Sonoma County Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase made clear today that the County of Sonoma will be aligning with the California Department of Public Health’s plans to remove pandemic-related limitations on restaurants, taverns, movie theaters and other businesses beginning on Tuesday, June 15.
Because of our tremendous progress in getting people vaccinated and bringing down our case counts here in Sonoma County and across the state, Dr. Mase underscores that beginning tomorrow:
Businesses will be able to open up fully for outdoor and indoor service. This includes all restaurants, bars, wineries and breweries. Movie theaters, gyms and places of worship also will be allowed to open fully without limits. The same is true of museums and family entertainment centers. They also will be allowed to fully open to their normal capacity limits. In addition, there will be no more limits on private gatherings at your home, park, or business.
On the eve of the state lifting COVID-19 restrictions that have been in place since August, Dr. Mase urged the public to remain cautious as the virus is still spreading among unvaccinated individuals in the community despite a drastic reduction in the case-rate since a winter surge. Dr. Mase made her comments during a virtual press briefing today.
“I am happy to say that we have turned a corner in the pandemic and we are ready to fully reopen our economy,” Dr. Mase said. “However, it is too soon to declare ‘Mission Accomplished.’ We are still finding COVID cases in the community, especially in unvaccinated young people, although we are not seeing the hospitalizations and deaths that we experienced during the darkest days of the pandemic.”
Sonoma County is poised to exit the Blueprint for a Safer Economy in the second least restrictive orange tier with a case rate of 3.9 per 100,000 residents, down from a high of more than 50 in January. Dr. Mase credited Sonoma County’s high vaccination rates with containing the spread of the virus.
As of Monday, 73 percent of Sonoma County residents 12 and older have been partially vaccinated while 63 percent are fully vaccinated. That puts Sonoma County well above the state average and 11th among the 58 counties by the percentage of residents vaccinated. With the pace of vaccinations slowing down across the country, Dr. Mase reminded those unvaccinated individuals that appointments are plentiful at Sonoma County vaccination clinics.
“We have done a great job of getting shots into the arms of most of our residents,” Dr. Mase said. “But our work is not done. We are in the long tail of our vaccination campaign, and we will continue to reach out to offer this vital vaccine to anyone who wants it, in many cases bringing it to where they live, work and play.”
Mobile vaccine clinics in Sonoma County scheduled this week include the following:
Andy’s Unity Park in Santa Rosa on June 14 from noon to 6:30 p.m.
Coddingtown in Santa Rosa on June 17 from noon to 6:30 p.m.
Finley Park in Santa Rosa on June 18 from noon to 6:30 p.m.
Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa on June 19 from noon to 6:30 p.m.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Windsor on June 20 from noon to 6:30 p.m
