Reopening: San Francisco Forced To Impose New Business COVID-19 Closures
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Beginning Monday, indoor malls like Westfield San Francisco Shopping Centre and the Japan Center in Japantown, and non-essential offices will shut down once again.
Mayor London Breed said the rise in COVID-19 cases is largely due to people hanging out with others outside of their immediate household.
"We have flattened this curve once and we must do it again," said Breed on Friday. "But what I am afraid of is the complacency. People are tired of the virus, but the virus is not tired of us."
San Francisco was one of the first cities in the US to shut down, and it has not been quick to reopen. But the new round of restrictions is happening because of an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations.
The White House's Coronavirus Task force put 18 states, including California, on what it's calling the "Red Zone" -- recommending those places require masks, according to a task force document obtained by CBS News, but not made public.
California has also broken through the 300,000 mark in total cases during the pandemic so far, along with New York, Florida, and Texas.
The ever-changing reopening timeline has forced one of San Francisco's most popular bar groups - Future Bars to pivot. Owner Doug Dalton is turning Devil's Acre into a fancy liquor store. The group's retail brand "Cask" is now displayed on the bar's windows on Columbus Avenue.
"What we feel is that in North Beach, there is a lot of reception for high end spirits, and especially with everything going on and people drinking at home and wanting higher-end cocktail experiences at home, that they'll pay for more premium liquors," said Dalton.
Dalton and his business partner are forgoing their salaries to help survive the pandemic and pay employees.
"Getting them ready and excited about coming back to work, and unfortunately them not being able to, is very challenging," he said. "Because we're at the whim of how the virus spreads, it's nothing that we can predict."
Dalton plans to open Cask at Devil's Acre on Monday, July 27. If the operation goes well, he will do the same with other bars around the city.
