SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Mayor London Breed and city health officials today plan to ban gatherings of more than 1,000 people to prevent the spread of the coronavirus — bringing to a halt major public events in Northern California's entertainment and tourism capital.
The move follows Santa Clara County's similar directive Monday night and signaled that local governments are taking more aggressive measures.
By late afternoon, the city of Oakland across the bay followed suit and issued its own order banning all events through March 31 with more than 1,000 people.Breed said the city received the support of Warriors management this morning, and that today's recommendations build upon the city's earlier actions that led to the cancellation of San Francisco's St. Patrick's Day Parade, concerts and other events.
The Warriors announced today that Thursday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets at Chase Center will be played without fans — the first National Basketball Association team to announce such a move. All events at the center through March 21, including concerts, will be canceled or postponed.
"This order mirrors actions being taken by other local governments and is informed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines," Breed said in a statement. "We know cancelling these events is a challenge for everyone and we’ve been talking with venues and event organizers about the need to protect public health."
The order is expected to go into effect within the next 24 hours and will last for at least two weeks, with the option to be reauthorized by health officials. The move comes as the Major League Baseball season draws near, and the San Francisco Giants announced this morning that they will cancel an exhibition game scheduled for March 24 at Oracle Park against the cross-bay rival Oakland Athletics.
Oakland's order came despite no confirmed cases within the city. The A's are scheduled to play a March 23 exhibition game and five home games to open the regular season at the Oakland Coliseum through March 31.
The Coliseum said Wednesday it plans to postpone two concerts, while Saturday’s Oakland Panthers game will be played without fans in the stands. Coliseum officials said they will be reviewing future concerts, Oakland Panthers games and Oakland A’s games.
“Our first priority remains the health, safety, and well-being of all Oaklanders, as well as those who visit our city,” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said. “Although there are no known positive cases of Covid-19 within Oakland right now, postponing large gatherings will help prevent the spread of the virus.
The growing number of cases had already begun to hammer San Francisco's convention-based economy before Wednesday's order.
Five of the six conferences scheduled to take place at the Moscone Center in downtown San Francisco through April have already been canceled or turned into “virtual events.” The Game Developers Conference from March 16-20, the Endocrine Society’s conference from March 28-31 and the March 24 meeting of the Northern California chapter of Meeting Professionals International are all canceled. The software company Okta’s conference March 30-April 2 and the American Educational Research Association’s conference April 17-21 will be virtual meetings.
“Knowing that the earliest the ban, if not extended, would be lifted is two days prior to load-in and taking into consideration increasing concerns over travel restrictions, current health and safety guidance and business sentiment of exhibitors, speakers, sponsors and attendees, we came to this conclusion,” MPI organizers said in a statement Tuesday.
Across the street from Moscone, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art announced today it will be a “gallery-only experience,” with all hands-on exhibits, talks, performances, guided tours and donor events — and coat-check services — canceled through March 31.
“We invite you and your friends to enjoy our beautiful artwork, peaceful galleries, and relaxing spaces during these stressful times,” SFMOMA said in a statement. “Feel free to help yourself to hand sanitizer, and enjoy our colorful and unique bathrooms while washing your hands.”
The San Francisco Unified School District is keeping classes open for its 60,000 students, but has canceled "non-essential events" such as festivals and committee meetings. The Archdiocese of San Francisco, however, announced that it will close its 90 schools starting Thursday through March 25 after one of its students tested positive for coronavirus.
Several counties in Northern California have recommended that event organizers cancel large gatherings but have stopped short of issuing orders banning such activities. That includes Alameda County, where the Oakland Marathon scheduled later this month has been canceled but a March 23 Giants-A's game in Oakland remains on the schedule.
In a statement, A’s management said the team will “adhere to any government directives, and work with Major League Baseball on all alternative arrangements to ensure the health of our fans and our community remains a top priority.”
San Mateo County, wedged in the middle of San Francisco and Santa Clara, has gone a different direction on large gatherings. In a statement Tuesday, Health Officer Scott Morrow acknowledged “widespread community transmission” of the disease in San Mateo County, but said he was choosing at this time not to dramatically change events.
Morrow said the only way to slow the spread of the virus “is to have everything in our society grind to a halt for an extended period of time.”
“At this moment given what I know,” he wrote in a statement, “I believe grinding everything to a halt would cause us more harm than good.” Morrow, who said he would update his statement if his opinion changes, did not return requests for comment. The county has 15 confirmed cases of the disease.