As of Thursday, April 15, 2021, indoor live-audience events, performances and private events (such as conferences and receptions) will be allowed to resume in San Francisco, albeit at reduced capacities, and existing restrictions on other activities and gatherings will be further relaxed.

Indoor ticketed and seated events will be allowed to operate at up to 35% capacity, “as long as all participants keep their masks on except when eating or drinking in designated concessions areas away from their seats, distancing requirements can be met, and participants show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test before they enter the venue.”

In addition, venues will be allowed to create “vaccinated-only sections” with relaxed distancing requirements.  And for venues operating at 15% capacity or less, with no more than 200 people in total, proof of vaccination or a negative test result will not be required.

Private events, such as meetings, conventions, and receptions, may also resume being held indoors, with up to 150 participants, as long as there is assigned seating and proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test for all participants. Such events may also be held outdoors, with the same guidelines in place, with up to 300 people, or with up to 100 people without proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result for the participants.

Outdoor ticketed venues for live-audience events and performances will be allowed to expand capacity up to 50%, with proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result required if there are 4,000 or more audience members (or 100 or more audience members and food and beverages are served).  In all cases, attendees must continue to wear facial coverings for the duration of all events, except when eating or drinking.  And as with indoor venues, outdoor venues may create vaccinated-only sections with relaxed distancing restrictions.

While outdoor drinking and dining allowances for restaurants and bars will be expanded to allow for up to 8 people per table, and without any limitation on the number of households represented,  indoor bars, wineries, breweries and distilleries that do not serve bona fide meals will remain closed.

Community centers serving seniors and adult day care will also be able to reopen to 25% capacity.

And while “strongly discouraged,” small indoor social gatherings of up to 25 people, “with face coverings on at all times” and no food or beverages being served, will be allowed, as will outdoor gatherings of up to 50 people (again with face coverings and distancing, or up to 25 people if food or drink is being consumed).

32 thoughts on “Indoor Venues Can Reopen in San Francisco, Plus…”
      1. I guess you need to host an indoor sporting event as part of it, or host a meeting with assigned seats.
        What a joke

        1. Or turn the tables and “hire” prospective buyers as service vendors at the property. Their job: search and remove freshly baked goods located in the home for sale. Their payment will be in cookies.

  1. It seems kinda’ early to be handing out Vaccination get-INTO-jail-early cards, given that widespread ( i.e. > 16) availability has only been for a few days

    1. It’s downright insulting. Widespread ELIGIBILITY has been for 2 days, but AVAILIBILITY hasn’t occurred yet. Those of us who are young and healthy and probably would not have had serious consequences had we gotten covid, but have followed all the rules for the greater good, get screwed yet again. Now we get excluded for at least an extra 5 weeks after appointments become available watching others get in to the special vaccinated-only sections.

      1. I don’t think there is any vaccinated-only section anywhere. Outdoor venues like the Giants stadium may have require “proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result”… so I think you’re fine, if you feel safe enough being there.

        1. From the mayor’s news release linked in the post, as of tomorrow “Venues may create vaccinated-only sections with relaxed distancing requirements”. There’s a lot more detail about it if you read her full news release.

  2. If you’re still uncomfortable going out, that’s fine, just stay home. For everybody else, it’s time to move on. This pandemic is over. It feels like some people are addicted to the negativity and never want this thing to end…

      1. It’s not “over” but it’s much better now. We come to understand it better after more than a year. We also have better options to prevent it with vaccines and have better health/medical options if someone does get a serious case. It’s simply unrealistic now to have strict lockdowns at this stage. There’s too much pandemic “fatigue” in California already to go back the other way.

        Be safe out there!

        1. Of course, and that’s why no one – well no one anyone is listening to – is proposing strict lockdowns (Michigan, we need to talk). Some people tho don’t seem to understand the concept of a paced wind-down: stop/start is bad for your ICE, not much less so for society.

      2. Obviously, he probably only reads neighborhood aps or other VERY narrowly focused and parochial news sources. “According to concerned neighbor 335 in Bernal Heights, I don’t need to wear a mask anymore. Everything is safe”

    1. Both the case rate and positivity rate have been rising over the last two weeks. I hope that is just a blip, but it could also be the start of another wave.

      1. This. I’m very surprised by this. 60% of SF 16+ has gotten at least one dose, plus all the people who already got infected. I really thought the numbers would be very low by now. I understand that you don’t get full protection until 2 weeks after the second dose, but I thought that you got a good amount of protection soon after the first. I’m not sure what is going on.

          1. Which has inched up from a low of 30 last month with a current percent positive rate of 0.97 percent (which has inched up from 0.78 percent).

          2. Positivity went from about 0.8% in March to about 1 now. There is a similar rise on the rolling average of cases. SF is doing better then the rest of the bay area which is showing a more pronounced rise. My guess is that people are getting more lax about precautions now that the vaccine is rolling out. But that’s still no reason to ban occupancy controlled and distanced open houses. The riskier venues are those where you get people shouting or singing like sports games or sports bars.

          3. Yeah I don’t follow the need to qualify my correct response to an incorrect two weeks take.

          4. Sorry, I was looking at the Bay Area stats which indeed have risen in the last two weeks. You win and here’s your award:

            .V.
            (X)

            [Its a pendant]

          5. This shows the “Blueprint” color coding data for San Francisco going from 1.9 to 2.0 cases per 100k over the past two weeks.

            The sf.gov dataset includes cases and populations not considered part of the SF Covid caseload under the state process.

            I don’t have a strong opinion on which dataset is better, I’m just pointing out that there are valid sources that support MoD’s statement.

            Of course, the Blueprint methodology is what guides re-opening policies, so it has more impact than the sf.gov data.

          6. While the sf.gov data set represents raw cases and rates, the “Blueprint” rates, which are only meant for tiering purposes, are adjusted for testing rates relative to the state median. And the clinical case rate in San Francisco is currently 3.8 cases per 100,000 residents (versus a target of 1.8 and having inched up from 3.4 last month).

        1. The new variants are supposedly more infectious, and also the existing vaccine is less effective against those variants.

    2. 100%. Everyone who is at acute risk from covid (old people) has been vaccinated, so there is no chance of the hospitals being overrun even if there is a “fourth wave”. The rest of us can get vaccinated over the next few months. If you’re scared, feel free to stay home.

      1. Your number isn’t accurate. It isn’t even close. If you are so confident that you would publicly post misinformation that can potentially be harmful then cite your source. The number is 70%.

    3. According to Johns Hopkins, there were about 6500 deaths in the US in the last week, up about 10% since a little over a week ago.

      And San Francisco County is tracking at 80% to 90% of that number per capita (same data source).

      These numbers need to come down about 85% to get to the typical death rate from the flu.

      “Time to move on” is magical thinking, not data driven analysis.

  3. Can you imagine going to a private social gathering and wearing a mask the whole time, with no food or drink? Or thinking the people who might host or attend such a gathering would follow such absurd rules? What a joke.

    1. Which suggests that now is still NOT the time for “private social gatherings” and the people who would host such events are sadly, cruelly mistaken.

      1. The people who are sadly mistaken are those who believe we should never go back to anything resembling a normal life until the COVID risk is zero. You were never guaranteed zero risk of disease or death pre-COVID and you don’t get to demand it post-COVID, either.

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