Settings, homeless as well as First Responders and healthcare workers and those who may not want to go home because of concerns around impacting families. We have been able to because there is even with the declaration of emergency, there is still insurance to be worked out, staffing needs and security needs and support and resources. So far we have been able to this week secure at least 300 hotel rooms for selfisolating or quarantine for folks in the sro or those who are homeless. We estimate by next week we will secure at least another 3,000. Bringing on some much needed hotel rooms, and we will keep working towards making sure that those people who are in congregate settings and other places have a space to themselves so that we can reduce the transmission of the virus. That is the update that we have so far. I want to take this opportunity to especially thank the people who are here at moscone south, those working every day in the Emergency Operations center and doing the hard work, coordinating, the hospitals and ppe and testing. The stuff we are doing, the small things. Like making sure the shelters are getting food, we are getting food to seniors and other people, that we are reaching out to those businesses who still have remained open or have some real challenges financially and need help. So many people here at the Emergency Operations center have stepped up to do their part in providing information and resources to the public, and we really also want to express appreciation because we have gotten a lot of great ideas from members of the public through social media. People have made a lot of great recommendations. We take those to heart because we are all in this together, and no one is in charge or responsible for all of the great ideas. It is going to take a team effort, it will take all of us looking out for one another. I want to really express appreciation to so many people in the city because i notice that on places like next door and some of these chat rooms where neighbors are communicating with one another, i notice that so many neighbors are looking out for neighbors who are seniors and people who cant necessarily get out to get groceries or medications. There have been so many great numbers running errands for so many people who cant get out. It is just, you know, a challenging time for all of us. It is bringing out the best in us. I want to express my appreciation for so many people not only doing their part to stay at home and only go out for essential needs but also what you have done to help touch the lives of other people who cant take care of themselves in the same way. That is where we are. That is our update. A lot more work to do, but as i keep saying over and over, we are in the midst of this. It may feel like this is very challenges for all of us and how much longer can we take it . The fact is we are going to have to take it a little bit longer because it does mean that we save lives. We appreciate your patience and cooperation. We will do everything we can to provide updates as we receive them with the most Accurate Information so that the public knows what to expect because, as i said before, the last thing we want to do if someone is facing a medical emergency, the last thing we want to do is turn them away because we dont have enough beds. Lets keep that in mind as we go into the weekend, and lets try to remember that and do our very best to get through this. I am cheering for all of you. I am cheering for our city and our country. Thank you all so much for your cooperation. At this time i would like to introduce grant colfax, the department of Public Health director, to provide an update on the latest numbers, testing and other information i just touched on briefly. Thank you, mayor. Good morning. I am doctor grant colfax, director of health. Today i am bringing several important updates. I will talk about the situation at laguna hospital protecting healthcare workers and new expansions of testing. First, let me remind everyone. We need san franciscans to stay home to save lives. I understand some of us are essential workers and cannot stay home right now. However, if i could stay at home right now, i would be staying home for our First Responders and healthcare workers on the front lines. As we continue to respond to this rapidly evolving outbreak, we are always thinking about what is ahead and what is about to come next. In february, we had zero cases of coronavirus. We realized we were in an emergency situation and immediately strengthened the planning and preparedness capabilities. The day after the first confirmed cases in early march. We made aggressive social distancing recommendations. We have continued to tighten that up as we move forward with the entire bay area in shelterinplace for all residents. That was just last week. We issued 13 Health Orders in the last three weeks. Each one was designed to protect the most vulnerable populations and healthcare workers and take pressures off hospitals so they can handle an expected surge of new patients. Each one was designed to keep the Community Safe and slowdown the spread of the coronavirus. Each one was grounded in data, science and facts. As we continue to plan, predict and respond, sometimes we are ahead, sometimes we are on time and sometimes we may be a beat behind, but so far we have been preparing for just what is happening now. We will continue to use data, science and facts to be as proactive as possible to protect our community and reduce the harm that the coronavirus causes. I want to turn to the hospitals, particularly laguna honda hospital. Yesterday there was quite a bit of news in our own Public Healthcare system. Coronavirus has arrived at laguna honda. Unfortunately, this was not a surprise. The pattern of the disease clearly shows that longterm care facilities and residents are particularly vulnerable to the disease and the spread. From the start, we have taken many steps to protect the patients and staff and we will continue to do so. Earlier this week th the entire campus was quarantined to protect residents and staff and reduce harm. I must say, and i am sad to say this, we do expect an outbreak. Our plan for the outbreak including testing affected staff and residents, which is already underway. We have begun bringing in Additional Resources including staff and expertise on longterm care Infection Control and infection disease from our own system but also reaching out to key partners, including u. C. S. F. And Sutter Health to strengthen our response. This will continue over the next few days and weeks. With things moving so quickly, i want to make sure you get the facts straight from the source. As of yesterday there are six Staff Members and one patient at the hospital that tested positive for coronavirus. Contact investigations are underway including testing and those units have been quarantined. Yesterday brought news of a confirmed case of a staff member at Zuckerberg San Francisco genhospital. This person provides patient care in the Emergency Department and is now selfisolating at home. We are conducting a thorough contact investigation. It is concerning to hear about these cases. It will continue to be concerning as the cases in San Francisco grow. We now have almost 300 confirmed cases in San Francisco. Each person is someone with family, friends and community who care very much about them. The Health Department cares very much about them. With regard to testing. As the mayor and i have said over and over again. Expect to see an increase in positive cases, and with regard to the increase in sections, do not be surprised because we have been increasing Testing Capacity throughout the city. Simply put, the more testing we can do, the more cases we will find. We have also taken steps to make sure we are getting the data we need to be successful as possible in our fight against the virus. On march 24th, Bay Area Health officers issued a joint health order requiring all labs to report all test results to the state and local health authority. This will help us be more precise and know across San Francisco, across our community how many tests are being done and what is the positivity rate. We need to know where we are to better understand where we may be going. This increase in data will be used to refine our models and strategies to mitigate virus spread, we are working with experts to enhance our modeling capabilities. We truly have some of the world experts on viology and disease epidemiology nationally and internationally working with us every day. As availability of commercial and academic labs have grown we are boosting our own testing capabilities. From when we started testing on march 2 until today we have increased Testing Capacity by three times through automation of certain processes. We are now running 150 tests each day, up from 50 when we began testing. I am pleased to say that by next week we are hopeful that we will surge that testing to as many as 450 tests each day in our Public Health lab alone. Our plan is to keep improving Testing Capacity further in the next few weeks. We are also continuing to work with private partners to expand more testing for the public. We have great partners as kaiser, u. C. S. F. That have been offering drive through testing. Next week, thanks to mayor breed, we are excited to add three new drive through centers through our partnerships. However, let me be clear that even today if you are a Public Health laboratory or commercial lab anywhere in the nation, there are still severe shortages of components needed in the covid19 testing process. Supplieses are in a bottleneck to increased testing. I am sad to say that from swabs to ppe, the lack of testing supplies across the nation simply means we must prioritize our testing for those who need it most. At the Public Health laboratory we have been prioritizing the limiting testing resources for those most at risk for spreading the disease, severe medical conditions and front line healthcare and First Responders. Today we have issued instruction to all labs that they must prioritize their tests in the same way. Tests should not be available for those tests should not be more available for those with resources. They must be for those on the front line saving lives and those at high risk groups that need care. Please help us prioritize those tests for those who need it most. Their lives depend on it, and to the prevention and reduction of the spread of coronavirus in our community depends on it. I now want to talk a little bit about additional steps we are taking aggressively to protect healthcare workers. Our front line workers and staff are certainly and members of our community. As the coronavirus circulates in the bay area we expect there will be more positive cases in San Francisco, including, unfortunately, among city workers, dph staff and healthcare workers at public and private facilities. Our top priority is the health of our patients, community and those who fight for them and support them. We are doing the very best we can to be as prepared as we can to fight the disease. Healthcare workers and First Responders are on the front lines every day. Yesterday we took additional steps to respond to the impact of the virus on the dph work force. Because of their jobs on the front lines, many healthcare workers cannot abide by the stay at home order. They are essential, and in some cases their workplaces do not allow for social distancing. In fact, quite the opposite. Several jobs in our Healthcare System involve close contact with other Staff Members and vulnerable populations. For example, emergency room. Psychiatric Emergency Services and Urgent Care Center at zuckerberg hospital andlugana honda hospital and other settings where staff have prolonged contact with each other and high risk patients. They come to work every day at risk for transmitting the virus to each other and exposing the high risk population they serve. We have issued new guidance above and beyond cdc recommendations to provide isolation masks for people working in these settings in our Healthcare System. We will provide isolation masks to workers and patients in many at risk settings. This is another way to protect both groups. We are doing our best to balance keeping the workers safe in the high risk areas and being constrained by a limited supply of masks. We will continue to advocate on many fronts for more masks and other personal protective equipment or ppe. I feel it is essential to move forward with these additional protections today. I cant stress enough that every Healthcare Provider in the city from hospital c. E. O. S to doctors and nurses wants there to be enough ppe for the patients and the healthcare staff. Ppe is in short supply everywhere. We are working hard to make sure supplies are here when we need them. That includes state and federal advocacy working with large donors to secure the ppe we all need. Our top priority is the health of our patience and the patients and the people who care for them and ppe is important to do it right. Finally, i want to remind all san franciscans of the importance of following the Stay Home Order to protect yourself, your loved ones and our entire community. If you arent be performing an essential task to keep the city running right now, then you only have one job. Stay home and keep yourself safe. Thank you, and i would like to introduce commander scott chief scott, excuse me, who is a great partner in this work, a great partner with his team on the front lines helping us keep our city safe. Chief scott, thank you for your leadership, partnership, and please we look forward to your remarks. Good afternoon. First of all, i want to thank our mayor london breed for her leadership during this Public Health crisis. I speak on behalf of the men and women of the San FranciscoPolice Department we are extremely grateful to mayor london breed and doctor grant colfax that they made us a priority. Our citys police officers, sheriff deputies, firefighters and First Responders provide the first line of Public Safety in San Francisco, and we need to keep them safe and keep them healthy. I want to thank mayor breed and doctor colfax for making First Responders a priority in testing for covid19. We are constantly on the front lines. We are expected to always be there. By providing the testing, we can help slow the spread of covid19 among our First Responders so they can continue to provide Public Safety and protect the health of the public atlarge. I would also like to thank the citys hotels who stepped forward to offer rooms to First Responders who may have to quarantine because of the covid19 virus. With the support from the leaderses and the city atlarge strengthens moral and health and resolve. We know that we will need to have resolve during this crisis. We dont know how long we will be in this position. The mayor mentioned some of the areas where we have seen gatherings over the past week. I want to lay out what you will be expected to see this weekend from us, from law enforcement. This weekend we will have people out that there probably be a lot of people outside, as there were last weekend. Please be smart and go by the social distancing. I cannot emphasize that enough. Use common sense, be smart and expect to see us out there. It doesnt make sense for people to be out and not Pay Attention to the social distancing requirement six feet as laid out by our Health Officials. We have seen in other cities that are having a harder time than we are. We have seen gatherings in this industry putting others at risk. We need everyone to think who you are putting at risk when you do not adhere to Public Health warnings. Think of your grandfather, grandmother, sick child. Think of the people you are putting at risk by not adhering to this Public Health order. We will be out this weekend. Places where we had issues with gatherings the embarcadero and the marina green, panhandle, stern grove, exercise facilities in the park will likely be closed in many of your parks. We have seen by and large excellent compliance from the people in San Francisco. We want that to continue. As we have laid out in Previous Press conferences we have enforcement protocols for those interested you can find them on the San FranciscoPolice Department website. Our approach is progressive. We started with education and we will still educate the public. When this Public Health was put out on march 16th. We had a lot of people who didnt get the message. As we have educated that number has gotten smaller and smaller with the people who have not complied. We do think that education has worked. However, education can only go so far. There wil