Sonoma County Lets More Businesses Reopen Under Amended Order

Maggie Fusek
Updated ·4 min read

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — Sonoma County's shelter-in-place public health order was amended Thursday to allow some retail businesses to reopen for delivery and curbside pickup as of 12:01 a.m. Friday. These businesses include, but are not limited to: bookstores, jewelry stores, toy stores, clothing stores, shoe stores, home and furnishing stores, sporting goods stores, antique stores and music stores.

In addition, manufacturers that produce goods for essential businesses and retail stores may resume operations, county officials said in a news release issued just after 9 p.m. Thursday.

Stores and shopping malls remain closed for now.

County officials said this local expansion of the types of businesses allowed to operate as the battle against the coronavirus continues was made possible by California Gov. Gavin Newsom's move Thursday to the initial phase of Stage 2 of his Pandemic Resilience Roadmap.

The success of the county's shelter-in-place order in interrupting community transmission of the coronavirus was also a factor.

"I cannot begin to express how thankful I am for the sacrifices the community has made to fight the pandemic which has helped keep us safe and allowed us to take this step to further open our economy," said Susan Gorin, chair of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. "County leadership is committed to reopening business and public spaces in a way that protects the health and safety of everyone."

Amendments to the county's order allow additional lesser-risk businesses to open based on a risk-assessment approach. The amendment also implements Newsom's plan in Sonoma County.

County officials pointed out that Newsom emphasized in his announcement "this is not a return to normal" and that "the virus is still spreading," but that we can gradually reopen as, "science, data and public health dictate."

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To go further into Stage 2 of the state's Resilience Roadmap for reopening, Newsom laid out a set of criteria counties must meet before allowing more businesses to reopen. The state's criteria include:

  • No more than one COVID-19 positive case per 10,000 people in the last 14 days;

  • No COVID-19 death in the past 14 days;

  • Minimum daily testing of 1.5 per 1,000 residents;

  • Ability to temporarily house at least 15 percent of county residents experiencing homelessness; County or regional hospital capacity to accommodate a minimum surge of 35 percent in new COVID-19 patients;

  • Hospital facilities must have a robust plan to protect hospital workforce;

  • Skilled nursing facilities must have a more than 14-day supply of PPE on hand for staff with ongoing procurement from non-state supply chains; and

  • County metrics that serve as triggers for either slowing the pace through Stage 2 or tightening modifications.

The county says it does meet a number of criteria, but has an incidence of virus spread and deaths that do not meet the state benchmarks at this time to reopen further as set out in the state's reopening roadmap.

As of Thursday evening, there have been three coronavirus-related deaths in the county from a total of 292 people who tested positive for the virus. Through 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8,605 coronavirus tests have been done in the county. That number is expected to rise as Sonoma County expands testing to include more at-risk groups of people.

"I concur with the Governor’s assessment of our success and need for continued vigilance," said Dr. Sundari Mase, Sonoma County public health officer. "We will continually assess whether we meet the State requirements and work with the business community to make sure we are able to safely reopen additional businesses as soon as conditions and the State permit."

As part of reopening, businesses covered under Sonoma County's order must plan, develop, post and implement their social distancing, face-covering and worker/consumer safety protocols as laid out in the May 1 amendment to the county's public health order.

The governor's industry-specific guidance for California's reopening is here.

The amended Sonoma County order still requires residents to practice social distancing and to stay home except for essential reasons and certain outdoor activities. Full information about what is allowed/now allowed is posted here.

"Shelter-in-Place has saved lives in Sonoma County — please continue to do your part by following the physical distancing and practicing the good hygiene guidelines for curtailing the spread of the virus," Mase said.

Full coronavirus coverage: Coronavirus In California: What To Know

This article originally appeared on the Petaluma Patch