San Francisco officials announced at a press conference Friday that a regional rule requiring residents to cover their noses and mouths when riding public transportation or conducting essential business would go into effect at midnight. Face coverings are required inside or waiting in line for a grocery store, for example, but not for individuals practicing social distancing while exercising. Enforcement will not begin in San Francisco until 8 a.m. April 22, in order to give residents who do not have access to a face mask time to obtain one. Mayor London Breed said that there is no need to wear N95 masks, as these should be preserved for health care workers. She stressed the need to continue to comply with the shelter-in-place order.
“We have over 1,000 cases in our city and growing,” Breed said. “We can’t let up, because that could mean the possibility of other people getting infected and seeing the numbers surge completely out of control. That is the last thing we want.”
Dr. Grant Colfax, director of health, said masks are not required for children between 2 and 12 years old. In fact, he said, the health department discourages masks for children 2 years old and younger because of the risk of suffocation.
Jeffrey Tumlin, director of the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency, reiterated calls for residents to find other methods of transportation besides riding buses, saying seats must be saved for those who have no other choice. Agency workers will be stationed at major bus stops encouraging riders to keep six feet apart and asking them to wear masks, and the transit agency will be working with other departments to distribute masks to those who need them, he said. The number of passengers per bus is being restricted to maintain social distancing on transit, and Tumlin said bus drivers may pass a stop without letting riders board if the bus is already at capacity or if riders are not wearing masks.
Seniors and people with disabilities may order an Essential Trip Card, a new program from the transit agency in partnership with taxi companies. The card can be used to pay for about three essential round-trip taxi rides per month, with an 80% fare discount. Eligible residents may order their card by calling 311 or visiting the transit agency’s website.
Listen to these and other updates in the full press conference audio below. Other updates from this press briefing:
- Breed made remarks about the upcoming anniversary of the earthquake that devastated the city on April 18, 1906 (1:09).
- Breed said that gatherings will not be tolerated for 4/20, as April 20 is known to cannabis enthusiasts (7:15). Golden Gate Park will be fenced off and police officers will be enforcing the shelter-in-place order, said Police Chief Bill Scott (35:50).
- Colfax gave an update on the number of cases in various congregate locations and in hospitals. San Francisco now has 1,058 coronavirus cases and has recorded 20 deaths (16:35).
- San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott gave recent crime statistics (32:45).
- Trent Rhorer, director of the Human Services Agency, described how hotels operate when they house homeless people and others who need to self-isolate but cannot (41:50).
- Abigail Stewart-Kahn, interim director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, responds to a question about the rate at which homeless people are being placed in hotel rooms (45:30).
A segment from our radio show, “Civic.” Listen daily at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on 102.5 FM in San Francisco.
