Marin County Moves Into Red Tier, Loosening More Restrictions

MARIN COUNTY, CA — Marin County moved into the red tier in the state’s COVID-19 blueprint, the state announced on Tuesday, lifting some restrictions on businesses and permitting more activities as coronavirus daily case rates continue to fall.

Beginning Wednesday, restaurants can open for indoor dining at 25 percent capacity, gyms can open at 10 percent capacity and retail and shopping centers can increase capacity to 50 percent.

The county, along with much of the state, has been in the purple tier — the most restrictive tier — since late last year, when the winter surge of cases and hospitalizations began.

“We’ve focused on our hardest-hit communities, and it seems to be paying off,” said Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County Public Health Officer, in a news release. “It’s especially encouraging to see this progress as we move toward vaccinating essential workers. Adding the protection of the vaccine will help seal this progress for the whole community.”

Benita McLarin, Director of Marin County Department of Health and Human Services, said that moving into the next tier will require "the collective action of all of us."

“Mask wearing, maintaining physical distance from people you don’t live with, good hand hygiene and regular COVID-19 testing are easy steps everyone can take to prevent the spread of COVID-19," McLarin said in a news release.