Sonoma County Added To State's Coronavirus Watch List

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — Sonoma County was notified Friday by the California Department of Public Health that if its coronavirus data do not improve over the next 72 hours, the county will be subject to new restrictions as part of statewide actions designed to slow the spread of coronavirus.

These restrictions could start as soon as Monday and would be in place until the state takes further action, which would be no earlier than Wednesday, July 22, county officials said late Friday in a news release.

Sonoma County's rate of infections per 100,000 residents has increased five-fold from 20 in early June to more than 100 over the past several days, Dr. Sundari Mase, the county's Public Health Officer, told the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Thursday.

Sonoma County joins 29 other counties in the state, including Marin, Napa and Solano counties, in being added to the state monitoring list because of sharp increases in new coronavirus infections since early June.

Over the 24-hour period from Thursday to Friday, the number of active coronavirus cases in Sonoma County increased by 42.

As of Friday, there were 774 active cases of coronavirus cases in the county from a total of 1,561 cases since March.

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There have been 14 coronavirus-related deaths in Sonoma County.

Similar to action taken with other counties, the state Public Health officer is expected to issue a health order for Sonoma County that would restrict indoor business operations to discourage large indoor gatherings outside of households.

Potential State Health Order Restrictions

The following business types would not be allowed to operate indoor activities:

• Restaurants
• Wineries/tasting rooms
• Bars, clubs, breweries, brewpubs and distilleries
• Movie theaters
• Family entertainment centers (for example: bowling alleys and arcades)
• Zoos and museums
• Card rooms

If the state restricts activities, this information is important for impacted businesses:

• Outdoor dining and take-out would still be permitted.
• Wineries and tasting rooms would likely be able to operate outdoors, and the serving of food would not be a requirement.
• Bars, clubs, breweries, brewpubs, and distilleries would be required to halt all indoor service. Alcohol may be served outdoors only in the same transaction of a meal.

Sonoma County health officials reminded residents there is still a local and statewide health order in effect, and that social gatherings are known places where COVID-19 is spread.

"Each one of us is responsible for slowing the spread of coronavirus and protecting our most vulnerable residents," Mase said. "We can all do our part by continuing to wear face coverings, keeping our distance from others, and staying home when sick and not attending social gatherings."

According to a statement Friday from the California Department of Public Health, there are 30 counties where indoor closure orders are in effect, indoor closure orders are in progress, or indoor closure orders will be required if the county remains on the state's Monitoring List for three or more days:

1. Colusa
2. Contra Costa
3. Fresno
4. Glenn
5. Imperial
6. Kern
7. Kings
8. Los Angeles
9. Madera
10. Marin
11. Merced
12. Monterey
13. Napa
14. Orange
15. Placer
16. Riverside
17. Sacramento
18. San Benito
19. San Bernardino
20. San Diego
21. San Joaquin
22. Santa Barbara
23. Santa Clara
24. Solano
25. Sonoma
26. Stanislaus
27. Sutter
28. Tulare
29. Ventura
30. Yolo