dr. colfax. >> good morning everybody. thank you for joining us before this long weekend. i just have a brief statement to make with regard to where we are in the covid-19 pandemic. it is a public health message that is really that we need to send across the city, across the region, across various neighborhoods and communities. this fourth of july, th the saft thing to do is stay home. in san francisco we have had an alarming increase and significant increase in covid-19 infections and hospitalizations of the over the past few weeks, our rates have soared. we are in a situation where we could we seeing early signs of a surge. our increases reflect across the region as increases across the state. as people know, we have put a pause on re-opening. it is vital that everyone take the steps that we know stop the spread of covid-19. slow the spread of covid-19. this means wearing a face covering, social distancing, good hygiene measures, and really limiting outings and staying home as much as possible.

dr. colfax foresee face shields or eye goggles becoming a requirement in the future? >> it's not looking likely it will be a requirement for the public, at least for now. i did ask dr. colfax but he made it clear the city is looking to provide that additional protection for hospitals and health care providers right now, not the public just yet. >> stephanie, thank you very much. >>> new at 5:00, health officials are saying clusters of coronavirus cases have been reported at four costcos in santa clara county. at least 13 workers have tested positive at the costco in sunnyvale, at 150 sunnyvale station road and it is still open to customers. smaller clusters were at the costcos in mountain view, gilroy and san jose. the health department is working with the stores to investigate a solution. >> the initial investigation shows that most likely it was not inside the store. the cases were most likely infected outside of the workplace. >> essential workers at bay area grocery stores have been hit hard by the coronavirus. workers in the fruitvale neighborhood tested positive

dr. colfax? great. >> dr. colfax: hello. good afternoon, commissioners. grant colfax, director of health. good to see you. i start the director's report with some very sad news. a long time member of the health department, sandy martinez, di -- maria martinez died on sunday. she worked at the health department for 23 years. she focused on building many initiatives and key models for the homeless that not only became models for our care here in san francisco but models that were scared up nationally. she was a key member of d.p.h. leadership for many years and served many rolls. department director of community programs, senior staff to the director of health, chief integrity officer, and the director of whole person care. she continually strived to the equality and racial lens. i worked with her early in my tenure at the department, and since i returned. she was a really unique person with her own sense of wonderful style, was inspiring to meet with and engage. ill miss her terribly, as will the department. the next item is with regard to an update on covi

dr. grant colfax. >>. >> well, thank you, mayor. i'm dr. grant colfax, the director of public health for the city and county of san francisco. i want to thank all san franciscans for their sacrifices during this unprecedented time. the psychological, physical, and economic toll wrought by the pandemic are severe and continue to have major impacts across the city and region, particularly among communities already facing socioeconomic and health inequities. the virus has further exploited these fault lines, and so far, for the most part, we have managed to avoid the worst consequences of the virus and the pandemic, but that could change at any time. today in san francisco, we have 4,020 diagnosed cases of covid-19, and unfortunately, 50 people have died of the disease. in the bay area region, there are over 30,000 cases and just over 600 deaths. in the state, nearly 250,000 cases, and nearly 6500 people have died. and nationally, we continue to see the pandemic surge, with nearly 3 million cases and an astounding 130,000 deaths. leading up to

dr. colfax.body. thank you for joining us before this long weekend. i just have a brief statement to make with regard to where we are in the covid-19 pandemic. it is a public health message that is really that we need to send across the city, across the region, across various neighborhoods and communities. this fourth of july, th the saft thing to do is stay home. in san francisco we have had an alarming increase and significant increase in covid-19 infections and hospitalizations of the over the past few weeks, our rates have soared. we are in a situation where we could we seeing early signs of a surge. our increases reflect across the region as increases across the state. as people know, we have put a pause on re-opening. it is vital that everyone take the steps that we know stop the spread of covid-19. slow the spread of covid-19. this means wearing a face covering, social distancing, good hygiene measures, and really limiting outings and staying home as much as possible. we know this works. w

dr. colfax. >> good morning everybody. thank you for joining us before this long weekend. i just have a brief statement to make with regard to where we are in the covid-19 pandemic. it is a public health message that is really that we need to send across the city, across the region, across various neighborhoods and communities. this fourth of july, th the saft thing to do is stay home. in san francisco we have had an alarming increase and significant increase in covid-19 infections and hospitalizations of the over the past few weeks, our rates have soared. we are in a situation where we could we seeing early signs of a surge. our increases reflect across the region as increases across the state. as people know, we have put a pause on re-opening. it is vital that everyone take the steps that we know stop the spread of covid-19. slow the spread of covid-19. this means wearing a face covering, social distancing, good hygiene measures, and really limiting outings and staying home as much as possible.

dr. colfax. dr. christian inadvertently hung up, but she did let me know that she had no further comments. dr. tong has her hand in the window. >> thank you, dr. colfax, for this important update. one questions that popped into my head right now, it's about medication refills, like, for our population to have, like, different chronic health conditions. do we know if they have trouble, like, going to a pharmacy to fill their medication or do we actually have other megnism in place to make sure that, you know, they -- you know, like, they get their refills on time? >> so absolutely, commissioner. so i don't know if dr. hammer -- she was with us earlier, and she can talk a lot -- she can add detail to what the ambulatory care people are doing to ensure that people are getting the medications that they need. dr. hammer, are you still -- >> yeah. hi, this is holly hammer. are you able to hear me? >> perfectly sk. >> okay. hello, commissioners. commissioner tong, in answer to your question, right from the

dr. colfax. this concludes our press conference for today. >>> good afternoon, everyone. i'm michelle griego. >> and i'm len kiese. as of today, there are 4, 020 coronavirus cases, 68 hospitalizations and so far 50 patients have died. the mayor announced the city would not allow indoor restaurant dining next week as it had previously planned for july 13. bars are also have to wait to reopen for outdoor service. san francisco right now has no date for when indoor restaurat dining will be allowed. >> the state officially approved santa clara county's request to reopen more businesses. the move will allow all businesses except those explicitly listed as high risk in the county's new health order to reopen starting monday with social distancing and mask requirements. doctor stressed the importance of face coverings just moments ago. >> you limit the number of interactions you have with other people and keep a distance, you wear a face covering. super important. every single one of us needs to think about this every single day with every single interaction. >> the mayor issued

dr. grant colfax. >>. >> well, thank you, mayor. i'm dr. ant colfax, the director of public health for the city and county of san francisco. i want to thank all san franciscans for their sacrifices during this unprecedented time. the psychological, physical, and economic toll wrought by the pandemic are severe and continue to have major impacts across the city and region, particularly among communities already facing socioeconomic and health inequities. the virus has further exploited these fault lines, and so far, for the most part, we have managed to avoid the worst consequences of the virus and the pandemic, but that could change at any time. today in san francisco, we have 4,020 diagnosed cases of covid-19, and unfortunately, 50 people have died of the disease. in the bay area region, there are over 30,000 cases and just over 600 deaths. in the state, nearly 250,000 cases, and nearly 6500 people have died. and nationally, we continue to see the pandemic surge, with nearly 3 million cases and an astounding 130,000 deaths. leading up to th

dr. colfax. thank you and welcome. can you fleacan you please prove where we are in san francisco as it relates to the numbers. >> thank you for your leadership during this time and really supporting all of us as we focus on the data, science and facts. i have a presentation with a lot of data i would like to go through. if there are questions that you would like to share during the presentation, please let me know. i will just give us a snapshot where we are today, talk about what we can all do to bend the curve, reduce infections across san francisco and talk about what the future may hold if we do not wear face masks, practice social distancing and good hygiene. can we go to the slide presentation, please. first slide is number of cases in san francisco. all the way back, please. okay. we have a preview. this is where we stand right now in san francisco. anybody can follow these data on a daily basis at our san francisco data tracker sf.gov and follow to see where we stand. today we have nearl

dr. colfax pointed out it took 38 days for cases in san francisco to increase by 1,000. now we're seeing spikes like that in a mere 13 days. live in the newsroom, abc 7 news. stephanie sierra. >> definitely concerning. >>> alameda now has a walk up covid-19 testing site. this was the first day it was open and hundreds of people took advantage of the testing which was no cost to most clients and returned results in minutes instead of days. here's abc 7 news anchor eric thomas. >> reporter: there were growing pains on day one of this outdoor testing clinic at the marina village research park in alameda. >> one of my employees said, it's like building an airplane when you've already gone into flight. >> reporter: this is the ceo of city health urgent care which is partnering with the city of alameda to offer the testing. check out the sheer number of people waiting. 380 made appointments. another 400 were walk-ins jamming the system until they couldn't accept any more. city leaders had been waiting for the county to open a testing site in town, but other places always seeme

dr. grant colfax for a update from the department of public health. >> good morning. i am dr. ant colfax, director of health. thank you, mayor breed. in the past weeks, san francisco has been experiencing a surge in cases and hospitalizations that have forced us to pause re-opening plans. increase our testing and contract tracing and care for many more covid-19 positive patients. unfortunately this is happening all across california. as of today, we join more than 30 counties statewide including most bay area counties on the state's watch list based on the rising hospitalization numbers. i want to emphasize that the people in the hospital in san francisco today as we speak are not only the elderly and the most frail. in fact, at san francisco general hospital the average age of the person hospitalized since july 1st with covid-19 has been 41 years. young people, middle age people, older people. we are all at risk for this disease. we are all at risk for serious consequences. with our designation of being on the state's watch list, we are required to close malls and non essentia

dr. colfax. know we're at the end of our time here, but i do want to take this opportunity to just speak to the people in san francisco who are struggling. there are some people who are struggling, who have no paychecks coming in, and it's really hard. and what happens, in addition to the loss of your financial ability to take care of yourself and even your family, mental health becomes a whole other issue. and it seems as without our churches, our religious services, our ability to congregate and come together with one another, our spirituality as well as our coming together in the world, and our ability to socialize as we do on a regular basis, it's almost as if we're trading one public health crisis for another. we know, for example, domestic violence has gone up, suicides have gone up, people are more stressed in trying to figure out what to do with their lives. we see some of the violent crimes going up in the city. how do we justify that? the fact is you and i know we're going to be living

dr. colfax. i know that so many individuals in the business community, whether the businesses or their workers are happy that we're doing so much to keep them safe and their families. we all know that these practices are what are allowing the businesses to move forward. we know that this is a very difficult time for you, for your employees, and for our city, but so much appreciate what you all have done for us to keep our city strong, lively, and our economic activity continuing. the issue for us right now around wanting to ensure that you have clarity is a commitment that our office of economic and workforce development brings. you can visit our website at oewd.org to learn more about partnerships that we are providing with the city and public health so that you can continue to have best practices around measures, guidances, and reopening. that is your source for information to grants and loans that we are providing here in the city and county of san francisco for all of you. we know that all of

dr. colfax and to you, dr. philip, to you and your team for your excellent presentation and hard work. >> thank you, all. >> shall we go back to dr. colfax and welcome -- belated welcome so you can continue on with your covid update. and after that, we can go back to the director's report. >> yes, my apologies, commissioners. one of my devices did not support microsoft as a presenter. so we learn in this age of social distancing. >> just before you begin, dr. colfax, i want to make sure that the public knows that they have not had an opportunity yet to make comment. after you finish, we'll go to public comment and see if anybody has comment before the commissioners ask questions because it's all part of one item. i'm loading up your presentation right now. >> great. i also want to welcome commissioner christian to this meeting. thank you, commissioner christian, and again, look forward to working with you. so, covid-19 update, i have some some -- >> can you hear me? >> no, i can't. >> so i have some slides to p

dr. colfax. i just have really a couple of juvenile justice related questions. i know that your organizational chart for behavioral health services, i see six people dedicated to serving youth, and i don't know -- well, i guess my question is how many youth to you serve connected to the juvenile justice system -- you maybe don't have that information right now -- and are all of the individuals dedicated to serving the juvenile youth in the behavioral health services? >> thank you. i'm going to ask some other staff to provide a little more detail to answer your question. >> thank you, dr. colfax. chair fewer and members of the board, hopefully, you can hear me okay. >> chair fewer: yes. >> okay. so i'm roland pickens, director of the san francisco health network, and behavioral health services, as you saw in the presentation, is the second largest of our divisions. supervisor walton, i will defer to marlo to give you specifics, because particularly, t.a.y., transitional age youth, is part of her s

dr. colfax? great. >> dr. colfax: hello. good afternoon, commissioners. grant colfax, director of health. good to see you. i start the director's report with some very sad news. a long time member of the health department, sandy martinez, di -- maria martinez died on sunday. she worked at the health department for 23 years. she focused on building many initiatives and key models for the homeless that not only became models for our care here in san francisco but models that were scared up nationally. she was a key member of d.p.h. leadership for many years and served many rolls. department director of community programs, senior staff to the director of health, chief integrity officer, and the director of whole person care. she continually strived to the equality and racial lens. i worked with her early in my tenure at the department, and since i returned. she was a really unique person with her own sense of wonderful style, was inspiring to meet with and engage. ill miss her terribly, as will the department. the next item is with regard to an update on covi

colfax. >> well, good morning, everyone. i'm dr. ctor of health for the city and county of county. tos today i'm going to provide an update on the covid-19 pandemic in san francisco looking at health ind kaytors and other data. unfortunately, we are experiencing a surge in covid-19 infections that is affecting our community's health and our re-opening plans. as a result, we are forced to continue to pause our re-opening plans until conditions improve. we are, we have been, and we continue to be in a period of uncertainty, and i want to acknowledge that is a really hard place to be. we all need to continue to do what we know works. we can flatten the curve and we can do it again, but if we do not, the consequences could be dire. in terms of where we stand today, both locally, regionally, and nationally, in san francisco we have 4,696 cases diagnosed of covid-19 and sadly, 50 deaths. in the bay area region, approximately 37,500 cases and 667 deaths. across the state, 346,000 cases and over 7,000 deaths, and across the nation, cases and

dr. grant colfax. >>. >> well, thank you, mayor. i'm dr. the director of public health for the city and county of san francisco. i want to thank all san franciscans for their sacrifices during this unprecedented time. the psychological, physical, and economic toll wrought by the pandemic are severe and continue to have major impacts across the city and region, particularly among communities already facing socioeconomic and health inequities. the virus has further exploited these fault lines, and so far, for the most part, we have managed to avoid the worst consequences of the virus and the pandemic, but that could change at any time. today in san francisco, we have 4,020 diagnosed cases of covid-19, and unfortunately, 50 people have died of the disease. in the bay area region, there are over 30,000 cases and just over 600 deaths. in the state, nearly 250,000 cases, and nearly 6500 people have died. and nationally, we continue to see the pandemic surge, with nearly 3 million cases and an astounding 130,000 deaths. leading up to the holiday we

dr. colfax pointed out, it took 38 days or the cases in san francisco to increase by 1,000. we're seeing spikes like that in just a mere 13 days. live in the newsroom. abc7 news. >> thank you very much. >>> san francisco's famous and iconic ferry building must chose because of the health order. malls and counties on the state's watch list must close to reduce the spread of coronavirus. we're told the building itself will remain open. there is a farmer's mark and outdoor tables will stay at operation. restaurants with outdoor entrances can stay open. others must use delivery, curbside or online retail. >>> 58 counties are on the watch list so where does your county stand? you can check out the entire state with our interactive feature. see not only how long each region has been on the list but why the state is keeping an eye on the spread of the coronavirus where you live. >>> california set several coronavirus records today. the governor gave an update to address the rising concerns. liz? >> reporter: hi. yesterday we had said that this mile stone was imminent and here it is

dr. grant colfax. >>. >> well, thank you, mayor. i'm dr. t colfax, the director of public health for the city and county of san francisco. i want to thank all san franciscans for their sacrifices during this unprecedented time. the psychological, physical, and economic toll wrought by the pandemic are severe and continue to have major impacts across the city and region, particularly among communities already facing socioeconomic and health inequities. the virus has further exploited these fault lines, and so far, for the most part, we have managed to avoid the worst consequences of the virus and the pandemic, but that could change at any time. today in san francisco, we have 4,020 diagnosed cases of covid-19, and unfortunately, 50 people have died of the disease. in the bay area region, there are over 30,000 cases and just over 600 deaths. in the state, nearly 250,000 cases, and nearly 6500 people have died. and nationally, we continue to see the pandemic surge, with nearly 3 million cases and an astounding 130,000 deaths. leading up to the

colfax. >> well, good morning, everyone. i'm dr. grant colfax, director of health for the city and county of county. tos today i'm going to provide an update on the covid-19 pandemic in san francisco looking at health ind kaytors and other data. unfortunately, we are experiencing a surge in covid-19 infections that is affecting our community's health and our re-opening plans. as a result, we are forced to continue to pause our re-opening plans until conditions improve. we are, we have been, and we continue to be in a period of uncertainty, and i want to acknowledge that is a really hard place to be. we all need to continue to do what we know works. we can flatten the curve and we can do it again, but if we do not, the consequences could be dire. in terms of where we stand today, both locally, regionally, and nationally, in san francisco we have 4,696 cases diagnosed of covid-19 and sadly, 50 deaths. in the bay area region, approximately 37,500 cases and 667 deaths. across the state, 346,000 cases and over 7,000 deaths, and across the

dr. colfax. >> good morning everybody. thank you for joining us before this long weekend. i just have a brief statement to make with regard to where we are in the covid-19 pandemic. it is a public health message that is really that we need to send across the city, across the region, across various neighborhoods and communities. this fourth of july, th the saft thing to do is stay home. in san francisco we have had an alarming increase and significant increase in covid-19 infections and hospitalizations of the over the past few weeks, our rates have soared. we are in a situation where we could we seeing early signs of a surge. our increases reflect across the region as increases across the state. as people know, we have put a pause on re-opening. it is vital that everyone take the steps that we know stop the spread of covid-19. slow the spread of covid-19. this means wearing a face covering, social distancing, good hygiene measures, and really limiting outings and staying home as much as possible.

dr. colfax. dr. christian inadvertently hung up, but she did let me know that she had no further comments. dr. tong has her hand in the window. >> thank you, dr. colfax, for this important update. one questions that popped into my head right now, it's about medication refills, like, for our population to have, like, different chronic health conditions. do we know if they have trouble, like, going to a pharmacy to fill their medication or do we actually have other megnism in place to make sure that, you know, they -- you know, like, they get their refills on time? >> so absolutely, commissioner. so i don't know if dr. hammer -- she was with us earlier, and she can talk a lot -- she can add detail to what the ambulatory care people are doing to ensure that people are getting the medications that they need. dr. hammer, are you still -- >> yeah. hi, this is holly hammer. are you able to hear me? >> perfectly sk. >> okay. hello, commissioners. commissioner tong, in answer to your question, right from the

dr. colfax. morning everybody. thank you for joining us before this long weekend. i just have a brief statement to make with regard to where we are in the covid-19 pandemic. it is a public health message that is really that we need to send across the city, across the region, across various neighborhoods and communities. this fourth of july, th the saft thing to do is stay home. in san francisco we have had an alarming increase and significant increase in covid-19 infections and hospitalizations of the over the past few weeks, our rates have soared. we are in a situation where we could we seeing early signs of a surge. our increases reflect across the region as increases across the state. as people know, we have put a pause on re-opening. it is vital that everyone take the steps that we know stop the spread of covid-19. slow the spread of covid-19. this means wearing a face covering, social distancing, good hygiene measures, and really limiting outings and staying home as much as possible. we know

dr. colfax and to you, dr. philip, to you and your team for your excellent presentation and hard work. >> thank you, all. >> shall we go back to dr. colfax and welcome -- belated welcome so you can continue on with your covid update. and after that, we can go back to the director's report. >> yes, my apologies, commissioners. one of my devices did not support microsoft as a presenter. so we learn in this age of social distancing. >> just before you begin, dr. colfax, i want to make sure that the public knows that they have not had an opportunity yet to make comment. after you finish, we'll go to public comment and see if anybody has comment before the commissioners ask questions because it's all part of one item. i'm loading up your presentation right now. >> great. i also want to welcome commissioner christian to this meeting. thank you, commissioner christian, and again, look forward to working with you. so, covid-19 update, i have some some -- >> can you hear me? >> no, i can't. >> so i have some slides to p

dr. colfax. dr. christian inadvertently hung up, but she did let me know that she had no further comments. dr. tong has her hand in the window. >> thank you, dr. colfax, for this important update. one questions that popped into my head right now, it's about medication refills, like, for our population to have, like, different chronic health conditions. do we know if they have trouble, like, going to a pharmacy to fill their medication or do we actually have other megnism in place to make sure that, you know, they -- you know, like, they get their refills on time? >> so absolutely, commissioner. so i don't know if dr. hammer -- she was with us earlier, and she can talk a lot -- she can add detail to what the ambulatory care people are doing to ensure that people are getting the medications that they need. dr. hammer, are you still -- >> yeah. hi, this is holly hammer. are you able to hear me? >> perfectly sk. >> okay. hello, commissioners. commissioner tong, in answer to your question, right from the

colfax. >> well, good morning, everyone. i'm dr. grant colfax, director of health for the city and county of county. tos today i'm going to provide an update on the covid-19 pandemic in san francisco looking at health ind kaytors and other data. unfortunately, we are experiencing a surge in covid-19 infections that is affecting our community's health and our re-opening plans. as a result, we are forced to continue to pause our re-opening plans until conditions improve. we are, we have been, and we continue to be in a period of uncertainty, and i want to acknowledge that is a really hard place to be. we all need to continue to do what we know works. we can flatten the curve and we can do it again, but if we do not, the consequences could be dire. in terms of where we stand today, both locally, regionally, and nationally, in san francisco we have 4,696 cases diagnosed of covid-19 and sadly, 50 deaths. in the bay area region, approximately 37,500 cases and 667 deaths. across the state, 346,000 cases and over 7,000 deaths, and across the

dr. grant colfax saying, now is the time to wear face coverings and stay home as much as possible. he says, with the amount of virus currently circulating, residents have to assume that anyone at a gathering, big or small, could be carrying the disease. >> we think gatherings are certainly contributing to this, which is why it is so important people do not gather outside of their household, if at all possible. >> reporter: some residence in the city said they have been following the latest news about the spike and hospitalization rates and are redoubling their efforts to protect themselves and others. >> wash her hands, wash your mask. where the mask, social distancing, just all of the things you learned over the last four months to keep us safe. >> the city's public health director saying, if the people of san francisco cannot follow those guidelines and bring down infection rates, the city's hospitals could be overwhelmed by a flood of patients. supervisor catherine stephanie joining dr. colfax to announce the city is opening a pair of overflow medical facilities located in the p

dr. grant colfax. >>. >> well, thank you, mayor. i'm dr. grant colfax, the director of public health for the city and county of san francisco. i want to thank all san franciscans for their sacrifices during this unprecedented time. the psychological, physical, and economic toll wrought by the pandemic are severe and continue to have major impacts across the city and region, particularly among communities already facing socioeconomic and health inequities. the virus has further exploited these fault lines, and so far, for the most part, we have managed to avoid the worst consequences of the virus and the pandemic, but that could change at any time. today in san francisco, we have 4,020 diagnosed cases of covid-19, and unfortunately, 50 people have died of the disease. in the bay area region, there are over 30,000 cases and just over 600 deaths. in the state, nearly 250,000 cases, and nearly 6500 people have died. and nationally, we continue to see the pandemic surge, with nearly 3 million cases and an astounding 130,000 deaths. leading up to

dr. colfax? great. >> dr. colfax: hello. good afternoon, commissioners. grant colfax, director of health. good to see you. i start the director's report with some very sad news. a long time member of the health department, sandy martinez, di -- maria martinez died on sunday. she worked at the health department for 23 years. she focused on building many initiatives and key models for the homeless that not only became models for our care here in san francisco but models that were scared up nationally. she was a key member of d.p.h. leadership for many years and served many rolls. department director of community programs, senior staff to the director of health, chief integrity officer, and the director of whole person care. she continually strived to the equality and racial lens. i worked with her early in my tenure at the department, and since i returned. she was a really unique person with her own sense of wonderful style, was inspiring to meet with and engage. ill miss her terribly, as will the department. the next item is with regard to an update on covi

dr. colfax. this should be better. the first question and i do just want to say to everyone joining us today that we did receive another question and we will take them in the order they were received. and any others that we can't take in time we will simply take offline. thank you for your patience. dr. colfax, the first question is from christian captain. can we please explain the role schools could play in the state of covid-19 infection rate? the school district announced that students will be distance learning when school resumes august 17. there's been a lot of talk on federal and local level about local kids getting back on campus. what will it take to get san francisco kids back. >> one thing it will take is for us to be confident to reopen schools safely for the buildings to reopen, and certainly we are going to need to see a decrease in that reproductive rate and continue to follow the data and science to ensure that the support systems are in place and that people are able to physically distance and that the

dr. colfax. thank you and welcome. can you fleacan you please prove where we are in san francisco as it relates to the numbers. >> thank you for your leadership during this time and really supporting all of us as we focus on the data, science and facts. i have a presentation with a lot of data i would like to go through. if there are questions that you would like to share during the presentation, please let me know. i will just give us a snapshot where we are today, talk about what we can all do to bend the curve, reduce infections across san francisco and talk about what the future may hold if we do not wear face masks, practice social distancing and good hygiene. can we go to the slide presentation, please. first slide is number of cases in san francisco. all the way back, please. okay. we have a preview. this is where we stand right now in san francisco. anybody can follow these data on a daily basis at our san francisco data tracker sf.gov and follow to see where we stand. today we have nearl

dr. colfax says 107 coronavirus cases are in san francisco hospitals. that is the highest number since the pandemic began. 58 people have since died. dr. colfax says at the current rate of spread, it is estimated more than 750 people will be hospitalized by mid pocket and there will be more than 600 deaths by the end of the year. he says we all should behave as if we have covid-19 and continue to wear masks, wash our hands and avoid gatherings. >> with every bay area county on the monitoring list and orders to shut down businesses, what exactly does it take to get off that list and can counties even meet the guidelines any time soon? here's abc7 news report he chris reyes. >> solano county was the first to be put on the list june 29 and every county followed after. san mateo was put on the list. dr. grant cold fafl admitting, they're not getting off the list any time soon. >> san francisco remains on the state watch list. the main reason we joined that watch list was because of the rapidly rising hospitalization rate. we have 15% more covid-19 patients

dr. colfax said they are just a precaution, but he's worried that could change quickly if we don't recommit to flattening the curve. >> unfortunately, for now we still have capacity in our hospital system to care for patients, it is good news that our health care system has not been overwhelmed. >> reporter: in san francisco, christie smith, nbc bay area news. >>> speaking of hospitalizations, they are rised in the bay area. but they're up even more in neighboring counties. take a look at this map. it shows covid hospitalizations, how they've risen over the past 14 days. the darker orange counties are the places where it has gone up even more. look at placer county, up 339% in two weeks. butte county and merced county, both up 200%. if you're looking at the before an area, the darkest county there is sonoma county with an increase of ynd contra costa county have both s 200%. total bay area cases county by county, alameda county has the highest number right there, 11,131. within the last 48 hours it added 331 new cases. santa clara county, close to 10,000 cases. >>> the new school year is fa

dr. colfax said the rate of covid hospitalizations were up >>> another inmate at san quentin has died. joseph cordova had been on death row sense 2007 for the rape and child in san pablo. the prison right now is dealing with a major coronavirus outbreak. it's unclear at this point if cordova tested positive for covid-19. >>> now to the east bay where two more residents of a nursing home died. the residents from the san miguel home died from the coronavirus. 17 employees have tested positive. at least one staff member has died. >>> in the orinda care center the same nurses cared for both infected and uninfected patients and they had equipment before inspection by the county but then locked away in the closet. >>> governor newsom urges people to rethink family gatherings for the 4th of july weekend. one san jose that precaution af we have their parents is hard to imagine. >> reporter: she's having a difficult time coming to terms with the death of both parents. coronavirus taking the lives of richard and mercedes, married for 33 years, leaving behind three children. >> my mom got sick fi

dr. colfax said compared to other major cities, the number of coronavirus cases and the death arrest in sanively low, but the city remains vulnerable when it comes to hospitalizations. dr. colfax said the current rate of admissions is nearing the city's peak back in april. >> now it's starting to go back up, and we are in another surge. we are unfortunately in another surge, and we expect to see these hospitalization numbers to continue to go up. >> dr. coal fax said the hospitalization rate was one of the reasons why the city has paused its next phase of reopening. he also said starting next month, the san francisco department of public health will be the site of covid-19 vargas trials. >> hotel workers staged a car caravan demonstration today in support of the city's right to work ordinance . the ordinance would affect almost 15,000 workers. >> we haven't heard anything back from the company about go back to work. but, you know, this is why we're here, to push won't be the company's choice, it would be mandated. >> the oakland city council is set to vote on the ordinance at their meeting

dr. colfax estimates that the current rate of spread, the city's hospitals could be treating 70 covid-19 patients by mid-october and the death toll may reach 600. he shared more shocking statistics that mayor breed later tweeted. she posted. it took san francisco 38 days to go from 2,000 to 3,000 covid- 19 cases. it took nine days to go from 5,000 to 6,000 cases. the virus is here and it is spreading quickly. >>> four costcos in santa clara morning. from july 23rd to july 26th, 31 employees at four locations tested positive. the largest outbreak is in sunnyvale with 13 workers infeinted. san jose's center road had eight cases and mountain view had four and gilroy had six. >> the initial investigation appears to tell us that the cases have really been infected most likely in the community and outside the workplace. although we're not done with those investigations. they're ongoing. >> health officials call the outbreaks clusters and employees appear to have contracted the virus outside of work. and officials say costco has complied with safety orders and they say it is safe to shop as the

dr. brad colfax, san francisco's health director. right now, san francisco is almost 4700 virus cases, and 50 will have died. hospitalizations spiked to a high alert between last week and the week before. >> that great is now increasing at a 33% rate. that is read, a cause for grave concern. >> dr. colfax says it is important to limit gatherings with blouse and your household. he says there are almost 3000 tests given in san francisco every day. >>> 12 at san quentin have now died amid the coronavirus outbreak there. 64-year-old inmate, jeffrey hawkins, was taken to an outside hospital, where he died yesterday of complications from covid-19. hawkins was on death row for killing two men in sacramento county in 1987. 1300 people at san quentin prison have so far tested positive for the virus. >>> sonoma county officials are working on a new place to quarantine people who come down with mild symptoms of covid-19. some of those people have been staying at the dorms at sonoma state university. but the college wants to start bringing stude

dr. grant colfax for a update from the department of public health. >> good morning. i am dr. grant colfax, director of health. thank you, mayor breed. in the past weeks, san francisco has been experiencing a surge in cases and hospitalizations that have forced us to pause re-opening plans. increase our testing and contract tracing and care for many more covid-19 positive patients. unfortunately this is happening all across california. as of today, we join more than 30 counties statewide including most bay area counties on the state's watch list based on the rising hospitalization numbers. i want to emphasize that the people in the hospital in san francisco today as we speak are not only the elderly and the most frail. in fact, at san francisco general hospital the average age of the person hospitalized since july 1st with covid-19 has been 41 years. young people, middle age people, older people. we are all at risk for this disease. we are all at risk for serious consequences. with our designation of being on the state's watch list, we are required to close malls and non essent

colfax. >> well, good morning, everyone. i'm dr. health for the city and county of county. tos today i'm going to provide an update on the covid-19 pandemic in san francisco looking at health ind kaytors and other data. unfortunately, we are experiencing a surge in covid-19 infections that is affecting our community's health and our re-opening plans. as a result, we are forced to continue to pause our re-opening plans until conditions improve. we are, we have been, and we continue to be in a period of uncertainty, and i want to acknowledge that is a really hard place to be. we all need to continue to do what we know works. we can flatten the curve and we can do it again, but if we do not, the consequences could be dire. in terms of where we stand today, both locally, regionally, and nationally, in san francisco we have 4,696 cases diagnosed of covid-19 and sadly, 50 deaths. in the bay area region, approximately 37,500 cases and 667 deaths. across the state, 346,000 cases and over 7,000 deaths, and across the nation, cases and deaths

dr. colfax says if the current pace continues san francisco could see an average of 900 hospitalizations a day by october, ten times the previous surge back in april. >>> in the north bay napa county has raised the enforcement stakes since going back on to california's covid-19 watch list. as long as it remains on the list napa county will have the right to fine people for not complying the decision is bringing mixed reviews. >> reporter: it's begun to look like an operating theater these days in places like napa where as of today going without a mask might land someone a fine ranging from $25 per person to $5,000 for a business. >> it is good for our safety. i see people wear masks but they don't cover their nose. its just as bad as not wearing a mask at all in my opinion. >> reporter: the county passed the emergency mask ordinance last night and would not use police or sheriff's deputies. instead, members of the county's code enforcement team. the level of that enforcement would be up to individual cities. >> it is pretty much complaint driven. >> reporter: the ordinance landed on the

dr. colfax said today -- >> covering our faces may be the most important. >> reporter: the one part of our face not required to be covered in public is our eyes. the question is, should it be? >> if you really want perfect protection, you have mucosa in the nose and the mouth but also in the eye. that's one of the things, theoretically, you should protect all the surfaces. >> reporter: this means masks plus eye goggles or even face shields. a recommendation now coming from the white house. dr. deborah birx noumingsed today, wearing face shield there's help stop the spread of covid-19 by protecting people from touching their eyes and blocking droplets from their face. >> in an ideal world, yes. people masks. >> reporter: she agreesut was quick to pointhe reality. >> do i think people will do it every day, every insnacks no. i would prefer the face covering because this is the largest hole. the two nostrils and the mouth. >> reporter: dr. gandhi explained the virus is less likely to enter through our eyes. emphasizing face shields are for the hospital. traditional masking is for the public.

dr. grant colfax saying, now is the time to wear face coverings and stay home as much as possible. he said, with the amount of virus currently circulating, residents have to assume that anyone at a gathering, big or small, could be carrying the disease. >> we think gatherings are certainly contributing to this. which is why it's so important people do not gather outside of the household, if at all possible. >> reporter: some residence in the city say they have been following the latest news about the spike and infection and hospitalization rates and are doubling their efforts to protect themselves and others. >> it's a reminder to me we still have to be vigilant with our safety protocols. you need to wash her hands, washer mask, where new masks, where the masks, distancing, just all the things we learned over the last four months to keep us safe. >> reporter: the city's public health director saying, if the people of san francisco cannot follow those guidelines and bring down infection rates, the hospitals could get overwhelmed by a flood of patients. supervisor catherine stephanie

dr. colfax. this should be better.he first question and i do just want to say to everyone joining us today that we did receive another question and we will take them in the order they were received. and any others that we can't take in time we will simply take offline. thank you for your patience. dr. colfax, the first question is from christian captain. can we please explain the role schools could play in the state of covid-19 infection rate? the school district announced that students will be distance learning when school resumes august 17. there's been a lot of talk on federal and local level about local kids getting back on campus. what will it take to get san francisco kids back. >> one thing it will take is for us to be confident to reopen schools safely for the buildings to reopen, and certainly we are going to need to see a decrease in that reproductive rate and continue to follow the data and science to ensure that the support systems are in place and that people are able to physically distance and that the mo

dr. colfax. i know we're at the end of our time here, but i do want to take this opportunity to just speak to the people in san francisco who are struggling. there are some people who are struggling, who have no paychecks coming in, and it's really hard. and what happens, in addition to the loss of your financial ability to take care of yourself and even your family, mental health becomes a whole other issue. and it seems as without our churches, our religious services, our ability to congregate and come together with one another, our spirituality as well as our coming together in the world, and our ability to socialize as we do on a regular basis, it's almost as if we're trading one public health crisis for another. we know, for example, domestic violence has gone up, suicides have gone up, people are more stressed in trying to figure out what to do with their lives. we see some of the violent crimes going up in the city. how do we justify that? the fact is you and i know we're going to be livin

colfax. >> well, good morning, everyone. i'm dr. grant colfax, director of health for the city and county of county. tos today i'm going to provide an update on the covid-19 pandemic in san francisco looking at health ind kaytors and other data. unfortunately, we are experiencing a surge in covid-19 infections that is affecting our community's health and our re-opening plans. as a result, we are forced to continue to pause our re-opening plans until conditions improve. we are, we have been, and we continue to be in a period of uncertainty, and i want to acknowledge that is a really hard place to be. we all need to continue to do what we know works. we can flatten the curve and we can do it again, but if we do not, the consequences could be dire. in terms of where we stand today, both locally, regionally, and nationally, in san francisco we have 4,696 cases diagnosed of covid-19 and sadly, 50 deaths. in the bay area region, approximately 37,500 cases and 667 deaths. across the state, 346,000 cases and over 7,000 deaths, and across the