After New York City announced a nation’s first COVID-19 vaccination mandate that would require indoor businesses like restaurants, bars, and gyms to review customers’s vaccination status, San Francisco officials said they could potentially implement a similar policy.

“We’re investigating this,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, San Francisco Health Director, at a news conference Tuesday.

The last time city officials said they were considering a directive (inner masks for vaccinated people) it was enacted just days later. Supervisor Matt Haney told KGO (ABC7) that an indoor vaccine mandate “could happen this week”.

However, with many San Francisco restaurants and bars already requiring proof of vaccination for entry, the city might decide it doesn’t need to go beyond simple encouragement, Colfax said.

If San Francisco wants to go further, the New York Order, entitled “Key to NYC Pass,” goes beyond bars and restaurants and includes enforcement mechanisms. The policy requires all restaurants, bars, gyms, and indoor entertainment venues (such as movie theaters) to screen their guests for proof of vaccination or be fined.

The policy goes into effect on August 16, and the city plans to begin enforcement on September 13. Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city is still finalizing the details of the plan, including whether to expand the order to indoor shopping and how to treat children under 12 who are not eligible for the vaccine .

New Yorkers – or those visiting New York City – can show their Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination cards, New York State electronic “Excelsior Pass,” or a new city-specific digital tool. If San Francisco copies the policy, the state of California will offer digital vaccination cards, although the introduction has been bumpy.

Mayor London Breed previously stated that the city is working with its lawyers to look into the legal feasibility of a full vaccine mandate.

While San Francisco ponders New York politics, the mayor of another heavily vaccinated city in a heavily democratic state explained why she wouldn’t consider a similar system. The incumbent Mayor of Boston Kim Janey pointed to potential issues with justice, compared a possible vaccine passport to slave papers, and asked Barack Obama to reveal his birth certificate to explain why her city would not consider it.

“There is a long history of people in this country having to show their papers,” she said. “During slavery, after slavery, as young as you know what the immigrants are going through here. We heard Trump with the birth certificate nonsense. Boston residents or disproportionately affect the Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. “

Black people are among the least vaccinated groups in San Francisco, New York, and Boston. In San Francisco, for a variety of reasons, including suspicion of the government and medical community over past abuses, the city has increased its outreach to black residents who are reluctant to get vaccinations.

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WASHINGTON (CBS SF / AP) – House spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi pushed back on Friday against Archbishop of San Francisco Salvatore Joseph Cordileone for his outspoken criticism of COVID-related restrictions on worship by California health officials.

Pelosi, a San Francisco Bay Area Catholic, said she missed going to Sunday mass but criticized the archbishop’s recent protest restrictions on larger public gatherings. She said he shouldn’t endanger people’s lives.

CONTINUE READING: Sunday morning swarm of earthquakes rattles Lake Tahoe area

“With all due respect to my Archbishop, I think we should pursue science in this regard,” Pelosi said.

Indoor services are currently banned in San Francisco and there is a strict 12-person limit for outdoor services.

The right to worship has become a touchstone in the debate over state and local rules to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Archbishop Cordileone said the rights of worshipers were “wrongly suppressed” by the government. Several churches nationwide are suing to stop restrictions.

“We recognize that the government has the right to make adequate public health regulations,” he wrote in the Washington Post. “But when the government asserts authority over the church’s right to worship, it is crossing a line.”

Pelosi said she recently attended an outdoor personal service in San Francisco and received communion – she picked up the waffle from the priest as allowed instead of having it put directly on her tongue. She regularly joins online services.

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The San Francisco Bay Area Democrat said she had to register in advance to attend and found that about a dozen people had spread by the time she arrived.

“Very, very, very far apart,” she said.

She asked if the archbishop’s message had been misunderstood.

“I’m sure he must have meant if it is scientifically safe, rather than endangering people’s health, if they want to go to church,” she said.

Pelosi noted that belief and science are sometimes at odds.

“Here people say to me: You are a person of faith, why do you believe in science?” She said.

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“I say I believe science is an answer to our prayers. It is a creation of God and an answer to our prayers. “

The post San Francisco Archbishop Ought to ‘Comply with Science’ When It Comes To COVID-19 Worship Restrictions – CBS San Francisco appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

RIDGECREST, Calif. (AP) – Officials in Southern California on Saturday expressed relief that damage and injuries were no worse after the largest earthquake in the area in nearly 20 years, and expressed concerns about the possibility of larger aftershocks in days and even months come.

There were no deaths or serious injuries following the 7.1 magnitude earthquake on Friday night that struck an area from Sacramento to Mexico and resulted in the evacuation of the Navy’s largest single land holding, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in the Mojave Desert reported.

The quake occurred Friday at 8:19 p.m. and was located 11 miles from Ridgecrest, the same area of ​​the desert where a 6.4 magnitude tremor had occurred the day before. It left cracked and burning buildings, broken roads, clogged railroad tracks, and leaking water and gas pipes.

Most of the light damage was due to the removal of the area where the tremor occurred. Only 28,000 people live in the Ridgecrest region, which lies between more populous areas of Southern California and Clark County, Las Vegas.

However, seismologists warned that up to 30,000 aftershocks could occur in the region over the next six months.

April Hamlin said she was “already nervous” after Thursday’s quake when the second shook her home in Ridgecrest. She and her three children initially thought it was another aftershock.

“But it just kept intensifying,” she said. “The TV went over and hung on the cord. We heard it break. We heard broken glass in the other rooms, but we could only stay where we were until it stopped. “

With the possibility of aftershocks and temperatures expected to reach 100 degrees (38 degrees Celsius) in the next few days, officials took precautionary measures.

The California National Guard sent 200 soldiers, logistical support and aircraft, Maj. General David Baldwin said. The Pentagon has been notified and the entire California Department of Military has been put on alert, he said.

China Lake Navy Air Force Station said in a Facebook post that unneeded workers have been evacuated and operations have ceased. Officials said the station was “not operational until further notice”. The Facebook post did not contain any details about any damage.

The California Emergency Services Bureau brought cots, water and meals and set up refrigeration centers in the area, Director Mark Ghilarducci said.

State Highway officials closed a 30-mile stretch of State Route 178 between Ridgecrest and the town of Trona, southwest of Death Valley, due to a rock fall and severe cracks. The move left Trona temporarily interrupted. California Department of Transportation spokeswoman Christine Knadler said crews worked all night mending the pavement, but it remained rough and uneven. A $ 3 million emergency contract has been approved for repairs, she said.

51-year-old Ron Mikulaco and his nephew, 23-year-old Brad Fernandez, stood on 178 on Saturday looking at the cracks in the street. The couple drove from Huntington Beach, about 274 kilometers southwest of Ridgecrest. Mikulaco, an amateur geologist, wanted to show his nephew “the power of Mother Nature,” and they had the longitude and latitude coordinates of the epicenter ready.

“We’ll put that in the GPS and we’ll get as close as possible,” Fernandez said.

In Ridgecrest, local fire and police officers said they were initially inundated with calls to medical services and ambulances. But Police Chief Jed McLaughlin said there was “nothing but minor injuries such as cuts and bruises by the grace of God”.

McLaughlin said two building fires – one involving a motor home – were quickly extinguished and natural gas pipelines that were reported to be leaking were shut down.

According to firefighters, up to 50 buildings were damaged in Trona, a town of around 2,000 people that is considered the gateway to Death Valley. Robert Lovingood, head of the San Bernardino county, announced on Saturday that FEMA had delivered an articulated truck with bottled water due to damage to the water pipes. Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for the San Bernardino county, where Trona is located.

Julia Doss, who maintains the Trona Neighborhood Watch page on Facebook, said the only grocery store in town was a Family Dollar store, which closed on Saturday.

“The only way to get food is to go to Ridgecrest. With only three gas stations in town, I’m worried we’ll run out of fuel soon,” said Doss.

Antoun Abdullatif, 59, owns liquor stores and other businesses in Ridgecrest and Trona.

“I would say 70% of my inventory is broken on the floor,” he said. “Every time you sweep and throw things in the trash, you throw $ 200 in the trash.”

But he has stopped cleaning up and believes another earthquake is on the way.

“We’re waiting, but I hope it doesn’t come,” he said.

Lucy Jones, a seismologist at the California Institute of Technology and a former scientific advisor with the US Geological Survey, said the new quake likely erupted along a fault line about 25 miles long and was part of an ongoing sequence. The seismic activity is unlikely to affect the fault lines outside the area, Jones said, noting that the gigantic fault is far away from San Andreas.

Egill Hauksson, another Caltech seismologist, said later in the day that scientists believe the continued sequence could generate more than 30,000 magnitude 1 or greater quakes over six months. He said the chance of a magnitude 7 is about 3% the next week, but a magnitude 6 quake or two is expected.

In Los Angeles, 150 miles away, the second quake struck Dodger Stadium in the fourth inning of the team’s game against the San Diego Padres. But the game went on and the Padres won 3-2.

“Not many people can say they threw a strike during an earthquake,” Eric Lauer, who was on the hill at the time, said later. “My ball, my playing field, caused an earthquake.”

___

Antczak reported from Los Angeles. Nguyen reported from San Francisco. Associate Press Writer Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, Brady McCombs in Salt Lake City, Julia Williams in San Francisco, Adam Beam in Sacramento, Stefanie Dazio and Robert Jablon in Los Angeles, Tarek Hamada in Phoenix, sports journalist Beth Harris in Los Angeles and Associated Press freelancer Jolene Latimer in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Eugene Johnson, right, looks down at the chimney that collapsed in an earthquake at his home in Trona, California on Saturday, July 6, 2019. The southern California crews assessed damage to cracked and burned buildings, broken roads, leaking water and gas pipes, and other infrastructure Saturday after the largest earthquake the region has seen in nearly 20 years struck an area from Sacramento to Las Vegas to Mexico .

Katherine Johnson-Coates stands in front of a neighbour’s burned-down mobile home after an earthquake on Saturday, July 6, 2019, in Ridgecrest, California. The southern California crews assessed damage to cracked and burned buildings, broken roads, leaking water and gas pipes, and other infrastructure on Saturday after the largest earthquake the region has seen in nearly 20 years, an area stretched from Sacramento to Las Vegas to Mexico shocked.

A crack can be seen in the driveway of a gas station following an earthquake on Saturday, July 6, 2019 in Trona, California. The southern California crews assessed damage to cracked and burned buildings, broken roads, leaking water and gas pipes, and other infrastructure on Saturday after the largest earthquake the region has seen in nearly 20 years, an area from Sacramento to Las Vegas to Mexico shocked.

Ron Mikulaco (right) and his nephew Brad Fernandez investigate a crack caused by an earthquake on Highway 178 on Saturday, July 6, 2019, outside of Ridgecrest, California. Southern California crews assessed damage to cracked and burned buildings and broken roads Leaking water, gas and other infrastructure struck an area from Sacramento to Las Vegas to Mexico on Saturday after the largest earthquake in the region in nearly 20 years.

Bottles of wine are strewn down the middle of an aisle as Victor Abdullatif, Background Center, wipes pugs at his family’s Eastridge Market, Saturday, July 6, 2019 in Ridgecrest, Calif. The southern California crews assessed the damage to cracks and burned buildings, broken roads, leaking water and gas pipes and other infrastructure traced an area from Sacramento to Las Vegas on Saturday after the largest earthquake the region has seen in nearly 20 years Mexico shakes.

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