Committee backs amended ordinance to strengthen COVID protections for SRO residents

The Government Audit and Oversight Committee on Feb. 18 voted to amend and forward to the full Board an ordinance that would add emergency pandemic protections for occupants of residential hotels (SROs). The measure directs the Department of Public Health to make isolation rooms available for residents who meet County Health Officer criteria, to post notice in common areas, notify operators when a resident tests positive, and to provide a hotline and daily aggregate data about cases and access to quarantine rooms.

Supporters said the protections are the product of long collaboration between SRO residents, advocacy groups and DPH that has kept transmission rates from SROs from exceeding the rest of San Francisco. "This is a vulnerable community and population," said Deb Born of the Department of Public Health, who described on‑site testing during outbreaks, the SRO hotline and a public dashboard as key elements of the response. Budget and legislative staff estimated potential city costs in the low millions for a past six‑month period but said recent federal guidance on reimbursements could reduce the city share.

Supervisor Matt Peskin, who offered a set of largely technical and de minimis edits circulated to the committee, said the amendments clarify notification language and other operational details while protecting medical confidentiality consistent with state and federal law. "They are all non substantive amendments and I’m happy to speak to them," Peskin said. The committee adopted the amendments on a 3‑0 vote and referred the item to the full Board with a recommendation.

The ordinance preserves privacy requirements: DPH officials told the committee that notification practices must remain "to the extent consistent with state and federal laws governing confidentiality of medical information." DPH also noted resource limits and said it could not carry out every aspirational item in the legislation but was largely aligned with the amended approach.

The committee vote clears the ordinance for consideration by the full Board of Supervisors on March 2, 2021. The measure, as amended, requires DPH to balance outbreak response, contact tracing and HIPAA constraints when notifying residents and operators and to report aggregate incidence and quarantine‑room usage publicly.

Action and next steps: the committee adopted amendments and voted to refer the amended ordinance to the Board of Supervisors for final consideration. The Board will take up the item on its March 2 agenda.