Indoor malls to close again after landing on state's watch list due to COVID-19 surge: 'It's hardship for everyone' - KGO-TV

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SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Starting Monday, non-essential offices and indoor malls in San Francisco must close after becoming the latest city to land on the state's watch list for increased cases of COVID-19.

"We were told this morning, we've got to shutdown all indoor operations," said Greg Viloria from Japan Center.

It's what many retailers inside the Japan Center Mall had feared, doors must close on Monday.

RELATED: San Francisco added to state coronavirus watch list, mayor says

Andy Ma, just reopened his Yumi Boutique around July 1 after being closed since March.

"It's hardship for everyone, hard to overcome this, but safety first I guess," Ma said.

This mall has been the anchor of Japantown for 53 years, dozens of longtime family owned specialty stores call it home. But the pandemic has forced some out of business.

"I've seen shutdowns around here, a few people weren't able to sustain it, we're thinking the same thing," said Stephen Jordan, owner of Sakura Sakura.

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Restaurants say they can't do take out if customers can't get inside the mall. Japan Center management was trying to get permission from the Department of Health for restaurants inside the mall to do curbside pickup.

Indoor malls and non-essential offices must close because San Francisco recently made the state's watch list due to significant increase in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.

"If conditions in the city don't improve, we will close more places and activities as well," Mayor London Breed said Friday.

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The Westfield San Francisco Centre on Market street is also preparing to close. Syed Sajjad reopened his perfume store just this past Saturday.

"It's sad, this pandemic you can't do anything but stay home,"said Sajjad.

The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce fears many businesses can't afford another closure and reopening.

"We've done a survey, over 47 percent of our chamber business members have lost 100 percent of sales or shut down permanently," said Jay Cheng, Public Policy Director for the SF Chamber of Commerce.

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