Sonoma County will lift its restrictions on both indoor and outdoor gatherings later this week with COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations declining across the region.
The order was issued by county health officer Dr. Sundari Mase on Jan. 10 due to rapidly rising cases throughout the community, fueled by the omicron variant. The directive encouraged residents to "stay home as much as possible for the next 30 days and limit interactions with those outside of their immediate household," officials said in a press release.
The mandate banned all indoor gatherings of 50 people or more and outdoor gatherings of 100 people or more.
The county announced on Friday that the order will expire as scheduled on Feb. 10 at 11:59 p.m.
"The numbers are trending in the right direction, and there are clear signs that we are now past the peak of the winter surge in COVID-19 cases," Dr. Mase said in a release. "I am confident we will be able to safely lift our temporary restrictions on the size of gatherings starting Feb. 11."
The county is currently experiencing 126 new cases of COVID-19 per day per 100,000 residents, down from an all-time high of 250 new cases per day in early January. However, officials cautioned the current case rate is still almost four times higher than the peak of the delta variant surge last August.
Dr. Mase "strongly encouraged" residents, especially those age 65 and older with underlying health conditions or who aren’t vaccinated or boosted, to continue to wear masks indoors and avoid large gatherings. She warned that the omicron surge is not over.
Ken O'Donnell, owner of “McNear's Saloon and Dining House” and the adjoining live music venue “The Mystic Theatre” in Petaluma, expressed frustration about the month long order, as restaurants continued to suffer during already challenging period.
“As soon as they put the new moratorium and mask mandate, saying what could it hurt? Us. All the restaurants are just floundering right now,” he told KCBS Radio's Jeffrey Schaub. "When the weddings get canceled, we lose a rehearsal dinner and the weddings lose their venue."
He said that he believes the order was just too much.
"We applaud the many local businesses and organizations that have put measures into place to protect the public during large events, including adherence to best practices for masking, social distancing, vaccine verification and testing," Ethan Brown, interim executive director of the county Economic Development Board said. "Their vigilance and dedication to reduce transmission of COVID-19 play an important role in keeping our community safe."
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