Moving

San Francisco officers say it is attainable surge is easing, however it’s too early to say

San Francisco will become the first major city to require that patrons at indoor establishments where food or drink is served be fully vaccinated. Facebook has delayed its return-to-office date until January. San Francisco’s latest COVID surge is affecting males significantly more than females

Latest updates:

Santa Cruz County mulling indoor mask mandate: Dr. Gail Newel, the county’s health officer, said during a briefing Thursday that due to a 10-fold jump in cases over the past month, that officials may need to reinstate some virus mitigation measures. “If our health care system experiences further strain, local orders may need to be placed for mandatory masking and other restrictions on business or others,” Newel said. “We’re hoping not to do this, but we’re counting on our community to follow recommendations.”

SFUSD and teachers union reach reach tentative agreement on health and safety standards: The San Francisco Unified school district and the teachers union reached a tentative agreement on updated health and safety standards Thursday, just days before schools are set to reopen on Aug. 16. The deal lasts through July 2022, and states that SFUSD will meet all current public health guidelines for schools. Starting Sept. 7, San Francisco school officials will also require teachers and other staff to be vaccinated or face weekly testing for the coronavirus. “We have committed to putting into place the highest safety standards and protocols at every campus to welcome our students back for the 2021-22 school year,” Superintendent Vincent Matthews said in a release.

When will S.F.’s fourth COVID surge end? There’s ‘some indication’ of relief
: With San Francisco’s coronavirus case rate among the worst in California, the city’s health director said Thursday there may be some relief in sight. “There’s some indication that things are starting to level off a little bit but I think it’s too early to really determine whether that’s going to be maintained or not,” Grant Colfax said at a press briefing.

Unvaccinated children at high risk for infection as schools reopen, experts say: In a Grand Rounds event with Dr. Bob Wachter, chair of the Department of Medicine at UCSF, two of the nation’s top infectious disease experts said Thursday the delta variant has presented an “unprecedented change” in virus reproduction rates. That puts kids who are not eligible for vaccination at high risk for infection as in-person learning resumes. “It’s so transmissible,” said Shane Crotty of the La Jolla Institute for Immunology. Carlos del Rio, associate dean at Emory, added: I’m worried that a lot of kids are going to get infected. I’m already seeing it.”

San Francisco has among the highest coronavirus case rates in the Bay Area. Here’s a possible explanation: For a long time, San Francisco prided itself on low coronavirus case rates relative to the rest of the region and state. That has changed — and experts have some theories, which this article explores.

San Francisco’s latest COVID surge is affecting males way more than females: COVID-19 has sickened and killed men and boys at higher rates than women and girls in San Francisco. This article looks at possible reasons why.

Facebook delays a return to its U.S. offices until January: Facebook said Thursday it will push its date for returning to the office back to January for workers in the U.S. The company joins a host of other locally-headquartered tech companies, including Uber, Lyft and Roblox, that have delayed their return to the office. Read the story here.

‘At this point, you’re either vaccinated or you’re going to catch delta,’ says infectious disease expert: The delta variant of the coronavirus is so contagious that it is becoming unstoppable, said Shane Crotty, professor at the Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccine Research at La Jolla Institute for Immunology, during a Grand Rounds discussion of COVID-19 developments hosted by UCSF Thursday. “This is possibly an unprecedented change in terms of the amount of the R-naught shift,” he said, referencing a term that describes the infectiousness of a virus. He said experts do not fully understand why delta has become so dominant. “It really wasn’t anticipated,” Crotty said, adding that that the real-world impact of the virus is “way out ahead of the virology at this point.”

California GOP recall candidate Elder says ‘nope’ to S.F.’s vaccine mandate plans: Larry Elder, who leads the field of Republican candidates hoping to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom in California’s upcoming recall election, expressed opposition to San Francisco’s announcement that it will become the first major U.S. city to require full COVID-19 vaccination for many indoor activities. The conservative talk show host, who has outpaced most of his rivals in fundraising, shared a Chronicle story detailing San Francisco’s plans on Facebook and commented, “Nope. When I win I will fight any and all vaccine and mask govt mandates at state and local level.”

Less than 3% of U.S. adults eligible for booster shots: Federal officials are poised to OK an additional dose of coronavirus vaccine for people with weakened immune systems, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering allowing another dose for vulnerable people who have already received the two recommended doses of the Pfizer and Moderna shots, including cancer patients, organ transplants recipients and others, according to Dr. Rochelle Walensky. She stressed a small proportion of the population would be eligible for the extra doses — less than 3% of adults

Coachella promoter announces vaccination requirement for all its U.S. venues: AEG Presents, which operates several iconic venues and festivals in the United States, announced Thursday that it will require proof of vaccination for all patrons and staff. Among the company’s holdings are the Great American Music Hall and Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, New York’s Webster Hall and Brooklyn Steel, and the Roxy and El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. AEG also produces the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Coachella Music & Arts Festival, among others. The venues will not accept negative coronavirus tests as a substitute to proof of vaccination. The requirement goes into effect Oct. 1.

Britain reports most new cases since late July: The country’s health department reported 33,074 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the highest daily figure since July 23. The numbers are fueled by the delta variant, the Associated Press reports, with many public health experts in the U.S. looking at the country’s trajectory to help forecast when the fourth wave of the pandemic will peak in this country. Officials says Britain needs to achieve a much higher level of vaccination if it hopes to control the disease. About 60% of the U.K. population has been fully vaccinated, compared to about 50% of the U.S. population, according to data from the CDC.

Bay Area restaurateurs say that the feared backlash for requiring vaccination has not materialized: For the most part, many of the restaurateurs who started vaccinated-only policies — before San Francisco announced a mandate for proof of vaccination — have found a pleasant surprise: It’s gone exceedingly well. Customers largely haven’t pushed back, at least those who are showing up in person. Read the story here.

San Francisco to mandate vaccines for indoor activities: San Francisco will become the second major U.S. city, after New York, to require people attending indoor venues like restaurants and bars to be vaccinated. Read the story here.

203 cases of COVID-19 linked to Lollapalooza music festival: Chicago health officials on Thursday reported 203 cases of COVID-19 connected to Lollapalooza, casting it as a number that was anticipated and not yet linked to any hospitalizations or deaths, the Associated Press reports. The four-day music festival, which started two weeks ago, drew about 385,000 people to a lakefront park. Festival goers had to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative coronavirus test and city officials said about 90% were vaccinated. The number of positive cases included those who tested positive after or during Lollapalooza, which could include people who might have arrived already infected, officials said.

Berkeley to require vaccinations for city employees: The city of Berkeley is moving to require COVID-19 vaccinations for its 1,500-plus employees, according to a news release Wednesday in which Health Officer Dr. Lisa Hernandez encouraged vaccine requirements among employers citywide: “Increasing vaccinations in any workplace will strengthen its ability to stay open and keep employees healthy,” she said. “Mandating vaccination and verifying proof of vaccination in the workplace is a best practice and I recommend it.” According to Berkeleyside, City Manager Dee Williams-Ridley told employees in a message Wednesday that discussions with unions are underway on a policy that would require city workers to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 15. Limited exemptions reportedly would be made for certain medical conditions or religious beliefs.

3-month-old with COVID placed on ventilator in Louisiana: A quarter of all children diagnosed with COVID-19 at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans have required treatment in intensive care units, WDSU News reported. Some children as young as seven weeks old are testing positive and a 3-month-old child is on a ventilator.

COVID vaccine boosters likely needed for all down the line, Fauci says: Top White House infectious disease adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday morning that while the rollout of coronavirus vaccine boosters for some immunocompromised people is imminent, eventually such boosters are likely for everyone. Fauci told “CBS This Morning” that federal health agencies are studying the durability of the shots and will issue guidance on boosters when the level of protection gets “to a certain level,” CNN reported. The Food and Drug Administration could authorize approval of a third shot for some people with weakened immune systems as early as Thursday.

Is it hard to find a COVID-19 test right now in San Francisco? I tried. Here’s what happened: Demand for coronavirus tests has skyrocketed in San Francisco amid the delta variant surge, with the seven-day average number of tests collected in the city nearly doubling last month. But many are complaining that tests and appointments are harder to come by, especially since San Francisco closed its mass testing center at the Embarcadero when the state reopened in mid-June. To get a sense of the current situation in San Francisco, a Chronicle reporter tried to find a test on Monday.

San Francisco’
s latest COVID surge is affecting males way more than females: Since the beginning of the pandemic, COVID-19 has sickened and killed men and boys at higher rates than women and girls in San Francisco. A Chronicle analysis found that the city’s most recent delta-driven surge is once again affecting males more than females — and the gap appears to be getting wider. Read the story here.

Here’
s how S.F.

s coronavirus curve compares to some of the biggest U.S. cities right now: In San Francisco case rates that stayed consistently low compared to the rest of the country are now reaching levels last seen during the winter surge — despite the city’s relatively high vaccination rates. So how does San Francisco’s coronavirus situation compare now to other major U.S. cities? Read the story here.

California virus cases increasing mainly among the unvaccinated: For the week ending August 7, the average daily coronavirus case rate among unvaccinated Californians climbed to 51 per 100,000 people — compared to 33 per 100,000 the previous week. But among vaccinated people it was far lower, at 8.2 per 100,000, up from 7 the week before. The vast majority of new cases are among the unvaccinated, with with their case rates 600% higher than for those who are vaccinated.

Stanford to require weekly testing for students regardless of vaccination status: Citing the ongoing threat of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus, Stanford University unveiled several safety measures ahead of its return-to-campus beginning Aug. 15. In addition to mandating face masks and vaccines for all, students living on campus or in off-campus housing provided by the school will be required to take an entry coronavirus test and also undergo weekly tests — a highly unusual requirement. Unvaccinated international students will additionally be asked to arrive seven days before in-person activities resume to complete entry testing, vaccination, and a period of restricted activity. Stanford is also recommending vaccination and testing for spouses, partners and children of students. Read the full story here.

California teachers to face vaccination-or-testing requirement: Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that California teachers will be required to get vaccinated or submit to testing. Read the story here.

With delta variant, is outside still the safer place to be?: The highly infectious delta variant has spurred a new look at that tenet that outdoor settings are generally safer for coronavirus transmission than indoors — especially following recent outbreaks tied to large outdoor music festivals in Oregon and Michigan. Bay Area experts say the risk of infection outdoors may be a bit higher than in prior stages of the pandemic — but they offer a few caveats. No surprise, it’s really all about behavior. Read the full story here.

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