Of essential workers and whats available. What we plan to have this summer and what people can do to either sign up or what other programs to do to prepare under the new guideline for the programs that they want to make available to people. So, lets get started. Phil, you we hit the ball running, both you and maria su got together because we knew the schools were going to close. But we also knew that there was an essential workforce out there. People who were driving muni, people who were working at hospitals. They had children. They needed child care. They were concerned about taking their children to their elderly parents. They couldnt leave them at home. Tell us a little bit about the program that you established that is available currently and will potentially be extended once programming starts for june 15 during the summer. Thank you, mayor. Yeah. You asked us as soon as the schools closed to start thinking about our kids and working families, particularly our Health Care Workers and First Responders and people who were needed to help in the citys response. And so the department of children, youth and family and Recreation Park Department are working closely together under the guidance of department of Public Health, set up an emergency child care system that is now in its 12th week. We, over time, served over 475 kids, 19,000 hours of child care offered during that time and we served over 4,000 meals at over 25 different sites. The program runs between 6 30 in the morning and 7 30 p. M. And kids have been involved in Distance Learning and a little bit of recreation and its really been, you know, wasnt what we were used to doing and we had to stand it up pretty quickly, but it has been an amazing experience and im really grateful for my partner in runing this thing, maria, and the department of youth and family who have been terrific. And i want to just add because i know that, you know, sadly, you had these kids and these pods with limited number of social distancing. These are kids coming together on a regular basis. Something similar to what were going to be doing this summer. And, unfortunately, there have been people who have made nasty comments or complained or even yelled at, you know, the kids. And so what i want to say to people is to back off and mind your own business and to leave kids alone. Because at the end of the day, these are kids whose family members are putting their lives on the line to help support this city. So, i cant reiterate enough that its important that folks really just stay in their lane, mind your own business. Were providing essential service. And we want to extend this and make this available to more kids. So, lets talk a little bit about phil, can you just talk a little bit about june 15 . Sure. Were going start programming and were going to extend the number of kids that were able to serve. Not just in our park system, but our overall Summer Program so i want you, phil, to touch on what will be available for our park system, both for our young people and our teenagers and then were going to jump into maria su to talk about programming in general. Sure. So, our child care operation its summer, and child care was intended to operate while during the school year while the School System when the School System was closed and what families and kids are used to during the summer is camp. Youre right. The truth of the matter, it will look somewhat similar in that were going to have pods of 12, but beginning june 15, rec and park between rec and park t private sector camp providers and our nonprofit providers we expect that there will be over 200 different camps available to kids can. We are going to prioritize. Kids of parents who are working in essential businesses, who are part of the citys response, who are, you know, in allowable businesses and, frankly t kids who need us the most right now. Many of our kids in the city have been without their coaches and mentors for going on 10 weeks and we want to reengage and make sure that these kids, above all else, have something to do this summer. So, starting june 15, camp providers will be allowed to operate. Theyre going to need to certify that theyre going to comply with the health order and guidance coming out of Public Health, which means kids still need to be in pods of 12 for older kids. The minimum session for camp providers will be three weeks and the boll rationale behind that is to keep kids from normally during a normal summer kids go to one week of this camp and one week of another camp and the health and our Public Health officials have asked us to keep kids together in a consistent pod. So well have three threeweek sessions beginning june 15. At rec and park, were planning over 25 different camps. We expect there to be another 40 to 50 private camp providers operating in our park system. I believe that maria is estimating nearly 100 nonprofit camp providers will operate around the city and then there are some other muscle private providers that will be operating on, you know, nonpark property in different spaces. Were going to start working with camp providers as quickly as possible, right after were done speaking with you. And for our camps, for rec and park camps, well begin priority registration on may 26 for all of the participants that are currently in our Emergency Child Care Program and our kids in our Scholarship Program who are a little bit more vulnerable and who really, really need us. Were going reach out to those populations first and then citywide, registration for rec and park camps will begin on june 6. All of this information will be laid out on the department of children, youth and familys website, dcyf cares. Org. And ill turn it over to maria to talk about the other providers and program staffing. Thank you, phil. Thank you, mayor, for this opportunity to share with our residents of the work that were doing right now. So, like the mayor shared, we are in the process of expanding the opportunities for families, particularly for summer. Were really excited about this because, as a parent myself who has two children, this is going to be great opportunity for our young our young people to go out there and engage with others and just really address the social isolation issues that we know is happening in our families right now. So dcyf is really excited to be partnering with rec and parks and the rest of our summer providers in the city to stand up all of these programs for the dcyfspecific agencies, which are the nonprofit agencies, that our department provides supports to, we are going to be working with them to open up camps and programs that they will then be made available for all of our families. We are looking at around 100 programs that will be available for families starting june 15. We are asking all of our nonprofit agencies to follow Health Guidelines, which still has shared, restrictive groups of young people in consistent threeweek programming at a minimum. We will also put on our website, dcyf. Org care. More information around the health order, around the drexives and the guidelines, with how private camps are also fulfill all of those requirements and then document that they are going to open up. So look for that website to go live actually the website is live now. But look for the forms to go live soon. Great. And over time, mayor, i think were going to try to inventory try to provide parents with as much information as we can about all of the camp opportunities because we have to think about it as a network this summer because of the Health Guidelines. So, we hope to be able to have a list and some reference materials for not just rec and park camps, but all of the private camps happening around the city, too. Yeah. And i want to touch a little bit because, you know, child care has been important because we have allowed that to continue for essential workers. Can you talk a little bit, maria, what we can expect as it relates to the 0 to 5 age group and what might be available during the summer . Yes. So, were really excited that this new health order that you have authorized with our Health Department to allow the expansion of Child Care Services for more families. So, there are child care programs for children 0 to 5 right now that are providing services for our essential workers and other allowable businesses. Under this new health order, we are now opening that opportunity for more families. We have hear that there are families out there who are working, who need care, who really, really need care for their children. And for children to need to need opportunities to be with their friends. So, this health order will allow more families to have access to these slots, these child care slots. I do want to caution folks that we are still following Health Guidelines and so the slots are going to be limited. We are restricted to a Smaller Group of children per site. So i just want to set expectations for everyone that its not just usual child care as we remember how it was a year ago. Yeah. And i do think its great that, you know, this is providing an opportunity for kids to come together. So were talking about pods of 12 within the course of a summer camp or preschool or in other arenas so that not only can kids can parents get to work, but also it gives these children an tounlts interact with one another because im sure, especially if it is a child who doesnt have any siblings, to be able to play with another kid was like i know everything for me as a kid and i just feel so awful that these kids cant go out there and enjoy one another. This is an opportunity and a great opportunity. But i also, sadly, know it is a very limited opportunity. But do want to touch on, you know, teenagers because i know one of things that happens often times they are always left out. So i am commited to making sure that opportunities for all is available so that we have paid internships for kids during the summer. And that we make that available, especially for our teenagers. Because, you know, already theyre missing their graduations and activities and events. And we want to make sure that they have a productive summer as well and theyre not left out. So, maria, make you can touch on what might be happening with opportunities for all and i know that with rec and park, we have a number of teens that are going to be working and helping with these camps during summer. Lets talk a little bit about, you know, how kids who are teenagers can sign up for some of the programs. Thank you, mayor. So actually a lot of our programs are doing a lot of connections to young people now but theyre doing it remotely. Theyre doing a lot of wellness checks and followup on what academic support these young people need. So, once again with this health order, were now allowed to have facetoface and inperson connections with these young people. So, were going to work closely with our nonprofit agencies to help young people connect to internship opportunities or actual Job Opportunities at some of these Summer Programs or at offices that are slowly opening up. So, theres great opportunities for private sector folks who are now interested who are opening up and would be interested in being a mentor for a young person this summer. That would be amazing. However, if that is not available, our young people are actually engaging in projectbased learning right now. So a lot of our young people in our Workforce Program will be doing Small Projects that are that is remote for the agencis that theyre assigned to. There will be engagement but it is so much better if the engagement is in person and not remote. I do how do they sign up . Like a teenager that wants to participate and have access to a paid internship . For now, were directing everyone to go to dcyf. Org care so they can find out whats available in the community and make sections there. I also do want to say that, for young people and for families who are struggling right now because there are young people and familis who are struggling right now we do have a website that is available and under the mayors leadership, she wanted to Prioritize Mental Health services for families and for our essential workers and other service providers. For those who are struggling and who need support, please go to fieldSan Francisco. Org to learn more about different resources for parents, for young people and for adults and service providers. And also can we call 311 and be referred if we dont have access to the internet . Yes. Well definitely make sure that thats possible. Great. Great. We want to make it as easy for people as possible because i know sometimes you jump on a website and trying to figure it out or if you dont have Internet Access but want to ma you are that your friend knows that this might be available for their family. Talk about what some of the teens are going to be doing in your program this summer. Sure. For the last 607 years, San Francisco has had a program called workreation, where we actually fund teenagers, kids between the ages of 14 and 17 to work in our camps. And because of your leadership and focus on getting these camps opened safely and getting kids an experience, were hiring approximately 200 kid this is summer that will be counselors in the camps that we just talked about. I also think there is an amazing opportunity, mayor, for those private camp providers that want to operate this summer to hire teenagers. Heres why. The health order and the Health Guidance requires a minimum of two staff for every pod of 12 kids. And for private camp providers used to operating with a ton of kids and a few staff, you wont able to do that this year and staff wont be able to move around between pods during the camp session. For private camps to operate, they need to be very wellstaffed and we highly, highly recommend that private camp providers hire teenagers to help and provide some support in making sure that your camps operate safely and smoothly and gives these kids a great experience and opportunity to make some money. I want to provide an example because, for example, we have been providing a camp at well, i guess it is called a camp, i dont know what it is called, but we have been providing support for young people whose families are essential workers at Hamilton Rec Center. So Hamilton Rec Center has several rooms that could be used. So, i know that the plan is there is going to be probably two or three pods of 12. And each of those pods have their own rooms and their own activities around their rooms and they are also able to go outside and enjoy the field but not in the same pod, although they have their workers that are assigned to their pods. So, it provides for more opportunity to support more young people. So, the good news is even when theyre in these situations, theyre social distancing, but you know how it is when youre a kid and youre out playing, most likely youre going to somehow have some interaction where you might touch or be next to each other. So that is really why the importance of keeping these pods to what they are is significant in preventing the spread of the virus and giving these kids a chance to have their community of people to hang out with. Yeah. I think that is what were going for. It is super important for kids to first of all get outside and reengage and, yes, there will be indoor spaces. But a lot more emphasis on being outside this summer for children. And as you know, mayor, for them to be together and hang out and a under the Health Guidance to your very early point for those who are concerned about the health of our children, under the Health Guidance, kids within the same pod can play sports. They can do certain activities. So, k they play basketball together . Can they together, within the same pod. They can do those activities. And that is why this whole pod concept is very important. Our Public Health officials have been focused on minimizing risk. It is impossible to eliminate it 100 . But minimizing it. And that is the whole premise of these long threeweek sessions and these pods of 12. Depending upon which spaces a camp uses a camp may be able to have only one pod of 12 kids but may be able to have two pods or even three pods. As you know in hamilton or season seth rec center where the richmond or jolie, some of our buildings have multiple spaces, some schools where camps might operate have have multiple spaces. And then weve got the best park system in the country. So, we have plenty of outdoor spaces as well. For each pod, each pod requires a minimum of two staff people and staff cannot circulate between pods. So, again, for all you private camp providers out there, hire kids to help you this summer. All right. Well thank you all so much for the insight. Im sure a lot of parents are excited about this. I am hopeful that, you know, some of the in addition to the private the public camps that well provide with rec and park and a number of rec centers and nonprofit partners will be able to provide a sufficient number of locations within the Public Sector and hopefully in combination with the private sector, many of our kids can have an enjoyable, effective, fun summer. So, we appreciate that and for more information, make sure that we reach out to department of children youth and families on the website or call 311 and before we wrap it up, i do want to talk a little bit about this weekend because its memorial day weekend and typically everyone first of all, the weather in San Francisco, even today, is gorgeous. And most of the time people want to go out and have barbecues and hang out with friends and family and i really like the idea of what you did in terms of circles in park to make it clear like you have to stay away from each other. We want to be next to each other so bad. But at the same time, were doing so well. We still see the numbers of infections going up. But we see the number of hospitalizations going down, the number of those who are in i. C. U. Going down. San francisco is doing well. And the last thing we want to do is get too comfortable and all of a sudden go backwards so we still need people to keep their distance. We still need people to wear masks. We still need people to wash their hands regularly wash your hands but phil, tell us a little bit about what we can expect with the parks this weekend because we are, as much as we know people would want to use the parks, well be out in force regulating during memorial day weekend. Again, we dont want to shut down any parks but if it comes down to that point where things are out of control and arent following the guidelines, we wont have a choice. We really need people to be on their absolute best behavior. So, tell us about what we can expect with our parks this weekend. Sure. I mean, mayor, you covered it perfectly, which is that, look, our parks are super important right now. They are the one place where people can get outside, get some exercise, connect with nature and you have been amazing at making sure that these spaces are open and accessible. But for them to stay open and accessible, people need to do the right thing and over the last 10, 11 weeks, most people have been. But we need to focus and not ease up so you can be outside but you have to socially distance. We still recommend that you wear a mask. No partying, you know, no big events, no big picnics. Just enjoy nature and enjoy a little time with your own immediate family or your own roommates. We will have park ranger, San Francisco police department, police officers. Well have sheriffs cadets, fire cadets, Police Cadets and the neighborhood Emergency Response team, all doing education and outreach. There are over 1500 signs in all of our parks indicating what you can and cant do. Just do the right thing so we dont put the mayor in a position where she needs to take more drastic action. It is amazing, mayor, in a lot of cities just threw their hands up and say, oh, parks closed because we dont want to deal with it. You havent done that. Youve kept parks open for people. So, you know, were all asking the public to do the right thing this weekend. The weather will be nice. You will want to get outside. If you have to get in a car, its too far. So go to your neighborhood park, enjoy it. But socially distance. If youre deloris or jackson or the marina green or washington square, weve offered a little bit of popup behavioral art to inspire you to claim your own space. That is the circles that are in some of the parks. And, you know, theyre intended to be joyous and inspirational, but intended to remind everyone that we need to be mindful as we continue to fight this virus. And i just want to say that please dont get offended if, you know, our park rangers or someone walks up to you and asks you, you know, are you guys in the same household just to, you know, make sure that people are following these orders. We have a responsibility. And the other thing is, if youre not the police, then please dont act like youre the police. We dont need you to walk and regulate and tell other people what to do because that creates more drama. It creates more tension. So we are doing the very best we can. We want to make this park and open Space Available to you because we know how challenging this has been. For the most part, san franciscans have followed the order and we are so fortunate that we have amazing residents in the city who are taking this seriously, even though not everyone is complying which has made life difficult in some respects. But please let us deal with that. Were doing our very best to try and reduce this curve to the point of it being nonexistence because i know how badly we want to get back to being out there, to going to work and allowing kids to play. But the fact is coronavirus is with us for some time. It is not about getting back completely to normal. Its about adjusting to our new normal in a responsible way. It is going to take time. Its going to take ai, patience. We appreciate everyone for what you continue to do to help San Francisco be a leader in this effort. Thank you, phil ginsburg, thank you, maria su for your insight. For more information call 311. I know there might be a lot of questions also about the schools and other things. Were happy to continue these conversations based on your feedback. Based on your questions. Because many of us are doing the very best we can. This is not like anything any of us have ever expected. So, were all in this together. Were going to get through this together and that requires us to continue to be patient, get information to you as soon as it is available and just really try to come together, lift one another up, enjoy the memorial day weekend. And thank you all so much for your cooperation. Have a great weekend and well see you next week. Hi, everybody. Im San Francisco mayor london breed and im joined here today by our county Health Officer, dr. Thomas aragon. He is a native san franciscan and has been with the department for over 10 years, has been responsible for all of the decisions that are being made to keep us all safe and healthy. Just yesterday, we made an announcement about a safe reopening plan and i want to talk a little bit with him today about the kinds of decisions, the very hard decisions as a Public Health officer that he has to make to keep us safe. I want to touch a bit on how are we going to reopen safely. Why the decisions around masks and locations that are opening at the time they are opening. I know so many of you have so many questions and also there is a lot of uncertainty. So today we want you to meet your county Health Officer and we want to dig deep and talk about why the decisions that are made are important for us to follow and what we can do to remain safe and healthy in San Francisco. At this time, i just want to welcome you, doctor. Thank you so much for your work. We know that that we have been working hand in hand with other county Health Officers throughout the bay area. A lot of hard decisions that weve had to make in every step of the way, i know you focused on Public Health. Lets start from the beginning. I know that initially we were having discussions about the need to start to reduce the number of people at events and then finally begot to this shutdown and it was necessary. So tell us a little bit about how the decision was made to really get to this point. Thats a really good question. If you remember in march, everything was moving incredibly fast around the world. We saw what was happening in italy. We saw the number of cases, the number of deaths and understanding the information that was coming out of [inaudible] so i think that [echoing] i think that that information that was coming out and seeing how other countries were responding, the United States has not been there yet. We did not have a surveillance system. And so as we moved and started shutting things down, i think that really set the mindset. We were incorrodably supported by yourself, elected officials in the bay area were very supportive of everything as we moved forward. I think that is what really set up the ability for us to collectively make a decision because we really felt we have the support of elected officials and also of the population. That was on march 16 that we got together and decided collectively to do the shelter in place. Yeah. And i remember those days because i remember as i was given arbitrary numbers of, you know, closures of events, i got to a point i know i ran out of. A little patience when i felt like, well, why sit 100 versus 50 or why is it 1,000 versus 500 . We got to a point where we knew that, in order to protect as many people as we can, we were going to get to that point so why continue to kick the can down the road . So, we appreciate the support and the guidance you proud on helping us to make that decision. Tell me the role of a county Health Officer. I am making decisions and leading the city, but im getting advice from from my county Health Officer. Thats you. Tell us about your role for Public Health in San Francisco. The way it works in california so, authority really exists at the state level. And in california, were fortunate what they do is that every Health Jurisdiction has a physician Health Officer, by law, to implement Legal Authority around Health Issues throughout california. And so thats existed for many, many years and so its a big state to have policies that are customized to the issues that people are facing. San franciscos very unique because were a city and a county. Whereas the county Health Officer in los angeles has to deal with 88 cities. I only have to deal with one city. So, it makes it a little bit it makes it easier for San Francisco to be much more agile in responding to Public Health threats and i think that is one of reasons why San Francisco has been a leader in Public Health is because were very agile and so that is basically how it works. So, yesterday we made an announcement. Working with the Economic Recovery Task force, the department of Public Health, we focused on and our assessor recorder who has been leading this effort, we talked about ways to reopen safely. And we announced this plan and, of course, it was really challenging. Because vefn though, from your perspective, you see the numbers are changing and the testing is going up, the p. P. E. And were in a better place. People really are frustrated. They feel like this is moving too slow. And they dont understand why one business over another is able to open or why museums are able to open. Or why did we pick the things we did to open. Again, people are this is not just about me wanting to go to the hair salon. This is about the fact is those folks who have hair salons in places with direct contact with people, they have no income coming in and they are struggling. So, can you talk a little bit about the decisions that youre making . I mean, i believe theyre too conservative. You believe that they are a little bit faster than what you would like them to be. Help us understand what goes into making a decision as to who is reopening and why, based on our s. F. Safe reopening plan. So, one thing to appreciate that we have never experienced this before. So, while it was in some ways straight forward to shut down the economy, opening it up is much more complex because theres so many stakeholders that are involved. And the city cannot act by itself so we work with a region and we work with the state. So weve been working with the state and really making sure that we have smart alignment with the state. The state has some challenges because theyre going to come out with recommendations thats almost a one size fits all for california. So, while it may be too slow for humboldt county, it may be too fast for San Francisco. We face some very unique vulnerabilities that other cities dont face. Were the second densest city in the country. We have, when commuters come in, we have a lot of folks and so while we have made incredible progress, we want to lock in those gains. We want to lock in those gains. And we want to move forward in a way that is going to be safe for everybody. Were really committed to not moving backwards and i think as we learn more about this virus and how it acts, we want to move forward and not backwards and safely in alignment with our region and the state. So, doctor, heres my pushback on that because, for example, in Grocery Stores where the system exists or even target is open because it has a component of a grocery store, you wait in line, youre wearing your mask. Only a limited number of people are able to go in. Youre still there. Theres no rules about what you can and cant touch, even though people are, for the most part, socially distancing themselves within those stores and those locations. And theyre not probably touching as much. They may have gloves. So, why is it that, like, for example, book stores and other retail businesses, you know, why why cant they do the same thing sooner rather than later . So, what happened was that we realised is that to open up the economy, we had to phase things in. So, that is really critical. And the state provided an overall framework and Economic Recovery Task force applied criteria to identify the areas that had the highest risk and the lowest risk. And what you do is you start with the lowest risk areas and you just slowly move through those phases. And one of the challenges is that some people in the later phases say i can do that safely and that may very well be true. Its just that we cant do everything at once and that is really the challenge. Even though some people some industries in later phases could, in theory, do things safely. We have to phase it out so that we dont move too fast. The next thing we do is we give it about two to four weeks to really understand the implications of what we just did. Because we dont want to do too much and then have to move backward. Just to give you an idea, theres already two counties and one is sonoma and the other is lassen where they felt they moved a little too fast. Sonoma is slowing down and lassen pulled back from one of their reopenings. It is critical for us to be mindful and make sure we have enough time to make sure that we dont get ourselves into trouble. Check the numbers. And then continue to move forward. And i think what we do know from the 1918 influenza pandemic, those areas that moved at a good pace did better economically because they did not have a large second wave of infections. Lets talk about that. While were averting one Public Health crisis, were unfortunately creating another. And so i know that depression is seting in with some people. Folks who had no income and no ability to take care of themselves and their families. We know that domestic violence, suicide, child abuse, all these things are a result of what we see happen and it is even worse for people in lowincome and poverty. On the one hand, we are lowering the curve and really been a leader in that effort but there is another Public Health crisis that is brewing as a result of the decisions that were making. How are we expected to sustain this . How are we expected to continue to live like this while, you know, there still are a lot of people suffering from something thats a different Public Health crisis. I agree. I agree with you completely. And i think thats really one of the challenges and, you know, when the Health Officers talk about the issues, we recognize that when you look at health in its complete way, the way youre describing, we absolutely have to take into account those tradeoffs. And that is for me. My personal commitment, i feel like im now on a mission. I feel like im on a mission to get us to open up as safely and as quickly as possible because we know that we have to have get back to work, people have to get back to seeing their doctors and people have to pay the bills, pay the rent, pay for schoolsment all of those things that all of us need are absolutely critical and that is one of the reasons why some people say to us why are we being so strict . Its because i want to keep moving forward and i completely appreciate everything that you are bringing up and that is what makes these decisions very difficult. And what about the seniors living in isolation and need to see their family members in what about the kids who are maybe, you know, only children who havent played with another kid for this long . Like this is not sustainable. Like emotional, its having an impact on peoples lives so i think it is going to be important that we give guidance. Like what kind of guide . The fact is, people for the most part r going to see their parents or their relatives or scheduling playdates and i know that we have said that is not a good idea. But people are probably going to do it anyway because they have probably had it. And i honestly dont blame them. So tell us a little bit about how people can do these things safely. I think human behaviour, we cant help ourselves. We want to be around one another. And we want to interact one another. I guess that we want to stop the virus, but we also have a you know, if my grandmother were still alive, she were at laguna honda, if she were still alive it would literally kill me not to go up and see her. So i just need you to help us understand, how are we going to see our relatives and other friends and folks safely. What is the solution to . To this . You are bringing up a really important issue and actually the Health Officers right now and actually the Health Department is going to design new strategies to bring people together, to bring households together for just the very reason that youre saying. And so in some ways we feel like can we dodge this bullet . And now we have time to do this right and youll be seeing over hopefully over the next week, well be coming out with recommendations for the region on how families, just the way youre describing, can really come together. But we want them to really think through and make sure that they do it safely so we want them to be a aware of the physical distancing, wearing the Face Covering and washing their hands. Its really important for social connections to stay strong and so we will were moving in that directionful and youll hear more about it in the next few days. Because we also know that, for example, there is going to be limitations to our summer quafrp and limited capacity for child care so what about those families whose kids dont make it into child care or summer camp . What are they going to do with, you know, their children. How how how are we going to make sure that they have access to other kids . And they have access to the abilities to be around one another and be around one another. I think i noticed that i see a lot of teenagers Walking Around together with one another. Some of them are wearing masks, some of them arent, but its really tough. I do think it is going to be important that, as we continue to try and push forward more health directives, if we expect people to follow them, you know, we gotta also think about human nature to provide them with safe guidelines to do so. So that, as you said, we dont see a surge and we dont go backwards. So, i know folks are going to be looking forward to those guidelines because this is going to be critical to our ability to meet the goals of waiting for things to open and get back to work and the other things that we need to do. And im expressing the frustration of the people of San Francisco because we know it is a fluid situation and i know people are tired. And it is really hard to sustain it and now there is another Face Covering requirement. Can you tell us about that requirement and why is it now 30 feet, why are the requirements a lot they seem stricker. Can you talk about what the new requirements are around Face Coverings . Yeah. Let me just really quickly just give a very quick background and why were very concerned. When you think of covid19 disease, we know that its more infectious than the flu. Its 10 times more deadly than the flu. And so were very concerned as we begin to open things up, how do we do it in a way that we continue to move forward . That is the first thing. Because there is no vaccine and no real effective treatment, we only have a few tools available to us. One of them was the hammer, which was shelter in place. We dont want to go there. We want to move away from that. We have only a few things left, which is physical distancing, Face Coverings and hand washing. And so now we want to make sure, as we lift shelter in place, that were doing the best we can in those areas. To give you an idea about Face Coverings. So, we know from the science thats emerging and from the mathematical models that have been developed that, if 80 of people wear face masks or Face Coverings consistently, we can prevent outbreaks. That is humongous. And so its really important for us to appreciate that. The countries that are being successful in keeping their economies open are the countries that have universal Face Coverings so we have to have we have for the next year, until we get a vaccine, this is only temporary, it is not going to be forever. Until we get to the place where we have a vaccine and we can safely have everybody most people immune, this is the bridge that is going to get us there. It turns out that the risk is very low, but the benefit is very high and it is going to allow us to have more movement and families to getting to and, over time, as the infection goes down and the risk goes down, were going to more and more people will be able to come together. So, it is going to have a big impact. So, why 30 feet, i guess. Compared to initially six feet. So, heres the way that i want you to think about it is that if every time you walk outside whenever you go outside the home, and there down, were going to more and more people will be able to come together. So, it is going to have a big impact. So, why 30 feet, i guess. Compared to initially six feet. So, heres the way that i want you to think about it is that if every time you walk outside whenever you go outside the home, and there is a good chance that youre going to have contact with people who are not part of your household, we want you to have a Face Covering. That is the first thing. Easy to remember. When im outside my home and there is a good chance that im going to have contact with people that are not part of my household, then i should have a Face Covering. And theres two basis scenarios that that ha. That that happens. Theres moving around, walking down a crowded street and hiking down a path. So the 30 feet is being hindful that as you approach 10 yards is to put your Face Covering on. Its about using common sense l. You have enough time to go ahead and put on your Face Covering. 30 feet, some people like to think of 10 yards if you like football or soccer or think of two average cars. So, when youre walking down the street. The other one is when youre stationary and this is really the more common one that you are talking about and that is six feet. So, if youre in the park with your family and youre away from everybody else and eating lunch or having a picnic, go ahead and put that down. This morning, when i got when i was leaving my house to work, across the street was a father and a daughter. He was holding her hand and they were walking the dog. Theyre totally outside and they didnt have to wear a mask and that is exactly how it should be. We give people plenty of opportunities to go ahead and pull it down so they can get fresh air. As long as youre not close to anybody, go ahead and pull it down so you feel comfortable. So, one of challenges weve had are runners. I noticed it, too. For some reason there are people who are running and i would say, you know, 50 of the time theyll get out of your way and move away from you. But sometimes they just run right past you and are so tell us why that people are saying im a runnerment im not going to run with a mask on. That is ridiculous, right . And im not a runner, but i know that it is hard enough to breathe in a mask sometimes. So, how do you expect people who are outdoors who want to exercise to wear a . Afk a mask . What are the guidelines . Basically follow the same common sense guidelines. Ill give you the example that i do. I like to run up to twin peaks and so what i do is actually just have my mask right here and most runners actually, this is some of the runner magazines that they recommend to folks. Run around when theres no people. When theres nobody around you you dont have to have it on. But when youre running by a family, lets say, go ahead and put it on. That is the 30foot rule, the 10yard rule. And when you pass them and no one else around, go ahead and pull it down. Were trying to make sure its really common sense so that people do it in a way that is respectful of other people as they come close to each other and come near each other for a short period of time. The 10yard rule is to remind them to slip it on and then when youre past them and alone again, slip it down. Were not expecting people to wear it the whole time. If im at the park and having a little picnic in one of my circles, then most likely i can leave mask off. Correct. Exactly. Yes. Ok. All right. I get that there is a lot of confusion there and sounds like were telling people be on your best behaviour. Use common sense. Dont police other peopleful just do the best you can. Were all in this together and we want to make sure that we keep people safe and keep ourselves safe and keep other people safe. Exactly. And the way you described it is perfect. Ok. Heres the other question. Say, for example, woe see the numbers blow us away and surprise us and go down considerably. Is there any chance that, based on the timeline of the dates of reopening, is there any chance that we could see that timeline moved up or things moved out of the timeline and up into the forefront . So, you mean moving the intervals closer . So, for example, if we see all of a sudden over the next week, we see a sharp decline, right, in the number of hospitalizations and we already see testing has gone up considerably. Were doing a great job with testing. So, we see a sharp decline and whatever you need to see a decline in. All of a sudden, you know, theres a strong desire for people to see more happening faster. Do you think there is a possibility that this safe reopening plan could be moved up so that is some of these things are available sooner rather than later . Ill give you a perfect example. Museum, right . Its not because i want to go to a museum, but i think about the people who work at the museum, the security who works at the museum and the fact is you dont need to touch anything at the museum and there is ways in which we can guide people in the restrooms and so on and so forth. The academy of sciences, theyre furloughing employees. But these are locations where theres a real possibility to limit capacity and theyre in phase three. Im using them as an example. Youre asking a really good question. And i think for us the way that weve been thinking about this is because its because San Francisco just we know that were we know that were just higher risk. That is the baseline. And so thats why weve been really anchoring to the state road map and the state road map is moving very fast and is very likely for some of the things that youre mentioning, is very likely to allow more and more of these things to happen. And so if the state allows that to happen, we will look at we will if the state starts moving faster, well look at our number and if it looks like we can do it, then were going to go ahead and implement it safely in San Francisco. That is what were allowing the state to really be that [inaudible] that they [echoing [ yeah. And i want to express my appreciation again for your leadership and also for the timeline and giving the people of San Francisco a lot more certainty about what to expect. It is not what we want, of course. We want more. And i will continue to push for more. But, you know, i appreciate the opportunity to have this open discussion. You know, i just want to say to the people of San Francisco, again, thank you for all that you are doing to help us through this. The better that you follow the guidelines around masking, around social distancing and hand washing, the safer we will be faster which will give us an opportunity to do more. And i know were asking a lot of the people of San Francisco and we appreciate that for the majority of you, you follow these protocols and were also well aware that some people are really suffering. And that is at the forefront of our minds when trying to push for changes faster. But we also want to make sure that we are safe and we dont roll back the gains that we made so far. Its difficult. It requires a lot of sacrifice. Its easier for us to ask you to do it than i know it is for you to actually do i. But we appreciate everything that all of you have done to take part in helping to keep San Francisco safe and healthy. You know, i know it is one thing to be a leader and another thing to be the person stressed out and whether or not they will be able to hold on to their shop or hold on to their apartment after this is over. So, we are keep, those things in mind and i appreciate the work that you are doing, doctor. Thank you for joining us here today. Please feel free to continue to submit your questions. These conversations are really about trying to get to the heart of the questions and concerns that people have. Rather than to do just a regular press conference. This is an opportunity for us to have a discussion about everyday questions that people have. You can definitely call 311 for testing or other questions and concerns or feel free to email me, mayor london breed sfgov. Org and thank you for joining us here today. Thank you