Health Commission: cases ticking up; DPH to align local transit guidance with state decision

At the April 19 Health Commission meeting, Director of Health Dr. Grant Colfax reported a modest rise in COVID-19 cases tied to new subvariants, noting that cases were increasing but hospitalizations and ICU occupancy remained low. "Our hospital numbers have gone up just a little bit," Colfax said, adding that across San Francisco there were 25 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in hospitals and one person in an intensive-care unit as of the most recent reporting.

Colfax emphasized vaccination and preparedness measures: "Be COVID ready: stay up to date on your vaccination, keep rapid test kits on hand, keep masks handy," he said. He reported cumulative diagnosed cases of nearly 126,000 and about 856 deaths attributable to COVID in San Francisco, and described booster-rate reporting discrepancies (66% vs. 71%) due to state-reporting differences.

A public commenter, Jordan Davis, urged the commission to lift local mask mandates for public meetings and called the requirement "arbitrary and capricious," noting apparent inconsistencies between meeting rules and mask policies on transit.

Commissioners asked how the city would respond after a federal judge's ruling that the TSA mask mandate would no longer be enforced. Dr. Susan Philip and other DPH staff explained that the federal ruling removed the federal baseline, and that the California state health authorities would determine whether to continue a statewide requirement that would extend to regional/local transit. Philip said DPH expects to align with the state's decision and will continue to recommend masks on transit regardless of whether a mandate remains in place.

The commission did not enact any new local masking mandate at the meeting; DPH said it would await and follow the state's announced guidance and continue to monitor hospital metrics and disease surveillance as primary indicators for escalation or de-escalation of measures.