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Bay Area COVID-19 Roundup: Vaccine In Short Supply At Levi's Stadium; Salesforce '9-To-5 Workday Is Dead'; Marin Supervisors Approve Rent Freeze

CBS San Francisco Staff Report

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- With the surge in new coronavirus cases beginning to ease and demand for vaccination growing, the information you need to know is coming fast and furious. Here's a roundup of the COVID stories we've published over the 24 hours.


Salesforce Says Most Employees Can WFH Once Offices Reopen - '9-To-5 Workday Is Dead'
SAN FRANCISCO -- Declaring the 9-to-5 workday dead, San Francisco-based computing giant Salesforce announced that most employees could work from home at least some of the time, once COVID-19 restrictions ease. "An immersive workspace is no longer limited to a desk in our Towers; the 9-to-5 workday is dead; and the employee experience is about more than ping-pong tables and snacks," Brent Hyder, the company's president and chief people officer said in a statement. "In our always-on, always-connected world, it no longer makes sense to expect employees to work an eight-hour shift and do their jobs successfully," Hyder went on to say. Read More

San Francisco Turns Up Legal Pressure On District Officials To Reopen Public Schools
SAN FRANCISCO -- City officials turned up the legal pressure Tuesday on San Francisco Unified School District administrators to accelerate plans to reopen schools that have been shuttered for nearly a year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. City Attorney Dennis Herrera has amended his lawsuit against the school district to add three new allegations including violations of the California Constitution. Last week, California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said that schools in Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties can now reopen. Many school districts in those counties have begun to reopen or will be reopening soon. Private schools in San Francisco have also reopened. Meanwhile, San Francisco public school students have been learning remotely since last March. Read More

UC Berkeley Officials Extend Student 'Self-Sequester' Period Through Feb. 15
BERKELEY -- Officials at the University of California at Berkeley this week announced that current "self-sequester" period for students living in resident halls has been extended through at least February 15. School officials had initially instructed students living at UCB residence halls to self sequester on February 1 due to an outbreak of COVID-19 cases that was growing due to a surge on campus. 44 students tested positive for the virus over the weekend preceding February 1. "New cases are slowing down, showing that these measures and the helpful efforts of students have been effective," a statement published Monday on the UC Berkeley COVID resources and support website read. "However, a significant number of students remain in quarantine and, due to the 14-day incubation period of this virus, it is too early to be sure this current surge is contained." Read More

White House: President Biden Opposes Effort To Recall California Gov. Newsom
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Biden administration is taking note of the effort by opponents of Gavin Newsom to recall him from office, and is publicly siding with the embattled California governor.On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tweeted Tuesday that President Joe Biden "clearly opposes any effort" to recall Newsom. The governor's popularity in the liberal state has tumbled amid the state's COVID ongoing restrictions along with vaccine rollout missteps, coupled with a public backlash over his dining out with friends while urging the public to stay home. For four years, California has led the charge against former President Trump's policies, including filing more than 100 legal actions against the administration, mostly over environmental issues. Read More

Vaccine In Short Supply At New Levi's Stadium Mass Vaccination Site
SANTA CLARA -- Levi's Stadium, the site of the state's largest mass COVID-19 vaccination site, wrapped up its first day by vaccinating a little more than 500 eligible county residents Tuesday. That's a lot fewer than the initial hope of inoculating 5,000 residents per day before ramping it up to 15,000 per day. "My hope is that we can be at that number by the end of next month, but it's all entirely dependent upon the vaccine supply," said Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Associate Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Tong. The lack of supply is to blame for the number of people who will be vaccinated in the county each day. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who made an appearance at Levi's Stadium ahead of the clinic's opening, made mention of the scarcity of doses. As did the county board of supervisors during their regular meeting Tuesday afternoon. Read More

California's Largest Mass Vaccination Site Opens At Levi's Stadium
SANTA CLARA -- Gov. Gavin Newsom and Santa Clara County officials launched operations Tuesday morning at the state's newest and largest mass COVID-19 vaccination site located at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, home of the San Francisco 49ers. "The goal is pretty straight forward," said Newsom, who was a late arrival at the Levi's news conference. "The goal is to design a system that has only one limitation and that's supply. The issue in the nation, in this state, is supply. I just got off the phone with all the governors in the United States and the Biden Administration -- it's our weekly phone call -- where we discuss allocations. We are going as a nation from 10.5 million doses that will be distributed nationwide to 11 million. That's not enough." Read More

Bay Area Vaccine Rollout Picks Up Speed, May Even Exceed Projections
SAN FRANCISCO -- After a rocky start, the COVID-19 vaccine rollout is starting to pick up the pace and there may be a dramatic shift in a matter of weeks. When the vaccine rollout was just beginning in early and mid-January, experts were predicting at long timeline to widespread vaccinations. They thought logistics might be in place in a couple of months, and vaccine deliveries ramped up by summer time. That schedule may have been too conservative. "We are so pleased," said Sandra Hsu after getting vaccinated in San Francisco. "We signed up during the Super Bowl on Sunday. Just two days ago!" The vaccine push continues from Moscone Center, to the Valley Bible Church parking lot in Hercules. Read More

Bay Area Churches Laud Supreme Court Ruling On Indoor Worship Services
OAKLAND -- Houses of worship across the Bay Area applauded last week's Supreme Court decision that struck down complete bans on indoor religious services due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While services are allowed to resume, they may not sound the same. "Happy days are here again," sang Bishop Bob Jackson of Acts Full Gospel Church in Oakland. His church seats 4,000 and when the music starts and the choir gets fired up, well, it's not like sitting out in the parking lot. "It's something powerful that happens," Jackson said. "And people have missed that. We've been shut down for a year." While indoor services are allowed, the Supreme Court allowed for some restrictions, including a 25 percent limit on seating and a ban on singing and chanting. Read More

Marin Supervisors Approve Rent Freeze For Parts Of County
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Marin County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted to adopt an emergency ordinance barring rent increases in specific census tracts in the county. The emergency ordinance encompasses census tract 1330 and census tract 1290 because of their disproportionate COVID-19 rates compared to the rest of Marin County due to realities such as overcrowding, according to assistant county administrator Angela Nicholson. The rent freeze would expire on Dec. 31, 2021. Census tract 1330 includes Dillon Beach, Tomales, Marshall, Point Reyes Station, Nicasio and parts of unincorporated Novato. Census tract 1290 is in Marin City. "In most cases people aren't raising rents, but in certain designated cases this continues to happen, and people are having a harder and harder time digging themselves out of debt that they are getting into during this pandemic," Nicholson said. Read More

San Francisco Teachers, Food Service Workers, Emergency Personnel To Begin Next Phase In 2 Weeks
SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco will begin vaccinating the next group eligible for the COVID vaccine, including teachers, food service workers and emergency services personnel beginning in two weeks. San Francisco Mayor London Breed made the announcement during a Tuesday morning press conference where she was updating the city's response to the pandemic. "I have some good news: that starting on February 24, San Francisco will move to Phase 1B Tier 1, and eligible people for that phase include our education and childcare workers, our emergency services workers including our police officers, and our food and agricultural employees. That's a really exciting thing," said Breed. Read More

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