SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — Sunny weather, cultural celebrations and a bit of soccer fever got people enjoying the sights and sounds of the city on Saturday.

“The turnout is better than expected. With everything that’s happening right now, we didn’t even know if that was going to happen – so far the turnout is looking great,” said Wayne Chan, street festival coordinator for the Chinese New Year in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

The street festival and parade helped kick off the weekend leading up to the Lunar New Year, an important opportunity for people to fill the streets of Chinatown and support businesses.

People also enjoyed the sunshine along the Embarcadero on Saturday afternoon.

“I enjoy it when everyone’s back outside,” said Keaton Quentin, a new San Francisco resident who walked by the waterfront.

Others on the Embarcadero were still wary but still excited to be out in public. They weren’t sure how crowded the streets would be on Saturday.

“It’s scary being outside because there are so many people around, but it’s also really nice to just be around people again,” said Sanjeevani Lakshmivarahan.

Whether in Chinatown or on the waterfront, there were proud 49ers fans with sports gear showing their support for their team. Some still hadn’t decided exactly where they were going to watch Sunday’s NFC Championship game against the Rams, but they were still keen to get together.

“As long as you play it safe and do what you have to do, you know how to protect your household and your friends,” said Danya Chapman.

The San Francisco Department of Public Health expected large crowds this weekend due to multiple events. They are issuing guidance encouraging people to make sure they are up to date on vaccines and boosters before joining a large crowd.

Masks were also suggested, regardless of whether they were required around many people. This weekend may not bring people back to normal, but it did make them feel like they’re one step closer.

“It means a lot to entrepreneurs. They’re glad it’s going on. We’re seeing a lot of tourism returning to the area,” Chan said.

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SAN JOSE (KPIX) – Two registered nurses working more than 100 miles apart claim they tried to warn hospital staff last year to prepare for the pandemic, but their warnings fell on deaf ears.

“I was actually the first nurse to have a COVID patient,” said Mawata Kamara, a registered nurse at San Leandro Hospital and a board member of the California Nurses Association. “There was no real trial. We had to call the state at the time and then the state told us that there was a low probability that we had to send this patient home. We weren’t prepared. It was torture as a nurse. “

Kamara said she remembered conversations about the need to hire and train more nurses.

“We saw how many people died in other countries,” she said. “Why did we feel like we would be immune to this experience.”

“What is the preparation, what is the plan,” said nurse Catherine Kennedy in Emperor Roseville.

Then patient after patient showed up and tested positive for COVID-19.

TIED TOGETHER: Backlash against healthcare workers is adding to the physical and emotional toll of the pandemic

It was then that Kennedy, president of the California Nurses Association’s president and member of the National Nurses Organizing Committee, saw the real test of how prepared – or unprepared – Kaiser was when dealing with a pandemic.

Both Kennedy and Kamara said they are not immune to the nationwide lack of personal protective equipment.

“The PSA has been locked up,” said Kamara. “And we had to deal with the N95 compared to no N95. We reused them. I have been a nurse since 2008. I know I’ve never heard of reuse. “

“They were never meant to be used and reused because you reused something years ago, you were disciplined for that,” Kennedy said. “Now suddenly it’s okay.”

She said some hospitals continue to handle PPE that is not readily available.

“It’s exhausting making sure you have everything you need, not having to look around and say, ‘Hey manager, I need this,’ instead of having it available to you right away,” said Kennedy . “For the administration, the hospital industry, it is important to understand that our life is important.”

More than a year and a half after the pandemic, the nurses said they are now facing a serious staff shortage that they think is as unsafe as the PPE issues.

“We had a nurse who did three people’s jobs,” said Kamara. “This is dangerous, this is dangerous. One person should not do the work of three people. “

COVID-19 has claimed the lives of 3,607 health care workers, according to a database created by Guardian journalists. The CDC does not track these statistics.

Now registered nurses fear that with increasing COVID cases, working conditions will only worsen, they are grappling with a staff shortage and nurses are tired of the toll of the pandemic.

“I get these calls every day to pick up more hours,” said Kamara. “I’ve had a lot of conversations where nurses just don’t want to do it anymore, they don’t want to. It is too much.”

“Nurses are so frustrated they can do their two to three shifts a week and nothing more,” said Kennedy. “There are those who choose to retire early.”

Kamara said they now have to put people in hallways again and that there is talk of opening up more rooms to handle the recent surge. This time they are not only dealing with personnel problems, but also with patients who are more combative.

“We’re seeing an increase in volatile behavior, be it in the patient or in the visitor,” said Kennedy.

“I trust science and although people in your neighborhood may tell you differently, I see differently in the hospital,” said Kamara. “I’ve seen younger people who thought they would be fine and went out and came back, gave it to their grandma and now their grandma is dying. It breaks my heart that we have reached a point where there is so much suspicion about health care. “

Emperor Roseville said in a statement the hospital currently has no shortage of PPE and recognizes the work nurses have done over the past year and a half. San Leandro Hospital also issued a statement acknowledging the shortage of PPE at the start of the pandemic, as well as the current national shortage of nurses.

Both hospitals said they provided resources to health care workers, including mental health services.

But Kennedy and Kamara said they believe much of what happened last year could have been prevented.

“We think hospitals should have prepared better,” said Kamara. “We are the ones who take the blow while they call us heroes.”

“To make it clear to the employer that we don’t want to be heroes, we want to be able to go to our families, to our community, to go home,” said Kennedy.

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It started out as a simple bargain about 35 years ago at the Mount Hoods Timberline Lodge: reading for a hot meal.

David Stuart Bull gave four readings by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas ?? Ode to childhood Christmas this weekend in front of the lodge’s large fireplace.

The show was so well received that Bull says he and seven friends were given free ski passes.

?? I thought I was on something here ?? said the cheerful, English-born actor on Saturday.

Since then, Bull, now 74, has had several dramatic readings of “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” almost every year. for small crowds in Eugene during the holidays, accompanied by violinist Linda Danielson and guitarist Chico Schwall, who accompany the hour-long show with Celtic music.

On Saturday, about 25 people drank canapés and drank wine and cocktails while watching Bull ?? s reading ?? one of eight appearances this season ?? at Cafe Soriah in downtown Eugene.

Thomas’ descriptive story, heavy with ironic humor, reminds us of Christmas past through the eyes of a child: the snow, the chocolate cigarettes, the Christmas carol, the street cats and the drunk adults. It was first broadcast on BBC Wales radio in 1945.

For Bull, who grew up in Worchester in the Midlands of England and near the Welsh border, Thomas’s memories are “dead alarm clocks for the Christmas I knew growing up”.

Bull, a hoarse man who works as a chimney sweep, starred in local productions. He has been married for 55 years.

With a full of gray, curly hair, Bull rushes into reading with enthusiasm even after all these years.

When asked if he remembered one of his many appearances, Bull laughed and quoted from Thomas’ poem: “One Christmas was so similar to the other.”

The nice thing about it is that the story is so solid that a bit of freshness pops up almost every time ,? he added.

Ruth Romoser and Evelyn Nagy from Springfield have been coming to Bulls every year for the past four years.

??It is wonderful,?? said Romoser. ?? I love hearing great literature read aloud. The music also contributes to this.

Nagy added: It just gets me in the vacation mood.

Bull says Thomas found more esteem ?? and received greater financial rewards ?? for his work in the United States than in Great Britain.

Thomas toured the United States four times in the early 1950s as he struggled to support his wife and three children. A heavy drinker, he died in New York at the age of 39.

?? All poets of this era fought for money, ?? said bull. ?? Thomas always borrowed money and people lent him money. ??

Bull said Thomas might be amused to know that he is best known in the United States for his Christmas death, which is much more lighthearted and less dense than some of his other poems.

?? Some of (Thomas ?? poetry) are only suitable for English majors and for poets, ?? Bull joked.

Thomas, in urban legend at least, might even have a connection with Eugene himself, Bull said. Thomas visited Seattle and San Francisco during his American tours and possibly performed at the University of Oregon in between. A small table in Max’s tavern even claimed that Thomas had “drank”. a couple of beers there, said Bull.

?? But maybe that’s more myth than truth ?? he confirmed with a smile.

Follow Saul on Twitter @SaulAHubbard. Address emails to saul.hubbard@registerguard.com.

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