Zoe searches for a small brochure from diners on Grant Street in a makeshift outdoor dining room bounded by steel barricades in San Francisco, California on Tuesday, June 16, 2020.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez | The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced Friday that the city will pause its reopening plan “indefinitely” and plans to close closed shopping malls and nonessential offices next week as the coronavirus continues to spread across the state.
Breed said San Francisco County has been added to California’s “watch list”, which can add state-mandated restrictions and closings if the county remains on the list for three consecutive days. San Francisco County now joins other populated areas of California, including Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange counties.
On Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom ordered the listed counties, representing 80% of the state’s population, to shutdown indoor operations for fitness centers, worship services, personal care services, shopping malls, offices, beauty salons and hairdressers.
Statewide, Newsom ordered the closure of all bars and the closure of all restaurants, cinemas, museums, and other indoor companies.
“If the state adds more restrictions, of course we will follow them. And if conditions in our city do not improve, we can also choose to close additional businesses and activities,” Breed said.
The city had a minimum of 26 people hospitalized with Covid-19 in mid-June, up from a peak of more than 90 people in April, Breed said. There are now 80 people in the city hospitalized with the coronavirus, he said.
“What I’m afraid of is complacency,” Breed said during a press conference. “People are tired of the virus, but the virus is not tired of us.”
Breed initially paused in the city’s next reopening phase in late June, which would have reopened the city’s nail salons, barbershops, and open-air bars, citing a rapid increase in Covid-19 cases.
The city’s slow reopening comes as California grapples with reopening schools in the fall as cases increase in the state. Some of the state’s largest school districts, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Sand Diego Unified, have already announced that they would not welcome students for in-person instruction at the beginning of the next school year.
Clarification: The headline has been modified to reflect offices and shopping centers will be closed on Monday if San Francisco County remains on the state watch list for three consecutive days.
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