Californians urged to prevent holiday virus spike

Stir-crazy in some cases after the dreary Summer of COVID-19, Americans headed into the Labor Day weekend amid warnings from public health officials not to make the same mistakes they did over Memorial Day and July Fourth.

The fear is that backyard parties, crowded bars and other gatherings could cause the coronavirus to come surging back.

In San Francisco, Mayor London Breed held a press conference Friday at Dolores Park, where hundreds of people, some not wearing masks and not socially distancing, gathered during the last holiday weekend over the 4th of July.

She reminded residents that the city saw a virus spike shortly thereafter, setting back the city's plans to reopen.

After urging residents to be especially diligent over the three day weekend, she was assisted by the city's famed Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an LGBTQ group known for their community activism and theatrical make-up and costumes, in handing out free masks to people recreating in the park.

The warning came as a widely cited model by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington projected a worsening outbreak in the U.S. that will peak in early December at about 2,900 deaths per day, up from about 860 a day now, unless government officials take action.

Over the summer, the U.S. saw a rise in infections, deaths and hospitalizations, primarily in the South and West, that was blamed in part on Americans behaving heedlessly over Memorial Day and July Fourth.