Stay-Home Order Lifted In Marin County

MARIN COUNTY, CA — Due to improving hospital conditions, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday lifted the regional stay-home order across the Bay Area, including Marin County, and throughout the state.

In December, Newsom announced tighter restrictions for regions where less than 15 percent of ICU beds were available. The Bay Area region's available ICU capacity slipped below the 15 percent threshold on Dec. 16, triggering the state-mandated order for 11 Bay Area counties the following day.

New projections from the California Department of Public Health show the Bay Area's ICU capacity above 15 percent four weeks from now, meeting the criteria to exit the regional stay-home order. All 11 counties in the Bay Area, including Marin, will move into the purple Tier 1 within the Blueprint for a Safer Economy.

"Everyone has been making sacrifices to bring this surge under control, and it's paying off," said Dr. Matt Willis, the county's public health officer.

"As we move back into the purple tier, it's critical to remember the virus is still very active in our community. We could easily backslide if we let our guard down."

By switching to Tier 1, the following businesses and activities can proceed in Marin:

Allowed to operate indoors:

• Hair salons and barbershops
• Personal services (nail salons, estheticians, massage studios, tattoo parlors, piercing shops)
• Limited services (carwashes, dry cleaners, electricians, handypersons/general contractors, heating and air conditioning services, landscapers, laundromats, pet groomers, plumbing services, janitorial/cleaning services)
• Hotels, motels and short-term lodging
• Retail stores and malls (25 percent capacity)
• Libraries (25 percent capacity)

Allowed to operate outdoors:

• Restaurants (outdoor dining)
• Places of worship
• Cultural ceremonies
• Gyms and fitness/dance/yoga studios
• Drive-in movie theaters
• Farmers markets
• Family entertainment centers
• Day camps
• Wineries
• Card rooms
• Campgrounds and playgrounds
• Youth and adult recreational athletics (outdoor physical conditioning and practice permitted with six feet of physical distancing from others. No scrimmages, games or tournaments)
• Small private gatherings
  • Masks and physical distancing required
  • No more than three separate households attend (including the host's)
  • Gatherings should be two hours or less
  • Those with symptoms must not attend
  • Those at high risk of severe illness strongly encouraged not to attend
  • Singing, shouting, chanting, cheering or exercising strongly discouraged

The end of the stay-home order and Marin's shift to Tier 1 status does not affect schools, accordng to the county.

Campuses that had reopened to site-based classroom learning prior to Dec. 10 — when Marin last shifted from Tier 2 to Tier 1 within the Blueprint framework — were allowed to continue operating in-person, though some choose to move back to a virtual format. Schools that have not yet returned to a site-based format during the 2020-21 school year will be eligible to reopen once Marin achieves and retains Tier 2 status for five days.