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How 20-year-old FuncheapSF stays relevant

The site highlights hundreds of events in San Francisco and other parts of the Bay Area every week.

Business

Five holiday markets to visit in San Francisco

There are spots all over the city to get your festivities on.

Things to Do

Idyllic lake in Golden Gate Park gets new name options

The popular destination is currently named after an antisemitic politician from the 19th century.

News

APEC yields mixed results with local businesses

Local officials call it a success for San Francisco's image, but questions remain over long-term maintenance of city streets.

San Francisco has reached "benign" state of COVID

But a local expert says people shouldn't get complacent.

COVID

Cases of COVID-19 are on the decline in San Francisco, but as the country enters its fourth year of living with the virus, a local health expert says people shouldn&#x27;t get complacent.<ul><li>Bob Wachter, chair of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told Axios that federal discussions on annual COVID-19 vaccinations could help with increasing vaccination rates here and elsewhere.</li></ul>

Illustration of a covid particle reflected in a rearview mirror

UCSF sees increase of asymptomatic COVID-19 cases

Positive test rates for asymptomatic COVID-19 cases have more than doubled at UCSF in the past month.

Positive test rates for asymptomatic COVID-19 cases have more than doubled at University of California, San Francisco in the past month, hitting 5%, the hospital&#x27;s chair of medicine, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Bob Wachter, tweeted Friday" data-vars-click-url="https://twitter.com/Bob_Wachter/status/1598710589236580353" data-vars-content-id="067bfeb4-2df9-417a-89d5-902c9122c873" data-vars-headline="UCSF sees increase of asymptomatic COVID-19 cases" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://twitter.com/Bob_Wachter/status/1598710589236580353" target="_blank">Bob Wachter, tweeted Friday</a>.Why it matters: The implication, according to Wachter, is that about 1 in 20 people in SF who feel well would currently test positive for COVID.

Illustration of a pattern of covid cells.

"Modest surge" of COVID-19 expected this winter, UCSF expert says

While the emergence of new variants could bring an uptick in cases this winter, local experts don’t expect a massive spike.

Rates of COVID-19 in San Francisco have been low recently, and while the emergence of new variants could bring an uptick in cases this winter, local experts don&#x27;t expect a massive spike. Flashback: Last winter, the city, like the rest of the country, was rocked by the BA.5 Omicron variant, causing cases and hospitalizations to skyrocket in December and January.

Dreamforce boosted San Francisco tourism

Lodging data shows hotel occupancy in downtown San Francisco was 95.1% during the first two days of the conference.

Dreamforce, Salesforce&#x27;s takeover of downtown San Francisco, did its part in bringing tourists to the city. Driving the news: Hotel occupancy in downtown San Francisco was 95.1% for the first two days of the tech conference, according to a report from <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="data analytics firm STR" data-vars-click-url="https://str.com/data-insights-blog/market-recovery-monitor-week-ending-24-september" data-vars-content-id="4d58fe1b-23ac-4dbe-8267-624209227872" data-vars-headline="Dreamforce boosted San Francisco tourism" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://str.com/data-insights-blog/market-recovery-monitor-week-ending-24-september" target="_blank">data analytics firm STR</a>.

People walking in the streets of SF in front of banner that says "Dreamforce"

Census data confirms San Francisco's WFH shift

Nearly 46% of people in San Francisco primarily worked from home in 2021 — up from 7% from 2019.

Nearly 46% of people in San Francisco primarily worked from home in 2021 — up from 7% in 2019, according to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="data released" data-vars-click-url="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2022/people-working-from-home.html" data-vars-content-id="781253f4-b3da-4004-9ff2-456eac125bb7" data-vars-headline="Census data confirms San Francisco&#x27;s WFH shift" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2022/people-working-from-home.html" target="_blank">data released</a> Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. By the numbers: San Francisco had the third-highest percentage of residents working from home among major U.S. cities.

OpenTable reservations have yet to rebound in SF

Restaurant reservations made in San Francisco via OpenTable are down 34% this month compared to July 2019.

Restaurant reservations made in San Francisco via OpenTable are down 34% this month compared to July 2019, recent data shows.The big picture: A variety of data points indicate San Francisco has yet to rebound from the pandemic, despite the city lifting many of its COVID-19-related restrictions.

Push for a 4am "last call" defeated

Advocates say that longer hours would have helped bars recover financially from the pandemic.

An effort to keep bars open later in San Francisco, and other cities, was defeated in the state Assembly on Wednesday. Context: The bill, written by state Sen. Scott Wiener and Assemblymember Matt Haney, would have allowed watering holes in San Francisco, Palm Springs and West Hollywood to serve drinks until 4am on weekends and 3am on weekdays.

71% of California kids have had COVID-19

As the public school year starts for the SFUSD, there's potential for COVID hotspots to emerge.

About 71% of kids in California between the ages of 6 months and 17 years have been infected with COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, compared to about 80% of kids nationwide, according to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="recent estimates" data-vars-click-url="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#pediatric-seroprevalence" data-vars-content-id="13a32813-a0ee-4062-8f70-d66023838e68" data-vars-headline="71% of California kids have had COVID-19" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#pediatric-seroprevalence" target="_blank">recent estimates</a> from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Why it matters: The latest BA.5 subvariant of Omicron is now the dominant strain of the coronavirus in the U.S., and it&#x27;s the most transmissible we&#x27;ve seen since the start of the pandemic, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Axios&#x27; Tina Reed writes" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/07/08/ba5-become-this-summers-subvariant?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=sendto_localnewslettertest&amp;stream=top" data-vars-content-id="13a32813-a0ee-4062-8f70-d66023838e68" data-vars-headline="71% of California kids have had COVID-19" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/07/08/ba5-become-this-summers-subvariant?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=sendto_localnewslettertest&amp;stream=top" target="_self">Axios&#x27; Tina Reed writes</a>.

Illustration of a stack of wooden toy blocks showing a syringe, a COVID cell and a cotton swab. 

Downtown San Francisco continues to struggle as more businesses leave

Downtown activity is just 32% of what it was before the pandemic.

San Francisco&#x27;s downtown is still struggling to recover from the pandemic as the impending closure of retail behemoth Nordstrom looms.What&#x27;s happening: Downtown activity is just 32% of what it was before the pandemic.

COVID 🦠