July/August? That was the low-point of lockdowns. At least here in Chicago. It almost looked like a real city for a moment there.
The SF Bay Area was taking the pandemic seriously in the summer.
I live in SF and can confirm that downtown is very dead.
I live a few blocks from Union Square -- can confirm.
But what about the residential areas? NYC is very spotty, for example. Residential areas are hopping because that's where people live and work now, and midtown is shuttered. Usual salad and coffee places near the offices have no reason to be open right now.
Downtown is dead, yes, but Polk Gulch and Valencia Street (for example) are very much alive.
the city is so small that any exodus of existing residents isn’t going to be that noticeable because there are still people moving here everyday.
but yes the residential areas feel pretty much the same as far as crowdedness goes.