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San Francisco health officials warn of COVID-19 surge, pause reopenings and seek testing help
Summary
Department of Public Health officials told the Health Commission that cases and hospitalizations have climbed sharply, prompting a pause in reopening, an order asking private providers to expedite testing for symptomatic people and close contacts, and modeling that shows large potential increases without behavior change.
San Francisco public-health officials told the Health Commission that the city is in a sharp COVID-19 surge and has paused planned reopening steps as hospitalizations and cases climb.
Dr. Colfax, the Department of Public Health director, said the rise in infections began "approximately two weeks ago" and that San Francisco was added to the state watch list because of increasing hospitalizations. He said the department had closed indoor malls and nonessential offices and was emphasizing prevention measures, including facial coverings and social distancing, over relying solely on testing.
"We are seeing a surge in infections, a significant surge," Colfax said, adding that testing demand now exceeds the department's capacity. The department issued a health order asking private providers to offer expedited testing for symptomatic patients and for people who are close contacts of confirmed cases.
The presentation to commissioners included model projections prepared with University of California, Berkeley collaborators. Colfax said a scenario with no change in transmission could produce a mid-October hospitalization peak of about 990 patients and roughly 820 additional deaths in one modeled projection. He said alternative scenarios could be much worse and that reducing the reproductive number by roughly a third would substantially lower hospitalizations and deaths.
"We're not going to test our way out of the pandemic," Colfax said. "We really need to focus on the prevention activities that we know work." Dr. Bennett, who leads the city's COVID command center, described the response as moving from an emergency surge posture to a sustained, proactive unified command that coordinates DPH, the Human Services Agency and the Department of Emergency Management.
Greg Wagner, DPH chief financial officer, told commissioners the department faces new general-fund reduction targets directed by the Mayor's Office and is working under a short timeline to submit options. "This is the most challenging budget situation he's seen ever," Wagner said, acknowledging planning will be iterative and some options will be high-level at first.
Commissioners pressed for clarity about testing prioritization and distribution. Bennett and Colfax said supply-chain disruptions at national labs and sudden shifts in demand have complicated daily capacity and that DPH is coordinating with community partners and private providers to extend testing to hardest-hit neighborhoods. Bennett described a mask-compliance study and targeted neighborhood strategies for Bayview–Hunters Point, the Mission, the Tenderloin, Excelsior and other areas with high positivity rates.
Public commenters—including DPH clinicians and community leaders—urged faster expansion of testing and support for vulnerable populations. Commissioners said they expect updates as staff refine budget-reduction options and as DPH continues to monitor hospitalizations and testing capacity.
The commission did not take a formal action on COVID-specific orders during this meeting; commissioners were briefed on the health order seeking private-provider testing support and on the department's plan to return with further details on budget impacts and operational responses.
