Mayor Breed calls criticism of her French Laundry visit ‘fair’

San Francisco Mayor London Breed shares new details on the COVID-19 pandemic in San Francisco on Friday, April 17, 2020.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed says criticism of her attendance at a friend’s small birthday dinner last month at The French Laundry is fair. 
 
Breed responded Thursday to an article by the SF Chronicle’s editorial board that castigates California politicians over their “irresponsible” behavior as it relates to the COVID-19 restrictions they often preach, but do not always follow. Especially as of late.

 
 
“This criticism is fair. It doesn't matter whether something is technically allowed or not--I need to hold myself to a higher standard and I will do better,” Breed posted on Twitter. 
 
This week it was reported that the mayor visited the Michelin-starred Napa County establishment just one day after Governor Gavin Newsom’s infamous visit, where he appeared to flout his own COVID guidelines at the same restaurant. 
 
“What I especially regret is that the urgency of our public health message in this moment has never been more dire and my actions have distracted from that,” Breed wrote in a follow-up tweet. “We're in a much different place than even just a few weeks ago and we need everyone to do their part, starting with me.”

 
As California politicians face scrutiny over their perceived hypocrisy, restrictions in the State of California continue to tighten with Thursday’s announcement of regional stay-at-home orders based on intensive care unit capacity.
 
This week it was reported that San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo was at a large Thanksgiving gathering and a Los Angeles County supervisor dined out after she voted to ban dining out just hours earlier. 
 
Breed’s visit to the world-renowned restaurant came at a time when San Francisco was still in the yellow tier as part of California’s Blueprint For A Safer Economy.

52 California counties, including San Francisco, are currently in the purple tier. That’s all but six counties. Marin County is the only Bay Area county that has held on to its red-tier status. Breed’s press director said the mayor dined at an open-air table with seven other people during her visit. 
 
The state shattered its own record Wednesday by reporting 20,000 new coronavirus cases in a single day. As of Dec. 3 California has seen 1,264,539 confirmed cases of COVID-19, resulting in 19,437 deaths. 

Following Newsom's announcement on Thursday, Mayor Breed once again urged San Franciscans to "flatten the curve" and warned the Bay Area could soon be out of hospital beds if the coronavirus isn't brought under control immediately.