Although the coronavirus of Sonoma County residents continues to infect at an alarming rate, killing more people in the community in January than any month in the pandemic, the province’s leading public health official on Monday unleashed severe restrictions on business and public life.
In the election to abolish the latest home business that has been in place since December 12, dr. Sundari Mase led by state health officials and Gavin Newsom. Earlier in the day, the governor lifted the regional residency rights across the country, which were questioned by some local health officials and medical professionals who questioned the action while the virus was raging, surprised and even upset.
Although the announcement of Mase represents increasing changes, it will give the local economy a much-needed boost after the level of unemployment increased in December, reversing the steady monthly improvements since last April.
The main consequences of her actions are the resumption of outdoor dining services at restaurants and brewpubs in the area, haircuts and a bunch of personal grooming services at salons and barber shops, along with people who get the hang of meeting small groups of friends. to the gym for workouts outside.
The health officer tried to find a fine balance with the shift from a month-long closure to tight but moderate restrictions, and joined provincial leaders and local hospital officials to plead residents for caution and compliance with mask wear and physical distance, although they are tired of isolation. .
Mase urged residents to remain “vigilant” until the vaccine against COVID-19 is widely distributed.
“It’s not like COVID has disappeared,” said Dr. Chad Krilich, medical director of St. Louis. Joseph Health in Sonoma County, owner of Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. “I think everyone knows that. I think it’s important that we continue to do the things that limit the spread … social distance, masks, hand washing. Even if you are vaccinated, you do these things to reduce the likelihood of spreading. ”
To speed up the vaccination of the vaccine that began last month, health officials in the province on Monday also said they would partner with a private company to open a vaccination clinic in Rohnert Park on Wednesday, allowing people aged 75 to years and older can be vaccinated.
Meanwhile, the California Department of Public Health’s action on Monday lifted local home orders for the Bay, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California areas, all caused in mid-December by hospitals that made beds available to virus patients who intensive care required. sharp on the decline. The governor also removed the curfew from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., but San Francisco kept it in place.
Mase had the power to maintain stricter public health regulations, but decided to facilitate it due to the move by the state.
“We seem to be in a better place than we have been in the last six weeks,” she said. “I do not want to say that this is a trend. But our number of cases per day has definitely decreased. We are now more in the 100-200 cases per day than 200-300, which we saw only a month ago. So things seem to be going in the right direction. ”
The spread of the virus remains high in Sonoma County and deaths related to complications due to the infectious disease are increasing. From 18 to 24 January, the province averaged about 205 new cases per day. This is an improvement from earlier in the month, when there were almost 315 new daily cases from 4 to 13 January – but worse than any point of the pandemic before mid-December.
Furthermore, provincial officials reported 55 deaths in January, the highest monthly total surpassing the previous pandemic record of 43 in August. Overall, 247 locals have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began in March last year, and about 25,000 residents have been infected.
While state and county health officials lift the exclusion, California’s 58 counties return to levels of restrictions attached to the state’s four-phase, color-coded reopening plan. For Sonoma County, this means living in the press level, which includes the strictest rules of the versatile regime to combat widespread virus transmission.
To advance, the country should not record more than 7 new cases of coronavirus per 100,000 inhabitants, with a running average of seven days and a positive percentage of 8% or lower for a virus. As of Monday, these numbers were 41.4 per 100,000 and 9.6%, respectively. In December, when Mase announced that the strict home order would take effect, there were 25 new daily virus cases per 100,000 residents and 162 locals lost their lives to COVID-19.