sf.citi is committed to providing ongoing updates about the latest community news and resources from the San Francisco tech industry and beyond.
- 215,375 confirmed cases in California
- 5,933 confirmed deaths in California
- 23,738 confirmed cases in the Bay Area
*As of 9:00am PT on 6/29
COVID-19 Updates from the SF Tech Community
UPDATES FROM THE TECH COMMUNITY
We are sharing the latest COVID-19 resources from the San Francisco tech industry, as well other community-minded initiatives pioneered by sf.citi members.
- AT&T and Verizon are donating phones and accounts to Miracle Friends, a new program aimed at offering emotional support to San Francisco’s homeless population during the pandemic. Organized by the nonprofit Miracle Messages, Miracle Friends matches volunteers with homeless individuals sheltering in San Francisco hotels to chat on the phone several times a week.
- Tech executives at Google, Okta, and Twitter denounced the Trump administration’s order suspending new green cards, H-1B and other visas through the end of 2020.
- Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced a set of commitments—developed with input from Black Microsoft employees and leadership—to address racial injustice in the United States. The company added an additional $150 million of diversity and inclusion investment and committed to doubling the number of Black people managers, senior individual contributors, and senior leaders by 2025. Microsoft also committed to significantly increasing its number of Black-owned suppliers and partners over the next three years. Read more here.
- Twitter is giving its U.S. employees Election Day, November 3, 2020, a paid day off to vote.
UPDATES FROM THE CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO
- sf.citi weighed in on the five potential tax hikes San Francisco voters will see on the November 2020 ballot. Affecting businesses that have already laid off thousands of employees due to COVID-19, the proposed tax measures could drive tech companies out of San Francisco, warned sf.citi’s Jennifer Stojkovic. Instead of piling taxes on industries hard hit by the pandemic, she said the City should prioritize economic recovery.
- On June 26, Mayor Breed temporarily delayed the reopenings that were scheduled for today, June 29 due to an increase in San Francisco’s COVID-19 cases. On June 25, the City saw 103 new COVID-19 cases. Mayor Breed warned that cases could continue to rise to the point where the City would have to shut down again and said, “Nobody should wait to get tested.” You can find all COVID-19 testing locations in San Francisco here.
- On a brighter note, the Bay Area’s contact tracing efforts are showing early signs of success. San Francisco has trained thousands of contact tracers and is one of the Bay Area counties that has enough contract tracers to track nearly all COVID-19 cases.
- On June 24, Mayor Breed announced the second summer of the San Francisco Museums For All initiative. San Francisco Museums for All provides free or reduced museum admissions for low-income San Franciscans who receive public benefits, including Medi-Cal and CalFresh. During the COVID-19 crisis, the initiative also includes “Museums From Home,” a program which offers free, online access to exhibits and activities.
To stay up to date with all City of San Francisco updates, follow the Mayor’s updates here.
UPDATES FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
- On June 28, Governor Newsom ordered bars to close in seven California counties, including Los Angeles, due to the rising numbers of COVID-19 cases across the state. The state also recommended that eight additional counties close bars to slow the spread of COVID-19, including Santa Clara and Sacramento.
- On June 25, Governor Newsom released a set of tools, technology, and data to help Californians better understand the impact of COVID-19. These include the California COVID Assessment Tool, or CalCAT, and the source code of CalCAT. The Governor also mandated that California’s COVID-19 data be publicly available and stored on the state’s open data portal.
- On June 25, Governor Newsom declared a budget emergency to make more funds available to support California’s response to COVID-19. The proclamation enables the California state legislature to pass legislation allowing the state to draw from its rainy day fund and ensure funding for personal protective equipment and other necessary responses to the COVID-19 crisis.
- On June 22, Governor Newsom signed an executive order on a variety of issues related to COVID-19. Among other things, order suspends the requirement for recycling centers to hold a minimum number of hours of operation.
To stay up to date with all State of California updates, follow the California Department of Health’s updates here.
SUPPORT OUR SAN FRANCISCO COMMUNITY
Every week, sf.citi will feature a different San Francisco nonprofit and share ways you can support its mission and work.
- On theme with our Scaling Social Impact event last week, we wanted to highlight the work of Black Girls CODE. Black Girls CODE empowers girls of color to learn the basics of programming and pursue a career in tech. Learn how you can donate both your resources and expertise to Black Girls CODE and diversify the tech talent pipeline.
Would you like to be featured in a future sf.citi community update? Tell us about your work in San Francisco by emailing jacqueline@sfciti.org.
Comments are closed.