Sonoma County Car Washes, Pet Groomers Among Businesses Reopening

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — Car washes, pet groomers, dog walking services, residential and janitorial cleaning services, outdoor museums, open air galleries, botanical gardens and other outdoor exhibition spaces in Sonoma County are allowed to reopen Friday and operate to the maximum extent possible while still adhering to social distancing and other requirements meant to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The Sonoma County Public Health Officer has amended the county's Shelter-in-Place Health Order to allow the reopening at 12:01 a.m. Friday of the additional businesses. The county amendment locally implements the statewide reopening announced Wednesday by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, allowing more businesses statewide to resume operations with health safety modifications.

The new order also allows Sonoma County residents to leave home to work in or patronize the aforementioned businesses, county officials said in a news release.

The county's most recent amended order also allows office where teleworking is not possible to reopen. The office workspaces must be kept closed to the public, however, and businesses cannot convert office activities from telework to in-person.

The amendment allows child care facilities to open to those outside the essential workforce, while still following the strict protocols laid out in the county's May 1 health order.

"The order specifically lists businesses that must remain closed: outdoor restaurants, cafes, or bars, zoos, amusement parks, indoor gallery and museum spaces, and does not apply to personal care services that have close customer contact, including hair salons, barbershops, nail salons, massage parlors, aestheticians and cosmetology, ear-piercing salons, and tattoo parlors," county officials said.

Retail sales by curbside pickup, delivery or shipping is allowed from shopping malls, strip malls and outlets, but all indoor access to storefronts and malls remains closed to the public.

Businesses allowed to reopen must plan, develop, post and implement their social distancing, face covering and worker/consumer safety protocols. Business owners and managers can find those details here in Appendix A of the county's May 1 Health Order.

The Sonoma County Economic Development Board has a web page aimed to help business owners understand at what point they may be able to reopen for consumers amid the four phases outlined by the state; or go here for the governor's industry-specific guidance for reopening.

More information is posted at SoCoEmergency.org. Residents may also call 211 or text their ZIP code to 898-211 to communicate via text messaging with a 211 operator.

This article originally appeared on the Petaluma Patch