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San Francisco to reopen with indoor eating, film theaters | Bay Space

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Indoor restaurants, cinemas and gyms in San Francisco can reopen within 24 hours, an upbeat Mayor of London Breed announced on Tuesday as the county officially moved to a less restrictive tier as the rate of Coronavirus cases, hospital admissions, and deaths are falling nationwide in California.

San Francisco and Santa Clara counties in the Bay Area are joining five other counties to move to the second most restrictive level of operations. Much of the state’s population remains in the most restrictive purple class, including the Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties.

California reported an additional 2,533 confirmed COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the total number of known cases in the state to nearly 3.5 million. Officials also announced an additional 303 deaths, bringing the total to just under 52,500 deaths in the state, which is nearly 40 million.

“This is the beginning of a new day in San Francisco,” said Breed of Pier 39, a popular tourist area in picturesque Fisherman’s Wharf.

However, she warned residents to wear masks and maintain proper social distance, even when encouraging them to explore the city.

“When your waiter comes to your table, put on your mask. When you go to the bathroom, put your mask on, ”she said.

Several counties in the San Francisco Bay Area issued strict home stays almost a year ago before a statewide shutdown. Public health officials have largely been more cautious about reopening the economy than their counterparts in Southern California and other states.

Operations in San Francisco shut down in early December after several Bay Area counties were preemptively locked when the positivity rate rose and the case rate rose. Outdoor dining, outdoor museums, and some indoor and outdoor personal services reopened in late January after the state canceled its regional stay-at-home arrangement, but the economic toll has been grim.

Housing and commercial rents plummeted as technicians who could work from anywhere did just that and fled to other parts of the state and county that were cheaper and more flexible. Downtown restaurants that once fed crowds of hungry office workers and tourists for lunch have struggled.

Tourism is also struggling, as airline ticket purchases to San Francisco in late October and November fell 80% year-over-year – much worse than the US average – the city’s financial analysts said in a January report.

Residents’ cautious behavior may have further contributed to the economic downturn, financial analysts said, with data showing that San Francisco residents stayed more at home than residents of other California cities and even other Bay Area counties.

San Francisco’s famous cable cars have been out of service for a year and there is no schedule as to when they could return. The mayor said on social media Tuesday that they will be returning this year.

“Cable cars are part of the fabric of San Francisco. They attract tourists, they help our economy, and I’m not going to make them go away,” she said.

San Francisco, a city and county of about 900,000 pre-pandemic residents, has one of the lowest fall and death rates in the country. 34,000 new cases of the coronavirus and 422 deaths were reported on Tuesday.

Most of California’s 58 counties remain in the state’s most restricted tier. In addition to San Francisco and Santa Clara, the counties of El Dorado, Lassen, Modoc, Napa and San Luis Obispo also moved up one place, The Sacramento Bee reported on Tuesday.

For counties in the red row, indoor restaurants and cinemas may reopen with a capacity of 25% or up to 100 people, whichever is less. Fitness studios as well as dance and yoga studios can be opened with a capacity of 10%. Museums, zoos and aquariums can open indoor activities with a capacity of 25%.

Wineries can open outdoors with changes, but bars and distilleries that do not serve food may not. Other retail businesses such as clothing stores and florists can increase their capacity from 25% to 50%.

AP reporter Kathleen Ronayne contributed from Sacramento, California.

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