San Francisco has slashed plans to advance the reopening next week, and Contra Costa County can do the same after both municipalities saw an increase in COVID-19 cases this week.
Mayor London Breed announced that San Francisco would wait to enter Phase 3, which would have allowed the reopening of salons, hair salons, tattoo parlors and the selection of other companies, after 103 test results tested positive on Friday.
“Our reopening process is governed by data and science,” Breed wrote in an announcement on social media. “COVID-19 cases are increasing across CA. We are now seeing an increase in cases in SF as well. Our numbers are still low but increasing rapidly. “
The 103 new cases are the fourth most recorded by the city in a single day since the outbreak began, which set the record on Monday, and totaled 3,400 confirmed cases. Less than a week after Breed initially announced the plan to enter Phase 3, the seven-day average of new cases has more than doubled, and has even overshadowed the previous peak; The city has added an average of 54 cases per day in the past week.
Shortly after Breed’s announcement, Contra Costa Health Services released a statement that its officials are “evaluating whether the county should continue its current reopening schedule,” citing a 42 percent increase in hospitalizations this week.
San Francisco’s next move was set for Monday, while Contra Costa County planned to open indoor restaurants and bars, gyms, hotels, and some personal services on Wednesday.
Partial data for tests in San Francisco this week shows the total number of tests, even or below the previous weeks, while the positive percentage has increased from 1-2% per day to 3-4%. That’s still below the positivity rate in California (5.6% in the last seven days) and across the country (6.1%), and well below the 23% rate in Imperial County, which Governor Gavin Newsom He urged on Friday to return to take refuge in the place.
“At our current rate, the number could quickly double,” Breed said. “If that continues and we don’t intervene, we will be in such a high number that our only option would be to close.”
Hospitals in San Francisco are not close to capacity and, in fact, have received patients from other parts of the state. There were 45 patients hospitalized in San Francisco on Wednesday, but that includes inbound transfers from eight intensive care patients and nine acute care patients. There were 28 San Francisco residents hospitalized, just one more than the low set earlier this week and about a quarter of its mid-April peak.
San Francisco was one of four remaining California counties that had not yet passed Phase 2. In the Bay Area, San Mateo and Contra Costa counties had received approval to move to Phase 3, but Alameda and Santa Clara remained in Phase 2 as of Friday, along with San Francisco and Imperial counties.
In addition to the increase in hospitalizations in Contra Costa County, authorities said the seven-day average of new cases increased from 38 to 68 and that the test’s positivity rate is also increasing. The county did not set a deadline to make a firm decision on the matter.
