Sonoma County is banning large gatherings amid a record-setting surge in COVID-19 cases due to the omicron variant, while the county's top health official is asking residents to stay home as much as possible over the next month.
The county on Monday prohibited indoor gatherings of at least 50 people, and outdoor gatherings of at least 100 where social distancing isn't possible, from midnight on Wednesday until Feb. 11. Dr. Sundari Mase also asked residents to limit interactions with people from outside their households over the next 30 days.
"Our case rates are at their highest level since the pandemic began and our hospitalizations are climbing at an alarming rate as well," Mase, Sonoma County's health officer, said in a release on Monday. "We are seeing widespread transmission occurring within unvaccinated groups as well as some transmission among vaccinated individuals."
Sonoma County officials on Monday said the county's average of new cases per 100,000 residents has increased by nearly 100 over the last two weeks, up from 24.4 to 121 cases. The county said it set an all-time record with a 16.5% positivity rate in recorded tests.
There were 76 COVID-19 hospitalizations on Sunday, up from 28 just six days ago. State officials told the county it would easily surpass last winter's high, which Sonoma County said was an average of 104 daily hospitalizations, and it could average as many as 380 daily hospitalizations without additional measures to limit the virus' spread.
Mase's order doesn't extend to workplaces, restaurants, gyms, stores, shopping malls, or classes at schools. It also recommended, but didn't require, smaller gatherings to be held virtually, postponed or canceled.
"We know what we need to do to prevent our hospitals from being overwhelmed," Mase said. “The next 30 days will be key to helping us stop this rapid spread of this highly contagious variant in our community. We need to get vaccinated and boosted, wear high-quality masks, avoid large gatherings and stay home as much as possible."
Sonoma County's order is the first of its kind in the Bay Area since the omicron variant was identified in November. Prohibitions on gatherings were commonplace throughout the region, and across the state, before California lifted the vast majority of its COVID-19 restrictions on June 15 following the widespread availability of vaccines.
But the omicron variant's increased transmissibility, as well as the lack of protection from cloth masks against it compared to "surgical-grade or higher" masks, prompted Mase to issue new restrictions while the county sees "where our case rates are going," she told KCBS Radio's Patti Reising and Jeff Bell on Monday night.
"The order itself is really being issued out of an abundance of caution," Mase said.
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