San Francisco Public Press (https://www.sfpublicpress.org/2020/03/page/2/)
As the number of coronavirus cases mounts, health care professionals are anticipating another crisis: a blood shortage. Nationally, the Red Cross estimates someone needs blood every two seconds, and around 80% of the American Red Cross’ donation sites have shut down under social-distancing and shelter-in-place protocols. » Read more
San Francisco State University students say they still don’t have clear guidance from the administration about whether they must leave university housing and take all of their belongings with them because of the coronavirus pandemic and statewide shelter-in-place order.
With continued uncertainty, more students who had planned to keep their campus housing say they have changed course again and are heading home or to other locations for the rest of the spring semester. » Read more
A coalition of San Francisco’s progressive politicians Monday announced plans to place homeless people in hotel rooms by the thousands. Less than an hour later, city agencies, under the direction of Mayor London Breed, emphasized the need to thin out shelters by allowing homeless people to stay on the streets. » Read more
At a virtual press conference live streamed from San Francisco’s coronavirus emergency operations center at Moscone Center, city officials offered updates on their work to enact social distancing protocols, source hotel rooms for people who need to be isolated and deliver personal protective equipment to healthcare workers. » Read more
Before the coronavirus pandemic broke out, the United States was ramping up its biggest peacetime mobilization: the Census. A complete count of all people in the nation is taken every 10 years, but this year, the shelter-in-place and social distancing orders to curb the spread of COVID-19 have forced the Census Bureau to adapt its timeline for the count. » Read more
Murph Finnicum’s San Mateo garage looks like a scientist’s underground laboratory might. There are gallons of isopropyl alcohol, floors sticky with glycerin, shelves scattered with half-filled beakers and cylinders of mysterious mixtures.
In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, Finnicum’s home has transformed into a makeshift hand-sanitizer workshop that has produced 400 eight-ounce bottles of the liquid gold to donate to community groups around the Bay Area — with plans to fill up 700 more. » Read more
As the coronavirus has spread, racist harassment and attacks against Asian Americans have mounted – Chinese restaurants and markets have seen declining patronage, children have been bullied by their peers for perceived links to China and transit riders reported being targeted by insults and outright violence. » Read more
San Francisco’s warning last week that citizens submitting public records requests should expect delays amid the COVID-19 pandemic is already having an impact on journalists’ ability to access and disseminate public health information.
In a March 13 declaration, Mayor London Breed proclaimed that two sections of the city’s administrative code that require city agencies to respond to immediate disclosure requests in a timely manner had been “suspended for the duration” of the coronavirus emergency. » Read more
As efforts to stem the spread of COVID-19 ramp up, incarcerated youth at San Francisco’s Juvenile Justice Center are paying the price.
Officials implemented new rules Wednesday that restrict youth from seeing family members or loved ones in person, replacing in person visits with video conferencing to protect parents, kids and staff from spreading the virus. » Read more
Standing outside San Francisco’s largest homeless shelter on a brisk and cloudy Wednesday morning, Douglas Willis said that he had been waiting on the street for hours to be admitted to the shelter, and not for the first time in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. » Read more