done. people have been really stretched. it's been over a year. there's so much capacity and there has to be a time to catch up i think. in addition to that, the return to work process and what typically happens with the procurement. in my experience, the typical procurement will take 6 to 8 months. from identifying the needs, specifics of it, developing request for proposal or request for quote, doing the noticing of opportunity, going through that process and evaluating it, it will be 6 to 8 months. that's what we know and don't know as of now. you may want to consider as part of your deliberation. >> superv

dr. colfax didn't get up this early in the morning. when i think about san francisco in the 1906 earthquake and how far we've come, just think about it. 250,000 people were homeless because of the earthquake and the fire. when i think about san francisco and our resilience, that's what we've been talking about this entire pandemic. we've come so far and we have made magic happen out of tragedy. the 1989 earthquake. many of us were around during that earthquake. maybe not the 1986, the embarcadero was shadowed by a freeway and now it's open and bright and available for all to enjoy and to see. the same with this pandemic with san franciscans. we go through earthquakes. we go through pandemics. we go through things. when the time comes and we need to rise up like the phoenix we are, we stand strong, proud, and together and that's what the people of san francisco did in 1906 when we rebuilt this city and that's why we come here today to show appreciation to the guardians of the city, to show respect for the people who risk their lives to

the city's health director, dr grant colfax, is lifting certain requirements to beam or in line with state. some of the changes include looser restrictions at restaurants. guests at large outdoor events no longer require proof of a negative coronavirus test or vaccination and real estate can open how it can have open houses again. the city is hoping to fully real but along with the state on june 15th. as covid restrictions ease more workers are starting to head back to the office and a lot of employers, including tech companies here in the bay area, say they are shifting to a hybrid workforce moving forward with some employees working from home and others in the office earlier today on the four we spoke with author and behavioral scientist john levy about why a hybrid model may not be sustainable for the long run. i think the biggest issue is that when we actually look at what causes us to enjoy work and what causes human beings, in fact, live a long time. the greatest predictor is human long of human longevity is belonging. it's having close social ties and being a part of a communi

loosen more restrictions today as the city gets closer to reopening, dr grant colfax and susan phillips are lifting certain requirements to be more in line with the state. some of the changes include looser restrictions at restaurants, guests at large outdoor events no longer require proof of a negative covid test or vaccination, and realtors can hold open houses again. the city hopes to fully reopen along with our state come june, 15th. not a martinez, where an explosion and fire destroyed a home. firefighters say it was all started by neighborhood children who were playing with fire. now what? our crews went out to the scene this morning we saw pgd crews working on power lines. ktvu deborah villalon tells us the children were questioned and released to their parents. this was the scene in martinez at mid afternoon. ah, fireball rising up over the vine hill neighborhood on the sound of propane and fuel tanks exploding traumatic at blue 123. neighbors say the owner of the property that bird is a mechanic and car collector who had many vehicles, motorcycles and combustibles. stored aroun

dr. colfax didn't get up this early in the morning.t san francisco in the 1906 earthquake and how far we've come, just think about it. 250,000 people were homeless because of the earthquake and the fire. when i think about san francisco and our resilience, that's what we've been talking about this entire pandemic. we've come so far and we have made magic happen out of tragedy. the 1989 earthquake. many of us were around during that earthquake. maybe not the 1986, the embarcadero was shadowed by a freeway and now it's open and bright and available for all to enjoy and to see. the same with this pandemic with san franciscans. we go through earthquakes. we go through pandemics. we go through things. when the time comes and we need to rise up like the phoenix we are, we stand strong, proud, and together and that's what the people of san francisco did in 1906 when we rebuilt this city and that's why we come here today to show appreciation to the guardians of the city, to show respect for the people who risk their lives to remember the 250,0

dr. colfax. yes, we know that graduations are very important and we're working closely with our partners at rec and park for the sfusd graduations, many which will be held at the stadium to come up with health and safety procedures including two-hour spacing between events and making sure that distancing is safe and masking as well at the current time although we'll re-evaluate that in terms our revised masking orders. >> they've been very helpful in testing students on a very routine basis and going forward our testing numbers are down and i guess one of the concerns that i have is it if a variant came to town that would change our caseload, it's likely to be spread by young asymptomatic individuals who might know that they have acquired the condition if they're tested and along with that comes the advent of a huge number of add-home tests. i have no idea how they are priced but there's a chance that with all the competition, that could mean people are testing at home and we might not be able to

dr. colfax became the head of the department of health the department head was succeeded by a major pandemic which we are in the midst of. then the doctor left to become the state's health officer and dr. philip has been acting in that position since then and i think by all accounts including all of the members of board of supervisors and doing that job in the extremely important and difficult role and she is before us here today and she is before the official appointment as the chief health officer. dr. philip, good morning. >> good morning, chair peskin and to all of the members of the committee. i want to thank you all for considering me for this very important role. i was raised with a strong sense of public service and throughout my life and my training i've been fortunate to be able to train in some of the best institutions with some of the best people in medicine infectious diseases and public health and i can think of no better usage for that knowledge and skill than serving the people of the county and city of san francisco and throughout this pandemic. and, as you said, the pandemi

dr. colfax didn't get up this early in the morning. when i think about san francisco in the 1906 earthquake and how far we've come, just think about it. 250,000 people were homeless because of the earthquake and the fire. when i think about san francisco and our resilience, that's what we've been talking about this entire pandemic. we've come so far and we have made magic happen out of tragedy. the 1989 earthquake. many of us were around during that earthquake. maybe not the 1986, the embarcadero was shadowed by a freeway and now it's open and bright and available for all to enjoy and to see. the same with this pandemic with san franciscans. we go through earthquakes. we go through pandemics. we go through things. when the time comes and we need to rise up like the phoenix we are, we stand strong, proud, and together and that's what the people of san francisco did in 1906 when we rebuilt this city and that's why we come here today to show appreciation to the guardians of the city, to show respect for the people who risk their lives to

dr. colfax, but the entire apparatus that is d.p.h., over the last 13 -- depending how you want to call it -- 15 months, for their professionalism, for their care, for their smarts. as hopefully that we are emerging at least in part from the pandemic for, of course, with some urging here and there for being equitable, and for bringing vaccines to folks when folks couldn't get to vaccines. so i just want to use this as a moment to really thank the department of public health and to welcome our new chief health officer, dr. susan philip. thank you, colleagues, i think for really the intellectually honest conversation that we had a couple of weeks ago. and i think we've made the right decision. and i commend it to all of you. >> president walton: thank you so much, supervisor peskin. i could not have said any of that better myself. madam clerk, would you please call the roll. >> clerk: on item 24 [roll call vote] there are 11 ayes. >> president walton: without objection, this motion is approved unanimously. madam clerk, please call item number 25. >> clerk: item 25 is a motion to appoint the