San Francisco health officials to end city’s COVID-19 emergency on February 28

SAN FRANCISCO — Officials with the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) on Thursday announced plans to end the city’s COVID-19 public health emergency declaration and associated health orders on February 28.

The press release noted that the end of the public health emergency and related orders was in alignment with plans by state health officials to end of California’s COVID-19 State of Emergency. 

“While the threat from COVID-19 is not over, as both the virus and the tools to respond to it have evolved over the past three years, San Francisco is now in a significantly better position today than at any prior time in the pandemic due to the City’s high vaccination and booster rates and the availability of effective COVID-19 treatments,” the announcement released by  the SFDPH read.

However, the announcement additionally noted that there would be health orders focused on hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and other healthcare and jail settings despite the Safer Return Together order being rescinded.  

Under the first order, staff in these settings will still be required to wear a mask when interacting with patients, clients, or people who are incarcerated. Masking requirements for the general public in these settings will end. Additionally, masking requirements in homeless shelters for both the general public and staff will also end. The changes will go into effect on March 1.
 
Though masking requirements will be ending at those locations, operators of these facilities are free to implement their own requirements and set up more restrictive guidelines. Health officials also noted that people can continue to choose to wear masks around others for added protection and should respect if that is their decision.
 
“Today’s announcement is a testament to the extraordinary efforts of San Francisco residents, and to the progress that we have made collectively as a city to prevent the worst outcomes of COVID-19,” said Health Officer Dr. Susan Philip. “While the ending of the public health emergency declaration and health orders does not mean the end of COVID-19, we are in a better place than we were three years ago, and the effective tools we now have such as at-home tests, vaccines, boosters and treatments will continue to save lives.” 
 
The federal emergency is also ending on May 11, 2023. SFDPH encourages eligible residents to seek out COVID-19 resources such as at-home tests, treatments for those who test positive, and the updated bivalent booster, which are currently free. Information on all these resources can be found at the San Francisco city government’s COVID information website.