SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – Dr. Grant Colfax on Friday said San Francisco is on the verge of entering the most restrictive purple tier as early as this Sunday if case rates continue at the current pace.
In a briefing, Dr. Colfax said precautions need to be taken as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches and a steady increase in virus cases has been reported.
According to Dr. Colfax, San Francisco has seen an increase in cases since the beginning of October.
“We are in a surge that has the potential to overwhelm our health care system,” he said.
That rate increase is higher than what the city experienced during the summer surge, he added.
For example, there were 217 people diagnosed with COVID-19 during the first week of October.
For the week of Nov. 16, there were 768 newly diagnosed cases in San Francisco.
On Thursday, California health officials issued a limited stay-at-home order that requires non-essentiual work, activities, and gatheringsd to stop between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
At this time San Francisco is currently assigned to the red tier, which is not impacted by that curfew.
However, if the city enters the purple tier, the curfew would then apply.
Additionally, more reopenings would be put on pause, indoor operations must cease at gyms, museums, movie theaters, and places of worship, and capacities at retail outlets would be further limited.
Dr. Colfax urged people to limit holiday gatherings and encouraged virtual ones instead.
If you must gather, he said outdoor gatherings are preferred, wear face masks, and practice social distancing.
If you must gather, he said outdoor gatherings are preferred, wear face masks, and practice social distancing.