Everyone a good evening. Thank you, there are some watch parties that are posted on the web if folks want to join and give more feedback. Good morning, the meeting will come to order. Welcome to the october 26, 2020, meeting of the rules committee. I am supervisor hillary ronen, the chair of the committee. With me on Video Conference is the rules vicechair, stefani and member jordan mar and our clerk today is victor young. And i would also like to thank sfgovtv for staffing this meeting. Mr. Clerk, do you have any announcements . Clerk yes. Due to the covid19 health emergency, and to protect the board members, City Employees and the public, the board of supervisors Administrative Chamber and Committee Room are closed. The members will be participating in the meeting remotely. The Committee Members will attend the meeting through Video Conference and participate in the meeting to the same extent as if they were physically present. Public comment will be available at each item on this agenda. And both on channel 26 and sfgovtv. Org, and they are streaming the numbers across the screen. Comments are opportunities to speak during the Public Comment period and are available via phone by calling 1 415 6550001. And, again, that is 1 415 6550001. The meeting i. D. Is 1464986060. Again, that is 1464986060. Then press pound and pound again. When connected you will hear the meeting discussions but muted and in listening mode only. When your item of interest comes up dial star, 3, to be added to the speaker line. The best practices are to call from a quiet location and speak clearly and slowly and to turn down your television or radio. Alternatively you may submit Public Comment to myself at the rules Committee Clerk at victor. Young sfgovtv. Org. And if you submit by email its forwarded to the supervisors and will be included as part of the official file. That concludes my comments. Chair ronen thank you. Can you please read item number one. Clerk item one is a hearing to consider appointing one member, term ending march 1, 2021, one member, term ending march 1, 2022, and two members terms ending march 1, 2023. To the Inhome Supportive Services Public Authority. Chair ronen thank you so much. And if alexander madrid is us today . Alex madrid . Yes, i am. Chair ronen good morning. Thank you so much for being with us. I was wondering if you have any comments for us about your interest in participating in this body . No, i just want to say to the committee that i thank you for considering me as a member of the board members. Chair ronen thank you so much. We really appreciate your willingness to serve. Thank you. Is there any other questions for mr. Madrid . Nope. Okay, thank you so much. And next i want to see if sascha bittner is here . Miss bittner here . I see s. B. , which im wondering if that is her. Clerk she is logged in, however, were just waiting for her to turn on her microphone. Chair ronen okay. Well wait a sec. Clerk miss bittner, if you can hear us, we are calling on you at this time. Chair ronen and i do want to say that Daisy Mcarthur who is an incumbent is unable to be here today. So were not going to hear from her but she is an incumbent and has been a wonderful member of the board. And ill just say that. And if miss bittner maybe shes having some technical difficulties. So dont we see if robin wilsonbeattle is here. Hi. I am robin wilsonbeattle. Im here. I dont see my name, but chair ronen we hear you. Okay. Chair ronen thank you for being here. Do you have any statement or comments for us . I am just really excited. I have been on both sides of the i have been a consumer of the services but i have also worked in disability advocacy, you know, about these services. And worked as a personal care attendant. So i get both sides of whats going on. [laughter] im excited. Chair ronen thats fantastic. Thank you so much. And thank you for your willingness to apply and to serve in this really important capacity. We appreciate it very much. I want to make sure that none of my colleagues have any questions. Thank you. That that is it for now. And i wanted to just see if miss bittner was able to join us . Clerk she is logged on with us but she is not responding at this point and it may be technical in nature. Chair ronen okay, okay, no worries. Ill just sta state for a momenn miss bittners behalf, i dont know if she remembers me, but i remember her. Shes worked a lot with the Domestic Worker coalition and with handinhand, which is an organization that of employers that helps to advocate on behalf of Domestic Workers, including inhomecare support services and has just been such a leader in that movement. So im very excited about her application to this body. But if she is unable to join us, well give her a chance after Public Comment. But why dont we open this item up for Public Comment while we are waiting. Clerk excuse me. [clearing throat] yes, the members of the public who wish to provide Public Comment on this item should call 1 415 6550001. The meeting i. D. Is 1464986060. Then press pound, and pound again. If you havent already done so, please dial star, 3, to line up to speak. A system prompt will indicate that you have raised your hand. Please wait until the system indicates that you have been unmuted and you may begin your comments. Do we have any members of the public to speak today . Madam chair, there are no callers in the queue. Chair ronen okay. Thank you so much. I just wanted to give one last chance to miss bittner to speak if she has any comments. Hello. This is indiscernible . I do want to speak. But i think that actually chair ronen covered it. However i feel in short i feel that i bring as someone that has worked with ihss and have worked with clients to the Public Authority governing board and you have my recommendation and i hope to be considered for this. Thank you so much. Clerk ronen, i believe that you are muted at this time. Chair ronen so sorry. Thank you so much, miss bittner. And i just want to thank you for all your years of advocacy and work in this arena. And im a big fan. So thank you for applying to this seat. And with that do any of my colleagues have any comments . Yeah, i do, thank you, chair ronen. I just wanted to thank all of the applicants for your commitments to serve our city and the ihss Public Authority. And just for all that you do to ensure that seniors and people with disabilities are able to continue to live with dignity and thrive in our city. You know, we know that the incredibly vulnerable communities are facing just great challenges right now, so i think that the work of the ihss Public Authority is more important than ever. So, thank you so much. And i also just wanted to really thank sascha who i have known for many years and worked with on campaigns for supporting seniors, people with disabilities, and also the care workers, the people who provide the care. So im so excited, yeah, to hear from sascha. And i have known Daisy Mcarthur for years. And a leader in seniors and homecare worker issues. So what a great group of folks stepping into this important role. Thank you so much. Chair ronen thank you. Supervisor stefani, do you have any comments . Supervisor stefani yes, thank you, chair ronen. I just want to echo what both you and supervisor mar said about miss bittner and knowing her work over the years. I want to also thank all of the candidates. This is such important work and its always so good to see such good people willing to serve San Francisco and to really give of yourselves to help others. So, thank you for being willing to serve and im very excited about being able to confirm these appointments and these applications. Chair ronen thank you so much. And i just wanted to add that during the time of covid that the work of being able to ensure that seniors and people with disabilities are allowed to stay in their homes and live and thrive in their homes is so important. And thats the preferred way almost all of the time but weve seen during this crisis that its also very important for health reasons. So the work of ihss is so important, now more than ever, and your willingness, all four of you, to serve in this capacity is so appreciated and so important because we need to make sure that this system and this institution continues to be strong and thrive and that all parts of it work well. So to do this, and to alex and daysing daisy and sascha and robin, we appreciate you and we appreciate your service. I would like to make an official motion to forward the appointments alexander madrid to seat nine and sascha bittner to seat 11, and Daisy Mcarthur to seat 12, and robin wilsonbeattle is it bettle . Or . Beattle. Chair ronen thank you. To seat 13. And to the full board with recommendation. Can we take a roll call vote. Clerk yes. On that motion [roll call] the motion passes without objection. Chair ronen thank you so much. Thanks again, everyone, and congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Chair ronen mr. Clerk, please read item number 2. Clerk yes, item 2 is a hearing to consider appointing one member, term ending september 6, 2021, and two members, terms ending september 4, 023, to the assessment appeals board number one. We have three seats and three occupants. Chair ronen thank you so much. And is miss robinson here . Im here. Clerk shes here. Chair ronen good morning. Nice to hear you and wondering if you had any comments for this committee . Yes, i have been on the board for a long time, probably the longest member there. And i have always gotten a great deal of satisfaction from lending my real estate skills to the city. And i have a background as a commercial real estate appraiser, which makes the board a very good fit for me. And i enjoy working with the people at the assessments appeal board, its been a very great experience. Chair ronen thank you for all of your years of service. We appreciate it and i just want to see if any of my colleagues have questions . I dont think so. Thank you so much. Thank you. Chair ronen and next we want to see if Elizabeth Zareh is here . Good morning, everyone. Elizabeth zareh here. Chair ronen hi, good morning. Do you have any comments to share with us . Sure. I am an attorney. I have been practicing law for the past 24 years and one of the areas which i work in is real estate. In addition to that i am a Real Estate Broker and so i bring in both the legal background and the real estate background to the commission and this will be a second term. Previously i worked as an alternate, served as an alternate in board three and now im trying to switch to board one. Chair ronen fantastic. Thank you so much. And i dont see any questions. I love to see where an alternate is moved to the main seat. So, thank you so much. Thank you. Chair ronen and is mr. Lee here, for alternate seat 7 . Yes, good morning. Chair ronen good morning. How are you . Great, how are you . Chair ronen great. Yes, thank you. Hello, supervisors, thank you for all of your hard work and taking the time on hearing from the potential appointees. So, yeah, my name is richard lee and have been enjoying my time working as a board member on the estimates appeal board. I believe that i would bring valuable expertise to the board through my daytoday work. I work in union square representing several commercial buildings, retail and office, and i have also had i had a background in residential, including rent control, some project management, and i feel that i would be a fair and analytical member to the board. I would continue to be diligent in my role here if i get reappointed. Im a short skip away, you know, to and from my day job, down to union square and back. So im accustomed to the route. I miss coming to city hall. I know that 2020 has been a very volatile year, not only for our lives, but revenue too, and how thats going to impact our cities and states. And nationwide, and just for the local board, yeah, its going to change how 2020, and 2021 and 2022 is going to look. So im willing to continue to lend my services to the board. And i know that its going to be a very different year. I know that the Tax Collector and the assessors office, were all gearing up for whats to come. So now i have seen a few recessions and this one coming up, yeah, i look forward to staying on and contributing. Thank you. Chair ronen thank you so much. I appreciate it. Seeing no questions, can we please open this up for Public Comment. Clerk yes, the members of the public who wish to provide Public Comment on this item should call 1 415 6550001. And the meeting i. D. Is 1464986060. Then press pound, and pound again. If you havent already done so, please dial star, 3, to line up to speak. A system prompt will indicate that you have raised your hand. Please wait until the system indicates that you have been unmuted and you may begin your comments. Mr. Coe, do we have any members of the public for Public Comment at this time . Madam chair, there are no callers in the queue. Chair ronen okay, thank you, and Public Comment is closed. I just want to thank you all for your service as mr. Lee said, that we anticipate were going to be very busy. And so we appreciate you spending your time and lending your expertise to the city in this voluntary role. Thank you. Any other comments from my colleagues . Supervisor mar i just wanted to thank the applicants for your willingness to serve on the assessment appeals board. Yeah, and the work of the board is going to be incredibly important. Looking ahead with the impacts of covid and the economic crisis, and the dramatic changes to how and where we live and work. So i think that having really experienced and fair and committed members of the assessment appeals board is really important. So thank you, all of you. Chair ronen thank you, supervisor mar. Supervisor stefani, did you want to mention anything . Supervisor stefani just a huge thank you for being willing to serve. Its amazing that theyre willing to give so much of themselves for this, because it takes a lot of time. So, thank you. Chair ronen so with that i will make a motion to forward the appointments of Diane Robinson to seat three, and Elizabeth Zareh to seat five, and richard lee to seat seven to the board with recommendations. Can we have a roll call . Clerk yes, on that motion [roll call] motion passes without objection. Chair ronen thank you so much, and thanks again to everyone. Congratulations. Mr. Clerk, please read item number 3. Clerk yes. Before i make that announcement i would like to let the members know whose items we have already acted upon that you need not to wait on the line. Thank you very much for attending. And item number 3 is a hearing to consider appointing one member, term ending september 4, 2023, to the assessment appeals board number 3. We have one seat and one applicant. Chair ronen thank you so much. And is mr. Jeffrey lee here . Mr. Clerk, is mr. Jeffrey lee on the line . Madam chair i was informed that we had been experiencing some technical issues, and perhaps he got bumped off. Chair ronen i see. Okay. Well, why dont we open this up for Public Comment then, so he has a chance to get back on. Mr. Clerk, can we please hear Public Comment. Clerk yes, the members of the public who wish to provide Public Comment on this item should call 1 415 6550001. And the meeting i. D. Is 1464986060. And then press pound, and pound again. If you havent already done so, dial star, 3, to line up to speak. A system prompt will indicate that you have raised your hand. Wait until the system indicates that you are unmuted and you can begin your comments. Do we have any Public Comments for item number 3 . Yes, i have one caller in the queue. Clerk hi is that you, mr. Lee . Caller yes, good morning, my apologies. Chairman ronen and members, i am, unfortunately, unable to get to the Microsoft Team but i can see you on sfgovtv, and i am happy to testify by telephone if that is acceptable. Chair ronen thats perfect. Thank you so much. Very creative. Go right ahead. Caller okay. Well, first of all, thank you for having the meeting this morning and inviting me to speak. So i am an applicant for assessment appeals board number 3, seat number 3. Under ordinance 39398. And my qualifications to serve on the assessment appeals board include 19 years of professional experience as a practicing attorney in california in 2001. And 27 years as a trial litigation attorney. I have appeared both in and observed the proceedings. Currently i live and work in San Francisco, where i have my own law firm. J. K. L. Law consulting. Previously i was a partner at g. C. A. Law partners, a silicon valleybased law firm. And i have served as a temporary judge on the superior court of california while i was practicing down there in santa clara. And i graduated from law school and worked for a federal judge and also spent five years with the department of justice and worked for an International Law firm and various firms here in the bay area. So i am very happy to serve and its considered an honor. And my goal for serving is to ensure to improve the public trust and confidence in our San Francisco government. I also believe that it is the assessment appeals board function as an historical and crucial part of californias Property Assessment and Quality Assurance program. So if appointed i would seek to serve and to live up to the highest standards of judicial and professional conduct and to make the board of supervisors and our county very proud. Thank you very much. Chair ronen thank you so much. And thanks for finding a way to get into this meeting. We appreciate it. Is there any other callers . Clerk madam chair, that completes the queue. Chair ronen okay, thank you very much. Any comments from my colleagues . Nope. Then i am happy to make a motion to forward the appointment of jeffrey lee to seat 3 to the board with recommendation. Can we please have a roll call vote. Clerk yes on that motion [roll call] ronen aye. The motion passes without objection. Chair ronen thank you so much. Is there any other items on this agenda . Clerk that completes the agenda for today. Chair ronen then the meeting is adjourned. Have a good day, everyone. Thank you. Bye. Hi. Im chris manners, and youre watching to coping with covid19. Well, were down to the wire before the president ial election, so heres some tips to help you vote safely during this pandemic. By now, all californians who are registered to vote should have received your ballot to vote by mail. It must be post marked by election day, november 3, so be sure to check collect times if you wait to mail it until election day. If youre concerned that your ballot wont make it in time through the post, the next option is to drop off your ballot at San Franciscos Voting Center, which has been set up outside of the bill graham auditorium on grove street. You can either walk up to hand off your ballot, or you can use the drivethru election. Therell be a ballot drop off location at each of the citys libraries. Consider going early in the day, when it should be less busy. From october 28 through election day, any registered voter unable to drop off their own ballot may authorize somebody else to do so. To authorize somebodys to return your vote by mail ballot, make sure you complete the additional section on your ballot return envelope. If youre picking up or dropping off any ballots, wear a mask and use Hand Sanitizer after touching any surfaces. If you wish to drop it off in person, vis person, if you wish to vote in person, visit the bill graham center. You can avoid lines and save time by preparing your ballots in advance and going to the polling place during offpeak hours. If youre planning on filling out your ballot at the Voting Center, consider bringing some wipes to clean surfaces and Hand Sanitizer to use after you vote. For those who are planning to vote on election day, consider going to your polling place at offpeak time dos, such as midmorning, because it might reduce wait time. And finally, once you get home, wash your hands. Heres a quick recap. And thats it for this episode. For San Francisco voters may vote for local and state candidates and ballot measures, as well as federal candidates. Proposition g is a Charter Amendment that would allow San Francisco residents to vote for locate the candidates and local ballot measures if those residents are u. S. Citizens at least 16 years old and registered to vote. Local candidates include candidates for city offices, the board of education, and the Community College board of trustees. If you vote yes, you want to amend the charter to allow San Francisco residents to vote for local candidates and ballot measures if they are at least 16 years old and registered to vote. If you vote no, you do not want to make this change. Im here with chair achung, a proponent of the measure. Well also joined by ricky green burg. A political commentator who is an opponent of the measure. Thank you for being here. When you are a16, this is a much better age to start the lifelong habit of voting, and you can make the informed decision with the support of teachers, peers, and families. Allowing 16 and 17yearolds to vote will make it more likely that they will continue voting as older adults. Additionally, 16 and 17 year olds care and will use their vote. 16 and 17 year olds are the ones organizing major protests throughout the city such as the Mission High School and Golden Gate Bridge protests, and they continue to carry this momentum, organizing and Holding Elected Officials accountable. In cities, such as tacoma park in maryland, the voter turn out rate of 16 and 17yearolds is double the rate of the general electorate. Thank you, sarah. Were going to move to ritchie for our opening statements. Thank you so much for having me. Prop g is asking the questions, should 16 and 17 year olds be allowed to vote in city elections . Voters should reject this as being a nonserious question this election day. There are three real factors in what we need to consider legality, the maturity, and the effects of social indoctrinatetion in school and social media. 16 and 17 year olds are still children in the eyes of the law and incapable of performing many tasks that we can do as adults. Children cannot sign contracts. They cannot purchase a rent a car, own a house, own a business. How can we let teens vote on such important issues such as property taxes, changes to City Government operations . The concept of teen voting is absurd. The second idea of maturity, that often, we see through research and reports from psychologists, that cognitive functions, functions rational Decision Making are not developed until the mid20s, and the third is social justice indoctrination in schools are being pushed by the curriculum, so for those issues, we should vote no. Thank you, ritchie. I think both of you touched on this, but well start with you, ritchie. 16 and 18 are just two years apart, so why do you believe that these two years do or dont make a difference . Well, theres two ways to look at it. In a maturity way, theres some 16 year olds i know someone or my nextdoor neighbor or my brother or my sister is so much more mature, but i already touched on this in my introduction is legality. 18 years old is the age of the majority. Its the age that society and the laws have been written to say that this is the point that now, you can function as an adult. We trust you at this point. There has to be some time, some age that we start. You cant keep getting lower and lower and lower, and 18 has been what has been the established for all the legality for signing contracts, joining the army, and more. Same question to you, sarah. Why 16 . Like i mentioned in my opening statement, when youre 18, youre in a time transition, youre going off to college, youre moving away, and this becomes very difficult to figure out how to register to vote or registration to vote or going to vote can become on the back burner. When youre 16, youre learning about civics and u. S. History, and this makes an ideal time to learn about voting for the first time, and youre supported by peers and family and teachers to make that decision. Actually, 16 year olds have the same political knowledge as 21 year olds. When youre 16, you have something called cold could cognition, and this is the thinking process necessary for voting. Hot cognition is the more spur of the moment thinking, which is not fully developed when youre 16. Voting is more on the cold cognition. Thank you. Yeah, of course. And were going to do the second question, and its going to go to you, sarah, first. So a second message was put before the voters in 2016 and did not pass. Four years later, however, San Francisco faces new challenges, and we are revisiting the idea of youth voting, why do you believe now is the time for this measure to pass . Well, i think that especially whats been going on politically in the past four years has made it so that young people feel very spurred to take action. Like i mentioned, youth are at the action of so many social Justice Movements that have arisen the last few years, such as the black lives Matter Movement or climate justice. Young people are continuing to fight and hold elected officials account. But we see that young people are continuing to demand action from elected officials for years on and for years on because as cliche as it sounds, it is most definitely our future, so 16 and 17 year olds are taking action in a way that we havent seen them taking action in the past. We can see that 16 and 17yearolds care about issues and how they affect us. Same question to you, ritchie. This was voted down fairly recently, so why do you think that its not the time to take this up . Its time to put this to rest and never bring it up again. Holding officials accountable has nothing to do with teen voting, has nothing to do with climate action, has nothing to do with black lives matter. What we really need to look at is the indoctrination of children in school. Social justice is not the way to run elections. We have students in school, including that teachers that bring their kids out of class to participate in protests and marches is not a way to teach civics. Its not a way to rationally show both sides or more than one side to an argument. We see over and over again that theres the indoctrination. The children dont know what their protesting, and we dont need this. Currently, the 16 and 17yearold population in San Francisco is did he dominantly people of color. Allowing 16 and 17 years old to vote will help ensure that young people of color are represented in our democracy. Additionally, 16 and 17 years old should get a say about issues that affect us. Under covid19, 16 and 17 years old are the most impacted as they have many responsibilities. On top of education, they also take care of household duties and can get a job and pay taxes, some even taking on jobs of essential workers. 13 of Grocery Store workers are groce 16 and 17 years old. Also, this is not a new idea. There are 14 cities in the u. S. That allow 16 and 17 years oy to vote. [please stand by] we cant have that. Right now the children should be working on doing good in school, their studies, and preparing for college. We should not be allowing them to vote. Please vote no on proposition g. Thank you for your comments and for your time. We have we hope this discussion has been informative. For more information on this and other measures in this years election, please visit the San Francisco elections website. This year, all registered voters in california will be mailed a vote by mail ballot starting on october 5th. If you plan to return your ballot by mail, your ballot return envelope must be postmarked byelection day, tuesday, november 3rd. Alternatively, you may drop off your ballot in person starting october 5th at the City Hall Voting Center located outside of the auditorium monday through friday, 8 00 a. M. Through 5 00 p. M. You can also drop off your ballot at the Voting Center on the two weekends before election day from 10 00 a. M. Until 4 00 p. M. Make sure to vote in person at one of the 588 locations across the city or at city hall on tuesday, november 3rd. Thank you. [ ] hi. Im chris manners, and youre watching to coping with covid19. Well, were down to the wire before the president ial election, so heres some tips to help you vote safely during this pandemic. By now, all californians who are registered to vote should have received your ballot to vote by mail. It must be post marked by election day, november 3, so be sure to check collect times if you wait to mail it until election day. If youre concerned that your ballot wont make it in time through the post, the next option is to drop off your ballot at San Franciscos Voting Center, which has been set up outside of the bill graham auditorium on grove street. You can either walk up to hand off your ballot, or you can use the drivethru election. Therell be a ballot drop off location at each of the citys libraries. Consider going early in the day, when it should be less busy. From october 28 through election day, any registered voter unable to drop off their own ballot may authorize somebody else to do so. To authorize somebodys to return your vote by mail ballot, make sure you complete the additional section on your ballot return envelope. If youre picking up or dropping off any ballots, wear a mask and use Hand Sanitizer after touching any surfaces. If you wish to drop it off in person, vis person, if you wish to vote in person, visit the bill graham center. You can avoid lines and save time by preparing your ballots in advance and going to the polling place during offpeak hours. If youre planning on filling out your ballot at the Voting Center, consider bringing some wipes to clean surfaces and Hand Sanitizer to use after you vote. For those who are planning to vote on election day, consider going to your polling place at offpeak time dos, such as midmorning, because it might reduce wait time. And finally, once you get home, wash your hands. Heres a quick recap. And thats it for this episode. For. Mayor breed good morning, everyone. Im San Francisco mayor, london breed, and i want to thank you for being with us today, to provide an update on covid and the election and halloween in San Francisco. We have 12,320 cases of covid total since this crisis began. 37 hospitalizations, 147 people have sadly lost their lives. San francisco has really stepped up its pace around its testing. We have been doing around 5,000 tests a day, which is absolutely incredible. Right now our Positivity Rate is 0. 89 and i know that so many san franciscans have been hearing the stories about how great San Francisco has been doing in fighting the virus, but the fact is were still in the midst of a pandemic. So today is just a reminder that not only are we doing well, we are starting to see a slight uptick in the number of hospitalizations, which puts us in a situation where things could possibly get worse than what they are. Its just a reminder. In places like france and germany, theyve had to make adjustments. France is in lockdown again. And germany, which has been a model in the rest of the world, is looking at restrictions. Its not just what is happening here in the United States, its still challenging all over the world. It is just a reminder that we are in the midst of this pandemic. As a result of some changes that weve seen in the numbers, what we will have to do as a result is put a pause on some of our reopening efforts we have for next week. Let me just say that San Francisco is in a good place. We are in the yellow tier. As a result of being in the yellow tier, we made some very conservative choices around our reopening efforts. Our reopening and the decisions that have been made focused on when we were in the orange tier because we know that the more we open, the more people are moving around, the more possibility there could be of spread. And the last thing we want to do is go backwards or tell a business or a school or someplace that they can open and then tell them they have to close. So we are proceeding with caution and what that means is that some of the decisions we made will still move forward, the ones that are already in place and a few more, but others will need to take a pause until we see improvement in the numbers. What will remain closed, indoor pools, bowling alleys, locker rooms and showers at fitness centers. The capacity will stay at 25 . We initially talked about increasing capacity in restaurants from 25 indoors to 50 indoors. We unfortunately are going to need to put a pause on that, but we will leave 25 intact. Nonessential offices will be able to open at 25 , which theyve already done and we will keep it at that. So capacity staying at 25 includes restaurants or indoor worshiping places, churches, religious facilities, indoor museums, zoos, aquariums, movie theatres which continue without concessions unfortunately. Whats coming some places that will still be able to reopen include Indoor Dining at museums at 25 capacity, expanding indoor Film Production and additionally Live Performances with up to six performers with a drivein setting. I know these are nuanced and complicated in some ways, but if you have any questions and you want to know how the policies relate to your particular industry, please visit the department of Public Health website. It not only provides a list of what is opening and what can and cant open, but also guidelines that will allow people to make a decision of what makes the most sense to move forward. Remember, we are still in a pandemic. We are tired of covid19, but covid19 is not tired of us just because we are tired of it. So it is still here and present. We see it in the increased number of cases every day and in the number of people who are sadly hospitalized. And we definitely feel it when someone loses their life. Its important for us to keep that in mind. What im so proud of is what i see in the streets of San Francisco, people who are wearing their masks and social distancing, and those spraying their down tables to keep their visitors safe, its because of you. Its because of your because you are following our Public Health experts and their guidelines. Its why San Francisco is in the yellow tier in the first place. When you think about that, its remarkab remarkable. We are the seconddensest city in the country and we are still in the better place than most large, urban cities. We should be proud. But we also know there is still more work to do. We also know that tomorrow is halloween. Halloween is my favorite time of year. There are those making plans. Im going to wear a costume, but i also know that i cant participate in any parties or large events or anything of that nature. So we know that this is also important to families. Family families have children who want to trickortreat and people have parties and want to get together. What weve seen during holidays, sadly, is an uptick in the number of cases because people have chosen to come together. These parties and events and gatherings could become superspreaders. It takes one person to infect all people who attend a party. Thats where weve seen numbers increase and in the past. I just want you to be mindful because even though this year will be a sacrifice, the sacrifice is worth it because it means that we can get our kids back in school sooner and we can get our economy going faster. The more that we sacrifice now presents a better opportunity for us in the future. This is going to be a tough halloween, i know, but i know that we can do it and there are creative ways that you can participate in a number of programs. There is a virtual halloween contest that im going to be attending and its supporting larkin Street Youth Services and cindy lauper is performing and its going to be online. There are so many creative ways in which you can celebrate. Restaurants are still open. The shared Spaces Program and peoples ability to dine outdoors social distancing from one another has been a huge success in our city, supporting our restaurants and small businesses, while continuing to follow the Health Guidelines to keep people safe is critical. So lets be creative, lets be safe. Look on the department of Public Healths website for some guidance for some things you can do with your children, with your families, with your communities. But more importantly, lets not take this as an opportunity to celebrate and to go out and to party because it could end up putting us in a worse situation than we are today. So the other thing i wanted to talk a little bit about also was election day. Election day is on tuesday. And i want to thank all the voters who have already voted and who have encouraged those who have not cast their ballots yet to make sure that you vote. And we know that were not sure whats going to happen with this election, but we want to encourage people to watch from home or with friends based on your groups of folks that you interact with on a regular basis in your families. We know that people like to go out and a lot of the bars are closed still, but make sure that you keep that in mind, that were still in the midst of this pandemic. Were not sure which way this election might go, but our city plans to be ready for any situation. Ultimately, when you have large gatherings, when people come together for any reason, that puts us at risk. Please keep that in mind on election day and operate under precaution and safety. I also want to talk a little bit about our schools. This has been at the top of so many peoples mind. Its been not only frustrating, but very sad that so many children in this city are still not back in school. Weve had over a hundred applications from private schools, and were still having some challenges with getting our Public Schools to a place where they are planning to open. Dr. Matthews and i and my office have been in close contact because we are here to help. We are here to help the Unified School District and get schools open sooner rather than later. Im so grateful theyre willing to work with us. Theyve reached out to evaluate the various facilities to make sure that they meet Public Health guidelines. Were also looking at how were going to implement the testing that they want to set up to ensure safety within their various locations. So we think that working closely with the school districts, using all the resources from the city that are at our disposal is going to support them and get us moving our city a lot faster. We sadly see the achievement gap grow. Even though there are some incredible fathers out there trying to do their part, we know that this burden of going to work and trying to socially distance and also take care of your kids while theyre doing this Distance Learning is having a tremendous impact on mostly women in this city, which is further creating a challenge around inequities that continue to exist. There is so much at stake here and that we continue to do. I want folks over the weekend and on election day to keep that in mind. You might not want kids going to our schools right now, but think about them and their experiences. Lets try to do our part, whether we have children or not, whether we have elderly parents or not, whether we lost our jobs or businesses or not, because what we do by making sure were wearing our mask and washing our hands and keeping our distance and avoiding large gatherings and parties and all the other things that we enjoy, what were doing is were setting our city up for a Better Future sooner rather than later. Thats what this is all about. Thank you all so much for your cooperation. Well get it done. I know this weekend is nice, but again, please do everything you can to stay safe and follow our guidelines. With that, i want to introduce dr. Grant colfax who will provide an update around the challenges that exist in the department of Public Health. Again, if you have any questions about halloween, any questions about elections or election day, if you have any questions, please visit sfgov. Org or the department of health website. Thank you so much and have a great day. With that, i want to introduce dr. Grant colfax. Good afternoon. Im grant colfax, director of Public Health for the city and county of San Francisco. Thank you, mayor breed, for your leadership during this pandemic. I want to reiterate mayor breeds thanks to the citizens, the community of San Francisco, for everything youre doing to slow the spread of covid19. You know, my office across the street here is right next to the Polling Center where people are going to vote right now. On my way over, i saw san franciscans exercising their right to vote and doing it in a safe way, wearing masks, social distancing, using good hygiene. Thank you. Today is not unexpected with regard to our pause in reopening. Since weve been removed from the state watch list on september 1, we have had a consistent path of increased activities. We have employees returning to offices at limited capacity. Students returning to inlearning classrooms. Indoor dining and playgrounds being used. This is, indeed, good news and this is progress. But, as our activity increased, we realized we new and expected an increase in the infection is likely. We have been and are prepared for this. Overall, San Francisco continues to do well, but we have seen an increase in case positivity. We want to pause on riskier activities because we do not want the virus to get ahead of us. Because, as we have seen in other countries around the world, when the virus gets on top of ahead, you cant catch up. And we, all of us together, have done a great job of not letting the virus get too far ahead. From the onset of this pandemic, we have closely monitored our local data. We have monitored the spread of the virus so we can slow the spread of the virus and sustain the progress weve made. San francisco, we have avoided massive surges and crushed two curves, the first one in the spring and the second one in the summer. And the data are once again, as i told you this summer, the data are telling us it is time to pause. We are working to extend the time before we reopen the next phase of indoor activities. The reason for this is because in the last two weeks our case rate has gone from three per 100,000 of population to four. Thats a 25 increase. That might not sound like a lot, but when this virus takes off, it takes off quickly, unless again we take efforts to slow the spread. In addition, our hospital numbers are increasing. Theyve increased in the last two weeks from 23 to 37. Low numbers, the good news is our Hospital Capacity remains good to take care of people, but that rate of increase is concerning. As a result, we have a shift in our key local indicators in keeping the Healthcare System stable and managing the current rate of infection. That hospital rate of increase is in the red and our case rate has shifted at the local level from yellow to orange. We have also seen a 38 increase in cases in california and a 41 increase in cases in the United States over the past two weeks. Until we understand the magnitude and the potential duration of increases, it makes sense for us to pause, to make sure we are mitigating the virus, so we can continue to move forward and not backwards. We remain in relatively good shape compared to other major cities. We still continue to have lower infection rates compared to places like new york, philadelph philadelphia, denver, and los angeles. We continue to have the lowest death rate among major cities and the highest testing rate, as the mayor said, currently testing over 5,000 people a day. I am confident that working together we will again beat back the virus, as we have done two times before. But i wouldnt be me unless i reminded you, keep wearing those masks, so important, saving lives by wearing those masks, continue to physically distance, wash your hands, avoid large groups. The holidays are upon us and now is not the time to throw caution to the wind. Lets be here next year when, hopefully, this pandemic will be behind us and we can get together with our loved ones, in close contact, hugging, sharing food, giving toast, but we need to use caution this year. We got do this without the help and cooperation of all of you. So celebrate, but celebrate safely. Virtual election parties, small outdoor Gatherings Limited to three households, and again, please wear those masks. Thank you. This concludes todays press conference. Thank you, mayor breed, and dr. Colfax for your time. [ ]