Eating, Sky Rides and Otters: What San Francisco’s (Sluggish) Reopening Appeared Like This Week

After months under California’s most restrictive COVID-19 guidelines, San Francisco entered what is known as the red tier this week, which means some businesses and services can reopen to the public for the first time since 2020.

A county’s ranking in the Tier system known as California’s “Blueprint for a Safer Economy” is based on the seven-day average of its total COVID-19 cases and the positivity rate. Districts below the red step are allowed to reopen some non-essential businesses – such as bookstores, museums, and fitness centers – with limited capacity.

Since the announcement, aquariums and museums have slowly opened their doors. The Asian Art Museum reopened Thursday, and the de Young Museum and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art plan to reopen this weekend.

A “Welcome Back” sign at Pier 39 in San Francisco on March 4, 2021 with new security measures due to COVID-19. (Beth LaBerge / KQED)

Here are some of the other companies that can reopen under red level restrictions:

• Clothing and shoe stores with a capacity of 50%
• Dance studios with 10% capacity
• Hair salons and barber shops can be opened with changes inside
• Libraries with a capacity of 50%
• Cinemas with 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is lower
• Restaurants can open food indoors with a capacity of 25% or 100 people, whichever is lower

Check out the full list of what’s open and what’s not here.

Only a few days after the transition from the more restrictive purple to the red level, residents are using stores that have already reopened.

Guests will eat in a tent at La Mar Cebicheria Peruana restaurant in San Francisco on March 3, 2021. (Beth LaBerge / KQED)
Jorge Arreola disinfects a table at Pier Market after the restaurant reopened for indoor dining on March 4, 2021. (Beth LaBerge / KQED)
The Espinosa family at the Aquarium of the Bay at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco on March 4, 2021. (Beth LaBerge / KQED)
A sea otter swims at the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco on March 4, 2021. (Beth LaBerge / KQED)
Helen Yool on March 4, 2021 at the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco. (Beth LaBerge / KQED)
Ariel Mestayer-Orallo is taking a passenger’s temperature at the SkyStar Observation Wheel in Golden Gate Park on March 4, 2021 on the first day of reopening as San Francisco steps into the red row. (Beth LaBerge / KQED)
A passenger rides a gondola on the SkyStar observation wheel in Golden Gate Park on March 4, 2021, the first day of its reopening when San Francisco enters the red row. (Beth LaBerge / KQED)
View from the SkyStar observation wheel in Golden Gate Park on March 4, 2021. (Beth LaBerge / KQED)