SF leaders urge residents to stay home Fourth of July weekend as COVID-19 crisis deepens

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - San Francisco officials are urging residents to stay inside this Fourth of July weekend as the COVID-19 infection rate continues to soar. 

San Francisco Public Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax said Thursday that there has been a significant and alarming trend in infections and hospitalizations. He worries that it could be the beginning of a surge, a dilemma that many counties across the state are grappling with. 

"This Fourth of July the safest thing to do is to stay home," Colfox warned. 

The county announced last Friday that it was halting any future reopenings as they noticed a sudden spike in cases. 

As the holiday weekend approaches, city leaders are stressing the importance of adhering to the public health order.

"This means wearing face coverings, social distancing, good hygiene measures and really limiting outings and staying home as much as possible," Colfax said. "We know that this works. We saw that this works in the spring with our response in San Francisco. And as we hit pause we need to ensure that we are doing everything to slow the virus' spread."

Health officials said a combination of factors led to the uptick in cases and they will be monitoring over the next few days and weeks to determine if the city will implement new restrictions.