Lately, San Francisco has been operating at its most open since shelter in place hit in March. Recently, the city has allowed indoor dining and other businesses long shuttered to be open, including gyms, museums, and movie theaters. But that generous lifting of restrictions appears to be short-lived.
San Francisco city officials have now announced that it will shut down indoor dining indefinitely starting at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, November 13, just a month after it was allowed at 25% capacity. The city will also reduce capacity at movie theaters and gyms and pause the reopening of indoor classes for high schools.
The move comes as a result of a greater than 250% increase in Covid-19 cases since October 2.
The constant shuffling of rules in the city has made it difficult for restaurants to figure out how to operate and how much staff to have on hand. And given the colder weather, indoor dining was likely going to become more important for the business model.
“I’m shaking right now even talking to you. I’m surprised; I’m upset. Things cannot be taken so lightly when businesses are already grappling to survive,” Azalina Eusope, owner of Mahila in Noe Valley, told Eater SF.
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While the restrictions are incredibly challenging, officials have long warned that a shutdown and rollback could take place again depending on case numbers. It has been shown that dining inside a restaurant is one of the riskiest things to do, given the need to remove your mask to eat, although reducing the number of people in the space significantly helps, which all San Francisco restaurants had been doing.
“I cannot emphasize enough how important it is that everyone act responsibly to reduce the spread of the virus,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in a statement. “Every San Franciscan needs to do their part so that we can start moving in the right direction again. I know this is not the news our residents and businesses wanted to hear, but as I’ve said all along, we’re making decisions based on the data we’re seeing on the ground.”
Hopefully, we can reduce our case numbers again soon and open back up. In the meantime, make sure to show your favorite restaurants love through outdoor dining (heat lamps!) and takeout.
