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UPDATE: SF Will Not Come Off COVID “Watch List” Thursday

Governor says SF may come off watchlist. Some re-openings may be allowed soon
By - posted 8/19/2020 No Comment

Thanks to ABC7 for letting us know that in a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that San Francisco will likely be coming off the state’s COVID-19 “watch list.”

UPDATE – Turns out the state reversed course on Thursday and decided not to remove San Francisco from the county watchlist after the county went over the max 100 cases per 100,000 residents threshold.

SF has been on the watch list since July 17th, but thanks to recent drops in the rate of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, the city could be removed from the list as early as Thursday. See updated county-by-county stats.

What does it mean if SF comes off watch list?

Not much, initially. Coming off the list doesn’t necessary mean any major immediate changes. According to the SF Chronicle, even counties falling off the list must still abide by same business closure restrictions they were under previously.

Governor Newsom announced that additional guidance would be provided “next week” on possibly reopenings. Counties on the watch list are not allowed to open gyms, churches, non-essential offices, shopping malls or indoor hair/nail salons. Additionally, counties on the list can’t open in-person schools until they are off the list for at least 14 days. Read more at SF Chronicle.

Most Recent San Francisco COVID-19 “Key Public Indicators

Reported 8/19/20 as of date through 8/17/20 – see the stats

  • Rate of Weekly change in COVID Positive Hospitalizations – 0% – Meeting Target (Target is “Less than 10%”)
  • 7-Day Average % of Acute Care Beds Available – 25% – Meeting Target (Target is “Above 15%”)
  • 7-day Average Percentage of ICU Beds Available – 30% – Meeting Target (Target is “Above 20%”)
  • Average New Cases per Day per 100,000 Residents – 11.3 – High Alert (Target is “Less than 1.8”)
  • 7-day Average Tests Collected per Day – 3,994 – Meeting Target (Target is “Above 1,800”)
  • Percent of Cases Reached for Contact Tracing over the Prior Two Weeks – 79% – Moderate Alert (Target is “Below 65%”)
  • Percent of Named Contacts Reached for Contact Tracing over the Prior Two Weeks – 77% – Moderate Alert (Target is “Below 65%”)
  • Percentage of Essential PPE Categories with at least a 30-day Supply – 100% – Meeting Target (Target is “Below 60%”)