Health Officer: Reopening of Indoor Dining, Shopping, Salons Possible Soon

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Sonoma County Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase told reporters Tuesday that the county may allow indoor dining, shopping and salons to reopen as soon as this weekend, if the number of coronavirus cases remains stable. She said she and her staff would be closely analyzing health data in the next few days to determine if and when that action can be taken.

Indoor businesses not considered essential and those that bring people into close contact present a higher public health risk say experts, and Sonoma County has so far not allowed them to reopen.

Importantly, Mase and county officials want to assess whether a limited reopening of outdoor spaces to dining almost two weeks ago has caused an uptick in coronavirus cases. They will be analyzing a variety of epidemiological factors, including the infection rate, before deciding whether to open up more of the local economy.

Saturday will mark two weeks since activities like outdoor dining and childcare were allowed to resume in Sonoma County. She said the county is not yet close to the state standard of 25 infections per 100 thousand residents over the most recent two week period, a metric critical she says to moving ahead.

On Monday, the chair of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Susan Gorin and Sheriff Mark Essick released a joint statement pledging to work together on a revised paradigm to take Sonoma County from a health order based approach with blanket bans on certain business sectors, to one emphasizing risk assessment only. In theory that would allow more businesses to operate while observing safeguards to protect the health of workers and the public.

Last week Essick said he would refuse to enforce current health orders beginning on June 1st, citing what he called a lack of transparency from the health office, and the economic toll the orders were taking on the community. On Monday, after a weekend of intense talks with county officials, he agreed to resume enforcement.

Asked about whether her job would change under the agreement announced Monday, Mase insisted that the county’s approach has always been about risk assessment, and that her office had always been transparent and that it would continue to be so.