San Francisco Public Press (https://www.sfpublicpress.org/2020/05/page/2/)
The coronavirus pandemic has cost millions their jobs, and that means many tenants haven’t been able to pay rent, landlords have had trouble making mortgage payments and other bills are also stacking up. Debts can be sold to collections agencies, and even keep renters from accessing affordable housing.
Bay Area health officers have been working hard to coordinate the region’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. But as Mission Local managing editor and columnist Joe Eskenazi reported last week, that cohesion seems to have started crumbling
UPDATE 5/20/2020: Adds link to city website showing some open park restrooms in eighth paragraph of “Hygiene” section. More than four in every 10 emergency hygiene facilities the city has set up during the COVID-19 pandemic to serve homeless people lack at least one element essential to handwashing, the Public Press found. A third of the 55 toilets San Francisco provided for homeless residents were closed during posted operating hours or were out of soap, water or paper towels at the time of visits by reporters over the last two weeks. More than half of a separate set of 24 handwashing stations were missing an essential handwashing element, were unusable or could not be found. The results of the follow-up survey — conducted two months after a Public Press investigation revealed that many of the city’s emergency handwashing stations were broken, empty or missing — suggest large numbers of homeless people still lack access to adequate sanitation.
Researchers are hoping to learn whether and how the health of people who live and work near the old Hunters Point Shipyard, which was used as a toxic and radioactive waste dump, may have been affected by toxic materials. Journalist Chris Roberts reported for the Public Press that nearly all participants in a recent community health biomonitoring survey had elevated levels of toxic heavy metals that are “contaminants of concern” at the shipyard.
Some two weeks after a universal coronavirus testing mandate for nursing facilities was announced, 40% of the city’s nursing patients and staff have been tested, according to San Francisco health director Dr. Grant Colfax.
One of the key panels maintaining local government accountability will soon get back to work after being sidelined for months if the head of the Board of Supervisors gets his way. The Sunshine Ordinance Task Force has not met since Mayor London Breed suspended most public meetings in mid-March, but board President Norman Yee aims to change that.
Youth aged 16 and 17 could gain the right to vote in municipal elections if existing voters approve a charter amendment in November. City supervisors have introduced that amendment, and if it continues to see widespread support from the board, the measure will go to the ballot.
An estimated 3 million people work on farms in the United States every year to raise and harvest the nation’s produce. The meat and poultry industry is estimated to employ another half million. Working conditions in both industries tend to be harsh, and many workers have limited access to health care to begin with.
As we seek out relevant and reliable information on COVID-19, we are also exposed to misinformation, opinion and mixed messages from our leaders. We rely on journalists to give us timely fact-based reporting about all aspects of this developing story — to help us navigate the onslaught and contextualize, not editorialize or spin.
Mayor London Breed announced Wednesday that up to 95% of retail businesses should be able to reopen for limited curbside service starting on Monday, May 18. Many warehouses and factories should also be able to resume operations.
