Mayor London Breed announces the first confirmed cases of novel coronavirus in San Francisco alongside public health and city officials at a news conference at City Hall on Thursday. Six more were confirmed on Saturday. (Kevin N. Hume/S.F. Examiner)

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in San Francisco has risen to eight, the Department of Public Health reported Saturday in a written statement.

The San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH) lab conducted COVID-19 tests for the patients and found positive results. All six people are isolated at home in good condition. Each of them has had known contact with a person with confirmed COVID-19.

“These newly confirmed cases are an indication of the increasing circulation of coronavirus in the community, as expected, given the patterns in our state, region and our own city,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, Director of Health. “San Franciscans should remain calm, and take appropriate steps for heightened precautions. Today’s new information reinforces the need for all San Franciscans to follow our recommendations for social distancing that the Mayor released yesterday,” he said. “In order to decrease the impact of coronavirus on our community, we must reduce the times and places when people come together.”

Many event organizers have responded to Mayor London Breed’s call to avoid large gatherings. Everything from road races to major conferences have pulled the plug. The San Francisco Ballet and the San Francisco Symphony announced that it is curtailing performances, and Cinequest announced Saturday that it was shutting down its annual film festival at the end of the weekend. The remaining screenings have been rescheduled to August.

Of the six new patients identified, three are women and three are men. Two patients are in their 20s, three in their 40s, and one in their 50s. The Department of Public Health is working with the patients and their families to ensure that their health is monitored, and all precautions are being taken to protect their health and the health of the public. This adds to the two cases announced by The City on Thursday.

To protect patient privacy, San Francisco will not be releasing further patient information. The Department of Public Health will post confirmed cases on their website, updated daily, at www.sfdph.org/dph/alerts/coronavirus.asp starting Monday March 9.

In other developments on Saturday, s 70-year-old woman with a non-COVID-19 medical emergency was transported by Coast Guard cutter Saturday morning from the Grand Princess cruise ship moored off the California coast, authorities said.

The Coast Guard was notified by the ship’s captain that the woman needed treatment and the Centers for Disease Control recommended she be moved, the Coast Guard said. The Coast Guard Cutter Tern took the passenger and her husband to awaiting emergency crews and CDC personnel at the Coast Guard Sector San Francisco on Yerba Buena Island.

The woman was in stable condition on Saturday, the Coast Guard said.

On Friday night, a Coast Guard helicopter delivered facemasks and other protective gear provided by Princess Cruises to the cruise ship.

There are more than 3,500 passengers aboard the Grand Princess, which was recently headed from Hawaii to San Francisco. It remains off the coast of California while authorities determine a “non-commercial port” for it to dock.

Officials say 21 people aboard the ship have tested positive for the virus and that 19 of them are crewmembers.

Bay City News contributed to this report.

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