San Francisco Bay Area COVID Roundup: San Francisco, San Mateo County Move Into Purple Tier; Santa Clara Unveils Tougher Restrictions
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- With a surge in coronavirus cases, the information you need to know is coming fast and furious. Here's a roundup of the COVID stories we've published over the last 24 hours.
San Francisco Businesses Prepare For Restrictive Purple Tier
SAN FRANCISCO -- Saturday nights are some of the busiest for Tony's Pizza Napoletana in North Beach. That will likely change when San Francisco moves back to the Purple Tier. With new COVID cases soaring, positivity rates rising and hospitalizations increasing, state health officials moved both San Francisco and San Mateo counties from the Red Tier to the most restrictive Purple Tier on Saturday. Among the new restrictions is a ban on indoor dining and a stay at home curfew order that begins at 10 p.m. "A lot of our business is going to be until 10 o clock, and later, we have a lot of dates, and stuff like that. And unfortunately this does dig completely into our regular dinner time," said Tony's Assistant GM Ro Hart. Read More
Santa Clara County Residents Brace For Life In COVID's Purple Tier
SANTA CLARA -- Santa Clara County issued new emergency health directives Saturday, reporting record numbers for new cases and hospitalizations in a single day since the outset of the pandemic. According to the Santa Clara health officials, the state had no choice but to move the county into the most restrictive tier after there were 760 new cases of COVID-19 and 239 COVID-related hospitalizations. Now local residents, businesses and sports teams including the NFL's San Francisco 49ers will have to change their plans because of the new mandates. The 49ers won't be allowed to host their next two games at Levi's Stadium or practice at their facility for at least the next few weeks since the directive bans contact recreational sports. Read More
Coronavirus Restrictions Push 49ers, Other South Bay Teams to Relocate Temporarily
SANTA CLARA -- The San Francisco 49ers and other teams may need to find a temporary new home after Santa Clara County on Saturday banned all contact sports from holding games and practices for the next three weeks. County officials issued the directives in response to rising cases of the coronavirus in the area. The rules take effect Monday and will last until Dec 21. The 49ers have home games scheduled for Dec. 7 against Buffalo and Dec. 13 against Washington at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. The team also practices at that site in the county. "We are working with the NFL and our partners on operational plans and will share details as they are confirmed," the team said in a statement. Read More
San Francisco, San Mateo Counties Backslide Into COVID Purple Tier
SAN FRANCISCO -- With new COVID cases surging across the Bay Area, San Francisco and San Mateo counties were relegated Saturday from the Red Tier to the Purple Tier on the state's COVID monitoring scale, triggering a new wave of restrictions on local businesses. Marin remained the only San Francisco Bay Area county not in the highly restrictive Purple Tier. San Mateo County officials also announced a new stay-at-home order – prohibiting residents from leaving their homes to gather with other households from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. beginning Monday night. During those hours, no gatherings are allowed among households, with certain exemptions. Under Purple Tier restrictions, businesses and activities that may have been operating indoors in the county – including places of worship, movie theaters, gyms and museums – must move outdoors or close. Shopping malls and all retail must operate at no more than 25 percent capacity. Read More
Santa Clara County Issues New Tougher Restrictions On Businesses And Travel
SANTA CLARA -- With new COVID cases and hospitalizations continuing to surge, Santa Clara County health officials Saturday announced further restrictions on local businesses, discouraged non-essential travel and will now require a 14-day quarantine on anyone returning to the county from a trip of more than 150 miles. The restrictions in Santa Clara County include a ban on contact sports like the San Francisco 49ers and reduced capacity inside businesses and facilities open to the public. The 49ers have home games scheduled for Dec. 7 against Buffalo and Dec. 13 against Washington at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. The team also practices at that site in the county. "We are working with the NFL and our partners on operational plans and will share details as they are confirmed," the team said in a statement. While not issuing a shelter-in-place order, Director of Public Health Dr. Sara Cody urged people to stay at home as much as possible. Read More
Small Business Saturday Turns 10 in Make-or-Break Pandemic Year
BERKELEY -- Emily Goldenberg owns GoldenBug a children's clothing store on Berkeley's Fourth Street that opened a year ago. Goldenberg has had to lay off all seven employees at this shop and another she owns because of the pandemic. "We were closed for however many months, six months. It was rough," she said. She's only recently hired back three workers. "We have our online presence which has boosted us during the pandemic and kept us alive, frankly," Goldenberg said. For Goldenberg and many independent businesses Small Business Saturday opens a critical holiday shopping season. Nationwide, 100,000 businesses have already shut down during the pandemic. According to the National Federation of Independent Business, one in five says it will have to close if things don't get better in several months. Read More
Pandemic Forces Beloved Peninsula Breakfast House to Close Indefinitely
MILLBRAE -- A landmark Millbrae restaurant, which has been serving up breakfast every day without interruption since 1959, is the latest business establishment to shutter operations because of restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic but the good news is the closure is only temporary. The Millbrae Pancake House will temporarily suspend all business operations after the close of business on Sunday. The family-owned restaurant, at 1301 El Camino Real, has been open every day for the last 61 years, with the exception of being closed each year on Christmas Day. The restaurant has remained open throughout all of 2020, despite the challenges faced by the restaurant industry as a result of the pandemic. Restaurant management said Friday that its health and safety protocols have resulted in zero incidents of COVID-19 at the establishment. The restaurant is designed to operate at full capacity but management said that its attempt to operate it at a reduced capacity proved inadequate. Read More
Scout Holiday Tree Lot in Piedmont Shifts to Online Ordering Due to COVID-19
PIEDMONT -- Like many operations during the pandemic, the Piedmont Scout Tree Lot has gone online this year, allowing customers to pre-order trees for pickup or delivery. Customers can order from an online selection of Noble and Douglas fir and Silvertip trees, along with wreaths and garlands and then schedule delivery or a pick-up time -- all contact-free, organizers said. The lot typically sells more than 1,500 trees and the holiday tree lot is the largest fundraiser of the year, supporting Cub Scouts, Scouts, Explorers and Venturers. Located at 890 Moraga Ave. in Piedmont, adjacent to Coaches Playing Field, the Scout tree lot opened in 1969 and has operated continuously since then. Read More
Undefeated San Jose State's Game Against Boise State Cancelled Amid COVID Concerns
BOISE -- The highly anticipated nationally televised showed between the San Jose State Spartans and Boise State was cancelled hours before Saturday's kick-off because of COVID concerns within the Broncos program. San Jose State Athletic Director Marie Tuite said the team was in Boise when they received word that the game had been cancelled. "We arrived in Boise on Friday and learned this news Saturday morning," Tuite said in a statement. "Our players and coaches were looking forward to this game with great anticipation. It is a big disappointment to everyone that we are not able to play this game." The Spartans have had a historic start this season, which started in late October due to the COVID-19 pandemic, going 4-0 for the first time since 1955. The Spartans defense has been a big part of the hot start, ranking 10th in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 15.2 points per game. Read More
Other Trending Bay Area COVID Stories
82 Test Positive For COVID-19 At Capitola Skilled Nursing Facility
SANTA CRUZ -- A skilled nursing facility in Capitola is reporting more than 80 cases of COVID-19 among its residents and staff. Pacific Coast Manor said Thursday that 48 residents and 34 staff members have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began in March. It is not clear how many of those cases were reported in recent days. Officials with Covenant Care, which owns Pacific Coast Manor, did not immediately return a message seeking comment Friday. Pacific Coast Manor administrators said in a statement posted on the nursing facility's website that they are testing all residents and staff with the help of state and local public health departments. "Rest assured we are aggressively treating and responding to potential community exposures by conducting routine testing of all our residents and staff until such time as a vaccine becomes available or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention instructs otherwise," they added. Read More
L.A. Residents Told To Stay At Home 'As Much As Possible' As New Cases Surge
LOS ANGELES -- The raging coronavirus pandemic has prompted Los Angeles County to impose a lockdown to prevent the caseload from spiraling into a hospital crisis but the order stops short of a full business shutdown that could cripple the holiday sale season. The "safer at home" public health order announced Friday calls for 10 million residents to stay home "as much as possible" and bars them from gathering with people outside of their household for public or private occasions. The border exempts church services and protests, which the Department of Public Health said are constitutionally protected. Schools that currently are holding in-person classes also mainly will be allowed to remain open, as will beaches, parks and trails. The order takes effect Monday and will last until at least Dec. 20. It is less strict than a statewide lockdown issued in March by Gov. Gavin Newsom but it is still a ratcheting up of measures that aim to slow the exploding number of people who have become infected with COVID-19 and those winding up in hospitals. Read More
Inventive Fans Finds Way To Watch Big Game Amid COVID Restrictions
BERKELEY -- The Big game between Stanford and Cal looked very different this year. No fans were allowed, but many tried their best to watch in person. They climbed and clung to fences surrounding California Memorial Stadium on the UC Berkeley campus to get a peek. "My boyfriend plays for Stanford. I'm trying to be the most supportive girlfriend I can be," said Cal senior Alexia Inman, who was there with her family. "Nothing was going to stop us. She's a senior at Cal this year she deserves to be here and the players deserve support and that's why we're here," said Alexia's mother Tamara Wagner. Some even hiked up "Tightwad Hill" even as police discouraged fans, blocking roads. "It's been fun," said Bob Malates. "It was a little bit of a longer walk than normal. I've never been up here before." Read More
COVID Contact Tracers Using Texts, Calls, Visits To Reach More People In SF
SAN FRANCISCO -- A city-wide contact tracing system in San Francisco will reach out to residents when they've been exposed to the coronavirus. The city and county of San Francisco is averaging 130 new cases of COVID-19 a day, more than 900 a week. To try and track and stop the spread of the disease, the 200 contact tracers at the San Francisco Department of Public Health are adjusting their strategy to match the rising caseloads, making phone calls and in-person visits to text messages. "I think that's a much easier way to get a hold of people and get responses," said Joe Kaufman of San Francisco. Inside the text, there are links to forms to fill out about whether you can safely isolate and who you might have been in close contact with while you were infectious. The program even backdates to when you might have begun asymptomatically spreading the disease. Read More
Airlines Hope New Digital Health Passport App Will Revive International Travel
SAN FRANCISCO -- There will soon be an app for international travelers that stores all their COVID-19 testing results and other important data to enable swifter, safer border crossings during the pandemic. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is in the final stage of developing a new digital health passport. It is called the IATA Travel Pass. The passes allow airlines to collect and standardize passenger coronavirus data concerning COVID-19 vaccinations and test results. The airlines are hopeful the IATA Travel Pass will help revive international travel and lift travel bans across the world. Read More
