Marin County Falls Back To More Restrictive Coronavirus Tier

Kristina Houck
Updated ·3 min read

MARIN COUNTY, CA — With coronavirus case rates on the rise, Marin County has fallen back to a more restrictive tier on the state's COVID-19 tracking system.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that Marin was moved from the orange tier to the red tier. The red tier is the second-most restrictive tier in the state's four-tiered, color-coded risk system and indicates a substantial COVID-19 risk level.

"This is concerning because surges are happening just as the weather is getting cooler, and before the real holiday season even starts," said Dr. Matt Willis, the county's public health officer.

"We can anticipate more travel, more gatherings, more flu. If we don't get in front of this now, I'm concerned about our hospital capacity to manage cases come December."

These are the primary restrictions beginning Tuesday as Marin moves into the red tier, also known as Tier 2:

  • Retail establishments and indoor malls are allowed at 50 percent capacity

  • Office workspaces are allowed for essential workers; nonessential workers should work remote only

  • Restaurants are allowed outdoor service only

  • Bars and breweries closed unless serving full meals outdoors

  • Wineries are allowed outdoor service only

  • Personal care services are allowed indoors

  • Museums are allowed at 25 percent capacity

  • Places of worship are allowed at 25 percent capacity or 100 people (whichever is fewer)

  • Libraries are allowed at 50 percent capacity

  • Movie theaters are allowed at 25 percent capacity or 100 people (whichever is fewer)

  • Cardrooms are allowed outdoor service only

  • Other family entertainment centers are allowed outdoor service only

  • Gyms and fitness centers are allowed at 10 percent capacity

  • Indoor pools are not allowed

The change to Tier 2 does not affect Marin's school reopening process. Local schools started re-opening on Sept. 8 while the county was in the purple tier, the most-restrictive tier, and now 70 percent of Marin schools are open to some form of classroom-based learning. So far, there have been no cases of COVID-19 infection that occurred within school settings, according to the county.

"It's important to note that most counties across the state that did not reopen schools are seeing even faster rises in cases, and in people of all ages," said Dr. Lisa Santora, Marin's deputy public health officer. "We've done a lot of work together to make sure that schools can reopen safely, and it's paying off."

On Aug. 28, the state introduced its Blueprint for a Safer Economy, a four-tier framework by which counties are measured for loosening and tightening restrictions on business operations and social activities. Marin was initially placed in Tier 1, or the purple tier, moved to Tier 2 on Sept. 15 as its COVID-19 case figures improved, and graduated to Tier 3 on Oct. 27.

Sectors of business can progressively open more operations with moves up the list toward Tier 4, the final stage. A county must spend at least 21 days in any tier before advancing to a less restrictive tier. Counties have to tighten restrictions if conditions worsen.

This article originally appeared on the San Rafael Patch