Disease Prevention and Control, San Francisco Department of Public Health

Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information for Businesses, Employers, and Employees

San Francisco, USA
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Updates to Health Officer Orders and Directives

Notice of Suspension or Restrictions of Indoor and Outdoor Activity

December 17, 2020

San Francisco continues to experience a rapid and significant surge in COVID-19 cases with current projections to overload our hospitals and healthcare systems.  In accordance with the State’s recent regional stay at home order, San Francisco will comply and take action to stop the increase in cases.  Accordingly, the Health Officer continues to suspend and restrict certain indoor and outdoor businesses and activities. Any prior changes in business capacities and other activities required under the amendments must have been implemented by their respective effective dates, and any new changes must take effect by December 17, 2020. If the surge in cases continues, the Health Officer may further restrict or suspend other activities currently allowed under Health Officer Order C19-07.

 Important Note: The Health Officer ordered suspensions or restrictions on capacity limits of the activities as shown in the table below.  Suspended or restricted businesses may still engage in Minimum Basic Operations as defined in Health Officer Order C19-07.  These suspensions or restrictions amend any related orders, directives, or guidance. All impacted people and entities are required to adhere to these new limits and must otherwise continue to monitor and comply with all applicable Health Orders and Directives.

The following table is available in [Chinese]  [Spanish]  [Tagalog]  [Vietnamese]  [Russian]

Business Capacities and Activities Table
Activity and Amended Order or Directive Indoor or Outdoor Change as of effective date
Retail

Directive 2020-17
 

 Indoor CHANGES as of Thursday, December 10, 2020
1.  Implement Metering System to enforce Capacity Limits.
2.  Total Occupancy Limits for all Non-essential Retail of up to 20%.
3.  Total Occupancy Limits for standalone groceries stores of up to 35%.
4.  Provide Special Hours for Older Adults and those with Health Risks.
5.  Indoor Non-Essential Retail allowed from 5am-10pm.
Outdoor RESTRICTED as of Sunday, November 29, 2020
1.  Outdoor Retail allowed from 5am-10pm.
Dining

Order C19-07
Appendix C-1
Directive 2020-16

 Indoor CHANGE as of Thursday, December 17, 2020
1. For take-out, no eating or drinking while waiting for your food. Indoor waiting occupancy limits up to 20%.
2. No Indoor Dining allowed. Suspended until further notice.
3. Take-out and delivery only
Outdoor SUSPENDED as of Sunday, December 06, 2020
1.  No Outdoor Dining allowed. Suspended until further notice.
2.  Take-out and delivery only.
Gyms / Fitness Centers

Order C19-07
Appendix C-1
Directive 2020-27
Directive 2020-31
 

 Indoor SUSPENDED as of Sunday December 06, 2020
1.  No Indoor Gyms / Fitness Center allowed. Suspended until further notice.
Outdoor RESTRICTED as of Sunday, December 06, 2020
1. Total Capacity Limit reduced to 12 people. No Shared Equipment.
2. Outdoor Gym / Fitness Center allowed from 5am-10pm.
Personal Services

Directive 2020-30

 Indoor SUSPENDED as of Sunday, December 06, 2020
1.  No Indoor Personal Services allowed. Suspended until further notice.
Outdoor SUSPENDED as of Sunday, December 06, 2020
1.  No Outdoor Personal Services allowed. Suspended until further notice.
Movie Theaters

Order C19-07
Appendix C-1
Directive 2020-35

 Indoor SUSPENDED as of Sunday, November 29, 2020
1.  No Indoor Movie Theaters allowed. Suspended until further notice.
Museums, Aquariums,
and Zoos Directive 2020-32		 Indoor CHANGES as of Thursday, December 10, 2020
1.  Outdoor Playgrounds allowed from 5am-10pm.
2.  No Indoor Museums, Aquariums, and Zoos. Suspended until further notice.
Hotels and Lodging Facilities

Directive 2020-29

 Indoor CHANGES as of Thursday, December 10, 2020
1.  Lodging is permitted for essential functions, including COVID-19 mitigation and containment measures, treatment measures, accommodation for Essential Workers, or housing solutions. Sports teams operating under an approved plan, and film/media crews are considered essential for this purpose.
2.  Lodging facilities cannot accept or honor in-state reservations for non-essential travel.
3. Lodging facilities may not accept or honor out of state reservations for non-essential travel, unless the reservation is for at least the minimum quarantine time period, and the persons identified in the reservation will quarantine in the hotel or lodging period until after that time period has expired.
Office Facilities

Directive 2020-18

 Indoor RESTRICTED as of Tuesday, November 17, 2020
1.  Nonessential offices restricted until further notice.
Religious and Cultural Ceremonies

Directive 2020-34

 Indoor RESTRICTED as of Sunday, December 06, 2020
1.  No Indoor Religious and Cultural Ceremonies. Suspended until further notice. Only Exception is Indoor Individual Prayer.
2.  Indoor Individual Prayer allowed from 5am–10pm.
Outdoor 1.  See Gatherings (Religious Activities and Political Protests).
Playgrounds and Family Entertainment Centers

Directive 2020-36
Appendix C-1

 Outdoor CHANGES as of Thursday, December 10, 2020
1.  Outdoor Playgrounds allowed from 5am–10pm.
2.  No Outdoor Skate Parks, Outdoor Roller and Ice Rinks, Outdoor Batting Cages and Outdoor Mini-Golf allowed. Suspended until further notice.
Outdoor Recreation, including Tennis, Pickleball, Golf and Swimming Pools

Order No. C19-07
Appendix C-2
Directive 2020-15

 Outdoor CHANGES as of Thursday, December 10, 2020
1.  Total Capacity Limits: Golf, Tennis and Pickleball with up to 2 people from same or different Households.
2.  Total Capacity Limits: up to 2 swimmers from different households per 300 Sq Ft of Shared Outdoor Swimming Pool Space.
3.  Outdoor Recreation allowed from 5am-10pm unless alone or with members of the same Household.
Gatherings (Drive-In)

Order No. C19-07
Appendix C-2

 Outdoor RESTRICTED as of Sunday, December 06, 2020
1.  No Gatherings (Drive-In) allowed. Suspended until further notice.
Gatherings (Religious Activities and Political Protests)

Order No. C19-07
Appendix C-2

 Outdoor RESTRICTED as of Sunday, November 29, 2020
1.  Total Capacity Limit of up to 200 people.
2.  Outdoor Special Gatherings allowed from 5am-10pm.
Gatherings (Meal)

Order No. C19-07
Appendix C-2

 Outdoor RESTRICTED as of Sunday, December 06, 2020
1.  Outdoor Meal Gatherings with only members of the same Household (maximum 6 people if away from the home).
2.  Outdoor Meal Gatherings allowed from 5am-10pm.
Gatherings (Small Outdoor)

Order No. C19-07
Appendix C-2

 Outdoor CHANGES as of Thursday, December 10, 2020
1.  A maximum of 2 people from different Households may gather outdoors. A maximum of 12 people from the same Household may gather outdoors if away from the home.
2.  Small Outdoor Gatherings allowed from 5am-10pm.

Information and Guidance Applicable to All Businesses

Required Signage & Printable Resources

You can download flyers and posters about the public health order from the SF.GOV outreach toolkit.

Small businesses can request posters and flyers for free, for pickup or delivery.

Required Screening for COVID-19

IMPORTANT REQUIREMENTS FOR BUSINESSES/ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE OPERATING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC:

  • If you modify the form above to only include the questions in a web form or other format, you MUST ensure that the information provided in the form above is provided to Personnel to ensure they stay out of work the appropriate amount of time.
  • Business must ensure Personnel stay home or leave work if they answer “Yes” to any of the three questions in the screening form. Personnel who must stay home or leave work may be entitled to paid leave. Businesses must comply with their paid leave obligations under applicable law, including but not limited to the San Francisco Employee Protections Ordinance, San Francisco Public Health Emergency Leave, and the Federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act. For more information, go to www.sfgov.org/olse and  www.sfcdcp.org/workerfaq
  • Some businesses and organizations have additional screening requirements or sector-specific screening forms to use. Read sector-specific requirements at www.sfdph.org/directives.

See below for the screening form for Non-Personnel (clients, visitors, etc.)

Other Screening Guidance:

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

For PPE recommendations for healthcare workers, see www.sfcdcp.org/hcpPPE

Should the general public wear an N95 respirator?

Properly fitted N95 respirators (sometimes called N95 masks or N95s) offer additional protection from the COVID-19 virus which can get past other types of face coverings. Some occupations have regulations that require the use of N95 respirators given the risks involved in the work (e.g., healthcare workers). Even if your occupation doesn’t require or have a standard to use N95 respirators, you may want to consider using an N95 respirator for extra protection especially if:

Please be aware that to work effectively to prevent COVID-19, NIOSH-certified N95 masks should be tightly fitted around your face. An N95 mask is not for everyone, is not designed for children, and will increase the work of breathing, which may make it difficult to wear for long periods of time. If you feel worse wearing an N95 mask, do not wear one. For more information on how to properly and safely wear N95 respirators, see Tip Sheet: Safety Information Regarding Voluntary Use of N95 Respirators

Should the general public wear eye protection (e.g., face shield, goggles) to protect themselves from COVID-19?

      There is currently no recommendation that the general public wears eye protection for most day to day activities.  However, your eyes can theoretically be a route of infection for COVID-19, possibly through close contact to an infected person who is not wearing a mask, when they cough, sneeze or laugh.  You can also be exposed by touching your eyes with your hands if they have been contaminated with COVID-19.  A face shield or goggles (but not regular glasses) could provide protection against these types of exposures. Therefore, individuals, particularly those at high risk of exposure or serious disease from COVID, may decide to wear eye protection in addition to masking, as an extra layer of protection against acquiring COVID-19 infection.

Please note that the documents below are intended for City-operated facilities.

Industry/Sector Specific Guidance

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Frequently Asked Questions

Go to SFCDCP.ORG COVID-19 page for the public to see Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

Also, see COVID-19 FAQs from the CDC