Saint pink, HERE – March 12, 2021 – Sonoma County, for the first time, will come out of the more restrictive purple layer within California’s blueprint for a four-tiered, color-coded Safer Economy, starting on Sunday, March 14. This change is a result of the state’s decision to adjust the minimum case rate requirement for the transition to red from 7 to 10 per 100,000 as California has finished administering 2 million doses of vaccine in the state’s 400 postal codes. who were most disproportionately affected by the virus.
By adjusting the requirements to the red level, the state has assigned Sonoma County two weeks to maintain less than 10 cases per 100,000. Based on that decision, Sonoma County is allowed to enter the red level at 12:01 pm on Sunday, March 14.
“The move to the red level is the most promising news that our community has received in a long time,” said supervisor Lynda Hopkins, chairman of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. “But now is not the time to relax. We need to remain smart and safe. That means wearing our masks, avoiding big meetings and, most of all, getting tested. Getting tested is one of the best tools we have at our disposal to control the spread of the virus and reopen our economy. “
Switching from the purple layer to the red layer for the county means:
- Restaurants can open indoors with a capacity of 25% or a maximum of 100 people, whichever is less.
- Retail establishments can open indoors with 50% capacity.
- The cinemas can open indoors with a capacity of 25% or 100 people, whichever is less.
- Gyms can open indoors with a 10 percent capacity.
- Museums, zoos and aquariums can open indoor activities with a 25% capacity.
- Breweries, wineries and distilleries that do not serve meals can open in the open only with modifications. The changes include ensuring that customers have reservations and observe a 90-minute time limit. The service for consumption on site must end at 20:00
- Bars that do not serve meals remain closed in the Purple (generalized) and Red (substantial) layers.
“We are pleased with the progress that our county is making and we thank everyone who is doing their part in the fight against COVID-19,” said Sonoma County Health Officer Sundari Mase. “From the team that provides vaccines and testing, to the community organizations that provide outreach and education, to every individual who is choosing to wear face coverings and practice social detachment, each of you is making a difference.”
In addition, since the county is at the red level, schools in all grades (TK-12) can reopen after posting their COVID-19 Security Plan (CSP) on the home page of the site at least five days before starting classroom teaching. Schools must adhere to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) COVID-19 and the Reopening Personal Instruction Framework. Modifications to on-campus instruction include cohort (creating stable groups of students who stay together and don’t mix), implementing distance in and out of the classroom, ensuring sufficient ventilation, promoting health, hygiene, cleanliness and disinfection, symptom tracking and exposure and institution of measures to be taken in the case of a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19. Once opened, schools will not need to rewire if the county returns to the purple level.
Meanwhile, 28 percent of eligible Sonoma County residents (age 16 and older) have already received at least one dose of the vaccine, while nearly 12 percent have been fully vaccinated in Sonoma County, also doubled the number of testing opportunities available in most affected communities.
In addition to the state changes that qualify the county for the red level, the state of California has announced plans for additional metric adjustments for reopening. The planned adjustments to the orange level are also linked to state targets for vaccination limits for residents in the communities hardest hit by COVID – those that fall into the lowest quartile on the Healthy Places Index. When 4 million doses have been distributed to these communities, a case rate of 6 or less per 100,000 qualifies for counties to move from the red layer to the orange layer.
For more information on Sonoma County’s COVID-19 response and vaccine launch, visit socoemergency.org.
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