|
|
|
It has been two months since the Bay Area Health Officers issued the first Shelter in Place order, many of us have adapted but the ongoing disruption to our daily lives, livelihoods and the global economy has been astonishing. At the same time, the data shows that our public health precautions are working, and that the Bay Area has flattened the curve, avoiding so far the devastating public health impacts seen in Europe and other parts of the United States. In this regard, San Francisco has done well so far, and we can be proud of that.
Please see these latest COVID-19 updates, and share this information widely
|
|
|
Here are the best ways to stay up to date on the City’s current information and guidance:
- Daily public health and shelter housing data are available at datasf.org/covid19
- Visit sf.gov/coronavirus for City resources, FAQs, and up-to-date information
- Sign up for text alerts by texting COVID19SF to phone number 888-777
- Call 311 for specific questions or concerns
Also see the City’s Outreach Toolkit for Coronavirus for links to up-to-date posters and videos in multiple languages that you can post and share. Information on how to request materials is available here .
Even though our office remains closed to the public, we are checking our email and voicemail every day. Please continue to contact us with pressing concerns or questions.
Every Friday at 2pm I host an online Zoomside Chat so that constituents can get the latest updates and ask important questions. You can check my Facebook page for information about how to join in.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shelter In Place & Public Health Orders
|
- The local Stay Home Order remains in effect through May 31. This week, the Mayor and public health officials announced that most retail businesses may resume operations for storefront pickup and delivery only starting Monday, May 18.
- The City has issued guidelines for retail businesses, as well as associated manufacturers and warehouses, available online at SF.gov/curbside. Before a business can open, they must prepare, post, implement, and distribute a social distancing protocol for each of their facilities, and a written health and safety plan that addresses all applicable best practices. More information and industry-specific templates are available here . Businesses can call 311 or the Small Business hotline at 415-554-6134 for more information. SFMTA has created an online form for merchants to help expedite the process to get the curbs adjacent to their businesses better programmed for any operational changes they may be experiencing.
- In-person weddings have resumed at City Hall! However, only on a limited basis for such priority needs as immigration, healthcare, and military deployment. Call 311 to request an appointment with the County Clerk. Online weddings are coming soon, following Governor Newsom’s executive order April 30 authorizing counties to issue marriage licenses and allowing officiants to perform marriage ceremonies via videoconference. These provisions will be in place for 60 days to assist couples with marriage during the COVID-19 pandemic. The County Clerk is actively working on implementing a process to provide marriage services by videoconference. Check for updates here.
- See the full list of what City services are open at City Hall and elsewhere.
- See the full list of current operations and services at the San Francisco Superior Court here.
- Stay at Home FAQs, including more information about construction projects, are updated regularly, and all Public Health Orders are available online.
|
|
- The San Francisco COVID-19 Data Tracker is updated daily and includes confirmed cases, available demographic information, hospitalizations, deaths and testing results, as well as neighborhood-level data.
- Testing is currently available to any person living in San Francisco who is experiencing at least one symptom or who has been in close contact with a COVID-19 positive person in the last 14 days. Testing is also available to all essential workers regardless of symptoms, including workers in both the public and private sectors. There are currently 26 sites conducting COVID-19 testing around the City. Free testing is available at eight Alternative Testing sites and CityTestSF sites, or you may contact your healthcare provider if you have one. You do not need medical insurance or a doctor’s note to schedule a test, however you must make an appointment to get tested at an Alternative Testing site or CityTestSF site. For more information on testing or to request an appointment, visit sf.gov/GetTestedSF.
- Universal COVID-19 testing is now in place for residents and staff working at the 21 skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) in San Francisco under a new directive issued by the Department of Public Health on May 1. See current cleaning and distancing guidance for residential care facilities, home care providers, and others here.
- As of May 15, Laguna Honda Hospital has had 24 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 18 staff and six residents, with more cases expected in the Laguna Honda community given the continued spread of COVID-19 throughout the Bay Area. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention remain on site, providing guidance and assistance. To ensure the safety of residents and staff, LHH remains under protective quarantine.
- Face coverings are still required for anyone to enter or wait in line for an essential business, ride transit, or visit a healthcare facility. Many local manufacturers are adapting and retooling to fill the need for face coverings, so you can purchase face masks while also supporting a local manufacturer.
- The City’s Pit Stop public toilet program has been temporarily expanded. To date, 18 of the City’s 24 permanent Pit Stop locations have been expanded to operate 24 hours a day. Additionally, the City recently deployed 37 temporary portable Pit Stop public toilets and sinks that are staffed 24/7 near known encampment hot spots while the Stay Home Order is in effect. In total, there now will be 49 staffed Pit Stop locations, with 67 toilets altogether, operating 24/7 in San Francisco. You can read more about the Pit Stop program and find locations here.
|
|
Nutrition and Meal Services
|
- The City’s Food Resources page gives information on how to find food for seniors and disaled adults, children and youth, people experiencing homelessness, and includes information on how to sign up for public benefits like CalFresh and the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children), as well as an interactive Food Resources Map.
- SFUSD remains committed to ensuring no child goes hungry and continues to provide free meals to all children in San Francisco while schools are closed at 19 school sites across the City, including Mission High and Lick Middle School. Note that meals will not be available on Monday, May 25 for Memorial Day. The District is also partnering with community-based organizations to provide our free grab & go meals at additional sites throughout the city. SFUSD continues to accept donations to support the free meals for children program.
- For seniors and disabled adults, the 30th Street Senior Center is providing home-delivered meals and “take-out” lunches (415-550-2226). Castro Senior Center (415-863-3507) and Project Open Hand (415-447-2335), are providing pick-up meal services. Meals on Wheels and the SF-Marin Food Bank are providing meal delivery service.
- Mayor Breed announced additional food relief for students during COVID-19 school closures. Children eligible for free or reduced-price school meals can receive up to $365 in Pandemic EBT benefits. Children who participate in both free or reduced-price school meals and public benefit assistance from HSA will receive P-EBT cards in the mail. P-EBT benefits do not replace any emergency school meal programs or CalFresh. Children who receive P-EBT may continue to pick up SFUSD’s free grab and go meals from 24 locations throughout the city. Read more about this announcement here.
|
|
SFUSD, Children and Youth
|
- SFUSD has launched a new Family Resources Link for families to navigate all of the SFUSD resources available to them during distance learning for the rest of the school year.
- San Francisco’s emergency child and youth care centers will remain open until at least June 2 in order to support the City’s first responders, healthcare workers, activated disaster service workers and all essential public sector employees.
- Private sector essential workers may access emergency child care through a partnership between the City and community based organizations.
- The Family Child Care Association of San Francisco supports family child care providers and the children they serve, and has provided a list of COVID-19 resources for family child care providers.
|
|
Seniors and Disabled Adults
|
- See the Disability and Aging Services (DAS) resource page with information about how to call in for help, and for how volunteers can connect with their services or call the DAS Helpline seven days a week 8:00 - 5:00 at 415-355-6700. This is the best one-stop place for those in need to connect with help.
- 30th Street Senior Center’s Aging and Disability Resource Center connects seniors and disabled adults with services, community resources, and referrals by phone at 415-550-2221 daily from 8:30 - 5:00 Monday to Friday.
- Friendship Line is both a crisis intervention hotline and a warmline for non-emergency emotional support calls at 1-800-971-0016. Trained volunteers specialize in offering a caring ear and having a friendly conversation with older adults experiencing depression and loneliness.
|
|
Small Business and Non-Profit Assistance
|
- Keep track of assistance programs for small businesses and nonprofits including grants, loans, and technical assistance at www.oewd.org/coronavirus, or by contacting the Office of Small Business at 415-554-6134 or sfosb@sfgov.org . See a list of non-government assistance programs here.
- The Office of Small Business has provided a list of local providers of personal protective equipment (PPE) as a resource for small businesses in need of PPE. Any business that sells PPE to local small businesses and wishes to be added to this list may contact sfosb@sfgov.org.
- The Assessor-Recorder has extended the filing deadline for business personal property to June 1, when the office plans to safely accept in-person business personal property statement drop offs. Meanwhile, the safest and most convenient way to file is through electronic submission. Click here for more information. Businesses can also mail in their filings at any time. For any questions, please email askbpp@sfgov.org.
- The local commercial eviction moratorium has been extended through June 16. The moratorium prevents any small and medium-sized businesses from being evicted due a loss of income related to lost revenue or other economic impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Check here for guidelines and FAQs or contact commercial.evictions@sfgov.org.
- The Bay Area Hospitality Coalition and Golden Gate Restaurant Association are asking restaurant owners, chefs and operators to fill out an SF Restaurant Industry Survey to help advocate for the restaurant industry as we move towards re-opening. The survey will be shared with the Economic Recovery Task Force to identify what support is needed from the City to help our local restaurants survive.
- Restaurants seeking to contract with the City to feed those in need, including unsheltered, sheltered, and vulnerable homebound residents may submit qualifications here. Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and multiple short-term awards are expected to be issued through June 30, 2021.
- “Feed the Line” is a non-profit effort for restaurants to provide food for hospital workers at no charge to the workers. To date, Feed The Line has raised over $175,000 for restaurants and sent almost 10,000 meals to workers on the front lines of the coronavirus. To participate in the program, please visit www.feedtheline.org.
- The Entertainment Commission on May 18 will host a Virtual Nightlife and Entertainment Summit to address current challenges and work together to create a path toward recovery. Speakers and agenda to be announced closer to the event date.
- The California Green Business Network is hosting a green business webinar series aimed at helping businesses incorporate sustainability into their recovery. Wednesdays at 11:00 starting May 20. Sign up in advance.
- The Economic Recovery Task Force wants to hear from you! The Task Force, which I am proud to serve on, has been tasked with guiding the City’s efforts through the COVID-19 recovery to sustain and revive local businesses and employment, and mitigate the economic hardships we’re already facing. Please take a moment to complete this survey so we can understand your needs.
|
|
- Keep track of the City’s assistance programs and resources for workers and employees, including independent contractors and gig workers, at www.oewd.org/coronavirus, or by contacting the Worker Information Line 7 days a week from 8:00 - 6:00 at 415-701-4817 or workforce.connection@sfgov.org.
- If you were laid off or had your work hours reduced due to COVID-19, you can file an Unemployment Insurance claim with the California Employment Development Division (EDD). EDD has temporarily suspended the requirement to certify eligibility for weeks ending March 14, 2020 to May 9, 2020. Find out more here.
- EDD is now accepting applications for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance for unemployed Californians who are business owners, self-employed, independent contractors, gig workers, people with limited work history, and others not usually eligible for regular state UI benefits who are out of business or whose hours are significantly reduced as a direct result of the pandemic. Find out more here.
- Governor Newsom announced that workers who contract COVID-19 while on the job may be eligible to receive workers’ compensation. Those eligible will have the rebuttable presumption that they are eligible for workers’ compensation if they tested positive for COVID-19, or were diagnosed with COVID-19, and confirmed by a positive test within 14 days of performing a labor or service at a place of work after the stay at home order was issued on March 19, 2020. The presumption will stay in place for 60 days after issuance of the executive order. More info about the Governor’s Executive Order can be found here.
- Tax-Aid is offering free tax services for filers with a gross annual income under $55,000. If you have not yet filed your taxes for 2019, Tax-Aid can help you prepare your return and provide information on the CARES Act economic impact payment.
- Covered California has extended open enrollment for federally-subsidized health insurance to June 30. Anyone can sign up.
|
|
Muni and Public Transportation
|
- Muni service updates, and route-specific information on lines that are current service are updated regularly. Effective May 16, bus service frequencies will increase by two to four minutes on weekdays for the 8 Bayshore, 14R Mission Rapid, 22 Fillmore, 38R Geary Rapid, 49 Van Ness/Mission, N Bus, and T Bus. The 14 Mission Owl will increase its frequency by 10 minutes for weekday and weekend service. My office continues to work with MTA to expand bus service more in our neighborhoods, especially for residents facing steep walks to limited stops in the heights, better crosstown access, and on the J bus line.
- My office has advocated for alternative service for our seniors, residents living with disabilities and mobility impairments, and others at higher risk, especially in our hillier neighborhoods. I am pleased that SFMTA has launched the Essential Trip Card (ETC) that provides older and disabled adults with about two to three round trip taxi rides per month at a significant discount for essential trips. Currently, those 65 or older, or with disabilities or mobility impairment are eligible, and I am supportive of current efforts to expand coverage further.
- The City’s new Essential Worker Ride Home program supports essential employees in San Francisco impacted by public transportation reductions. The program offers a taxi ride home from work to qualifying participants. To be eligible, currently you must commute to work via a sustainable mode of transportation and commute home between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 8:30 a.m.
- The Slow Streets program limits selected streets to local traffic only to prioritize walking or biking and provide more space for social distancing during essential travel. Streets will not be closed completely and local vehicle access will be allowed (e.g., driveway access for residents). We expect to see installations begin in District 8 net week, beginning on Sanchez in Upper Noe from 24th to 30th, and in Glen Park from Elk to Brompton, followed by an east-west route in Noe Valley and a route serving Castro, Mission Dolores and nearby neighborhoods soon. Use this survey to provide feedback, or suggest additional routes.
|
|
- Online weddings are coming soon. Governor Newsom signed an executive order on April 30 authorizing counties to issue marriage licenses and allow officiants to perform marriage ceremonies via videoconference. These provisions will be in place for 60 days to assist couples with marriage during the COVID-19 pandemic. The San Francisco County Clerk is actively working on implementing a process to provide marriage services by videoconference. Check back at the County Clerk’s website here for updates.
- See the full list of what City services are open at City Hall and elsewhere.
- See the full list of current operations and services at the San Francisco Superior Court here.
|
|
- Data on the City’s supply and use of alternative housing rooms, including hotel rooms, is available on the City’s COVID-19 Data Tracker . The information outlines efforts by the City to establish temporary emergency housing and shelter options for vulnerable populations, individuals directly affected by the coronavirus, and critical frontline workers and is updated daily.
- The Mayor has extended the local eviction moratorium for unpaid rent due to COVID-19 through June 30, and for most other no-fault evictions through August 31. Tenants who were unable to pay rent due to COVID-19 must notify their landlord within one month after the rent was due, and have six months after the moratorium expires, or December 31, to repay back rent before any eviction action could be initiated.
- The City opened its first Safe Sleeping Site this week on Fulton Street near City Hall. I continue to work with City departments, the School District and neighbors to open a Safe Sleeping Site to serve the Upper Market/Castro area as quickly as possible to combat the spread of COVID-19 among unhoused people.
- On May 7, Mayor Breed and the Adult Probation Department announced that the City will lease 51 rooms in a hotel setting to provide housing and intensive support services for people experiencing homelessness who are involved in the criminal justice system. Individuals will be referred by the Superior Court of San Francisco to the San Francisco Pretrial Diversion program. Read more about this new program here.
- The Q Foundation launched its Give2SF COVID-19 Response & Recovery Fund application portal. This program provides temporary financial assistance to eligible households, regardless of immigration status, who have experienced a substantial loss of household income as a result of COVID-19 and cannot afford their housing costs. Funding is extremely limited and applications will be prioritized based on need
- For advice on housing and tenant protections, we recommend the following resources:
- San Francisco Rent Board sfrb.org at 415-252-4631
- San Francisco Tenants Union sftu.org at 415-282-6622
- Housing Rights Committee hrcsf.org at 415-703-8644 or 415-947-9085
- Legal Assistance for the Elderly at laesf.org/COVID19 or 415-538-3333
- The SFPUC announced an emergency community assistance program through September 4 to help residential customers struggling to pay their water, sewer and Hetch Hetchy power bills during the COVID-19 pandemic. Residential customers who have been financially impacted as a result of COVID-19 or the shelter-in-place order and who have a maximum household income under 200 percent of the San Francisco Area Median Income will be eligible to apply.
- San Francisco Superior Court remains under reduced operations until June 1, and closed for eviction proceedings, except in cases of violence or health and safety issues.
|
|
Volunteer Opportunities and Giving
|
- Connect with a variety of City and non-profit volunteer opportunities to help feed, support, and care for vulnerable San Franciscans.
- The San Francisco Marin Food Bank is currently operating 17 pop up pantries, and is in need of more volunteers to support the food bank. Even one shift a week could have a profound impact in our community. This support is essential, safe, and very rewarding. Volunteer or donate here.
- The Bay Area Reporter is America's longest continuously-published, and highest circulation LGBTQ media source, and the newspaper of record serving San Francisco's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. Like many other local independent media outlets, they are seeking support to weather the COVID-19 crisis. Find out more about the BAR fundraiser here.
- The City’s Give2SF Fund is accepting tax-deductible monetary contributions for coronavirus response efforts. Funding will provide food security and access to housing, with a focus on assisting undocumented people who otherwise may not have access to social safety net programs, seniors and people with disabilities, and small businesses. To date, more than $26 million has been raised. Find out more about the fund at www.give2sf.org.
|
|
- The City has assembled a trove of LGBTQ community resources including housing assistance, legal aide, health services, and resources for queer youth.
- The SF Bay Area LGBTQ COVID-19 Relief Coalition is a partnership among many organizations in the Bay Area serving the queer community. Learn more about how to volunteer, donate, or seek support here.
- The LGBT Center hosts weekly webinars for small business owners in the LGBTQIA community and everyone else.
- Manny’s recently hosted a virtual community leaders panel “Serving LGBT Seniors in the Pandemic”. See the video here.
- Don’t miss Harvey Milk's 90th Birthday Block Party this Friday, May 22, from 6:00 - 9:00 pm. Join the party via Zoom here, or via Twitch here.
|
|
- Why not produce a socially-distanced, outdoor drag performance for some of our most vulnerable community members?? On May 22, Openhouse, SF Queer Nightlife Fund, and the Tenderloin Museum are proud to present: Live Drag for our LGBTQ Elders , a live drag show where powerhouse drag queens Dulce De Leche, Per Sia, Princess Panocha, Mary Vice, and Shane Zaldivar will perform in the courtyard of Openhouse. This performance will be virtually hosted by the one and only Juanita MORE!, and will be safely viewed by its LGBTQ seniors, as well as live streamed to the general public. Openhouse and the Tenderloin Museum ask that you contribute to the Live Drag for Our Queer Elders fundraiser.
- Our local restaurateurs, like the SF Grill, Uma Casa, and Eric’s Chinese in Noe Valley just to name a few, have truly stepped up to offer their generous (and delicious) support to our seniors and other vulnerable neighbors, frontline healthcare workers, and the whole community. Thank you!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
