San Francisco News

A vacant Union Square due to San Francisco's shelter in place order. William J Simpson/ZUMA Wire For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones' newsletters. Why has San Francisco thus far been spared the worst of COVID-19’s impact? On Monday, the city reported 374 cases, with six deaths, a fraction of the state’s 7,414 cases. Doctors have yet to see the surge in coronavirus cases that has overwhelmed hospitals in New York City, which has 38,087 confirmed cases and 914 deaths in all. Density might explain some of the discrepancies with New York City. NYC is the densest big city in the country, at 28,000 people per square mile; San Francisco, the second-densest city, has 18,000 per square mile. But there are other factors that may have dampened the  San Francisco News effects of the virus: early, aggressive interventions by political and public health officials to contain the spread of the coronavirus and steel the system a...

The March 16 letter, written by Denis McComb, district manager for Cal/OSHA’s San Francisco office, ordered the city to investigate the allegations and report findings to Cal/OSHA. San Francisco General responded on Tuesday, with Ehrlich saying the hospital investigated the allegations and determined that it’s  satisfying all regulations designed to protect its workers. “During our investigation, we did not find anything that constituted a violation of (regulations),” she wrote. “Should you have or obtain additional information with regards to the alleged failure to meet ... requirements, we will be happy to investigate further.” Cal/OSHA is not investigating the hospital over the complaints, and it  San Francisco News is not issuing any citations, the letter to the hospital said. If the hospital’s inquiry into the investigation or its response is deemed inadequate, an inspection could be conducted, said Frank Polizzi, spokesman for the state Department of Ind...

The coronavirus pandemic has made it difficult for many businesses to operate. But an industry that hasn’t been forced to totally shut its doors is the marijuana industry. When San Francisco Mayor London Breed shut down the city and all non-essential businesses last month, Drakari Donaldson and other dispensary owners fought to remain open. They won that battle. As for the war? It’s still an ongoing battle. “Trying to do this whole transition from a store that was made to give off an in person experience that’s suppose to be warm and welcoming for the novice smoker all the way up to the expert smoker,” Donaldson said. “We are trying to figure out how to transition to San Francisco News people so they can see what we have and learn about stuff without actually being in the store. California Street Cannabis has since updated its pick-up policy to adhere to city rules and make it easier for consumers to enjoy their products. “Our menu is categorized to acces...

For a fourth consecutive day, San Francisco saw its count of confirmed coronavirus patients increase by double digits. Health officials on Wednesday reported an additional 26 cases, bringing the city and county’s total to 178, surpassing adjacent San Mateo County for the second-most in the Bay Area. The Wednesday morning numbers likely did not include a positive  San Francisco News test revealed by the San Francisco Police Officers Association later in the day. The SFPOA released a statement announcing a second officer has tested positive for COVID-19 a day after a sergeant assigned to the Special Victims Unit at the Hall of Justice tested positive. SFPD said Tuesday the sergeant’s partner was also feeling ill and did not report to work on Monday or Tuesday, but it is unclear if the partner is the second officer to test positive. In his statement, SFPOA president Tony Montoya called on Mayor London Breed to implement a public safety fast-track testing protoco...

San Francisco Latest Update  On any given weekday, as clocks approach lunch hour, the streets of San Francisco's Nob Hill neighbourhood are bustling with pedestrians strutting to the clanging bells of iconic cable cars packed with wide-eyed tourists. But as Ree Ree Li, 25, peeked out her apartment window on Tuesday, she described a desolate scene punctuated by an eerie silence."I see the street. It's very empty. There are no people," Li told ABC News on the first full day of a citywide lockdown prompted by the global coronavirus pandemic. "It feels kind of apocalyptic. People are really nervous, which is fair."But while Li and others stayed to hold up in their apartments, people elsewhere in the city seemed a bit more cavalier. Footage from news media outlets captured people jogging, biking and Rollerblading along the Embarcadero waterfront, some appearing to be in violation of a chief tenet of the new rules: Stay at least six feet apart Mayor London Bre...