Some 80% of calls the fire department responds to are medical emergencies. Emergency medical workers with the San Francisco Fire Department, with help from dispatchers, are implementing distancing where possible on calls, including by asking callers to meet first responders outside, said SFFD Public Information Officer Lt. Jonathan Baxter. First responders are also wearing protective equipment and taking extra decontamination measures.

City officials explained their efforts to place homeless people in hotel rooms during the COVID-19 pandemic at a press conference April 13. Mayor London Breed explained the multiple challenges to quickly placing vulnerable unhoused people in hotel rooms — an especially pressing goal after a COVID-19 outbreak at a homeless shelter last week. By Sunday, the city had placed approximately 750 homeless people in hotel rooms throughout San Francisco. Hear the full press conference audio here.

In this recording of a live webinar organized by the Public Press, two leaders of the Elder Abuse Prevention Program at the Institute on Aging and San Francisco’s district attorney describe how authorities handle reports of scams and fraud, and answer listener questions about preventing web-based and phone scams.

The MSC South homeless shelter is being turned into a medical facility for COVID-19 patients after 68 of its residents and 2 staff members tested positive for the coronavirus, San Francisco officials announced Friday. Around 100 residents were at the shelter, down from its usual capacity of 340, when residents and staff were tested. Those who did not test positive have been moved into hotels, said Mayor London Breed. Hear this and other updates officials offered on Friday.

San Francisco firefighters are still on duty, working shifts at the firehouse, responding to calls and conducting fire safety inspections. As part of an ongoing series of conversations with front-line workers, Civic spoke with local firefighter Adam Wood. He says that, among other things, firefighters are wearing protective equipment where possible, cleaning common areas and equipment three times a day and bracing for a spike in COVID-19 cases.

Now more than 850 members strong, the Sunset Neighborhood Help Group is made entirely of volunteers and was sparked by just one person’s post offering to pick up groceries for those unable to leave their homes. In this recording of a live webinar organized by the Public Press, full-time artist and Sunset resident Bianca Nandzik, her husband Stefan and former printing industry worker Frank Plughoff share their experience building a mutual aid society from the ground up.

Some San Francisco bookstores carry a colorful magazine that looks like the New Yorker of the west coast. This is the San Franciscan, a volunteer passion project. Amanda Legge and Erica Messner are two women living in San Francisco and working full time in non-media jobs who started the magazine purely for fun. Messner says part of the inspiration for the magazine came from a desire to reflect the creativity the two saw around them.

City officials said Wednesday that the city would be leasing some 7,000 hotel rooms to house those who may have COVID-19 and cannot isolate themselves, and some vulnerable homeless people, and also announced new mental health support programs for frontline workers and city employees. Listen to the full press conference audio here for these and other updates.

As the SFMTA makes drastic cuts to service to prevent further spread of the coronavirus, drivers are afraid of being infected and are asking for masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and wipes. Five cases have been confirmed among Muni workers. Roger Marenco, president of the Transport Workers Union Local 250-A, which represents Muni bus drivers and some other transit workers, said the city has not been able to keep the number of passengers on buses low enough to ensure social distancing.

San Francisco leaders announced at a press conference Monday, April 6, that changes would be made to the emergency shelter at Moscone Center West after 19 people there were found to have had contact with two former residents of another shelter who have contracted the coronavirus. Listen to the full press conference, including updates about testing, hospital capacity, and coronavirus data, here.