State Orders Rollbacks on Indoor Business Activity in Sonoma County

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As coronavirus cases mount across Sonoma County, the state of California ordered new restrictions on indoor business activity Sunday afternoon, effectively pushing back county reopening plans until the local surge can be brought under control.

The changes will be in force beginning just after midnight Sunday (12:01 AM Monday) and require most indoor business activities to cease in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus locally. The restrictions will last at least until August 2nd.

Similar restrictions have been imposed on about a half dozen counties in the greater Bay Area and more than 25 statewide.

The state health order prohibits business activities that bring people into close contact in indoor settings. State epidemiologists say those settings are one place where the virus is currently spreading.

RESTRICTED BUSINESS ACTIVITIES

These businesses will have to cease indoor activities:

Restaurants
Wineries and tasting rooms
Bars, clubs, breweries, brewpubs and distilleries
Movie Theaters
Family entertainment centers like bowling alleys and arcades, zoos and museums
Card Rooms and Casinos

ALLOWABLE BUSINESS ACTIVITIES

These activities will still be allowed:

Outdoor dining and take out service
Outdoor service at wineries and tasting rooms (no food service required)
Outdoor service at bars, clubs, breweries, brewpubs and distilleries (food service required)

THE NUMBERS

The new restrictions came after the state monitored the situation in Sonoma County for three days and found no improvement in coronavirus spread. Between early June and July 12 the number of infections per 100 thousand residents (measured over a 2 week period) grew six-fold, from 20 cases in early June to more than 120 cases by this weekend.

Another key factor was the positivity rate (positive cases as a % of total tests) and the hospitalization rate, both of which have been trending upward. Similar restrictions were put in place earlier in the North Bay counties of Napa, Marin and Solano.