Marin and the Bay Area will remain under an order to stay home for viruses indefinitely, officials said on Friday.
“We are waiting for the state to make the official announcement, but we hope that is the case,” said Dr. Matt Willis, Marin’s public health officer, on Friday during an online city hall meeting updating the health order for Marin and the vaccine distribution. “Our numbers are going in the wrong direction.”
Willis said the new term extends the previous home stay order issued on December 17, which would expire on Friday. A state announcement is expected on Saturday.
The extension of the order would prolong the total closure of personal care services, including barber shops and nail salons; bars and wineries; and entertainment centers, such as amusement parks, cinemas, game rooms and casinos.
It would also expand the reduction in retail capacity, restrictions on restaurants for delivery and delivery only, and maintain religious services outdoors.
Schools that are already open for face-to-face learning can remain open. The same can happen with non-urgent medical care sites and dental offices. Parks, playgrounds, beaches and reserves of open spaces remain open. But the camps are closed.
According to the request, travel is also prohibited “except when necessary for permitted activities”. Hotels can only rent rooms for essential employees, such as doctors or nurses.
The order is based on the ICU’s capacity for the Bay Area region, which includes Marin. According to Willis, the capacity of the region’s ICU – which is based on staff – on Friday was 3.5%, well below the 15% limit that the region would need to suspend hospitalization requests.
“This is the smallest ICU capacity we have had since the start of the pandemic,” said Willis. “As the case rates increase, the ICU’s capacity decreases and the numbers are still going in the wrong direction.”
The state’s Department of Public Health’s ICU projections are based on an estimate of available regional capacity, current case and community transmission rates, and the proportion of cases admitted to intensive care units, county health officials said.
Despite having the second lowest case rate in the state among counties with 100,000 or more inhabitants, Marin is still seeing the largest increase in cases recorded since March, Willis said. The county recently had its highest number of cases – 140 – in a single day, he said.
So far, in the Marin pandemic, 115 people have died, he said.
He urged residents to strengthen their preventive measures, including masks, social distance and hand washing, and to “support our local businesses”.
The Bay Area News Group contributed to this report.