Marin Progresses From Red Tier To Orange In Novato

Press release from the City of Novato:

March 23, 2021

The State of California has announced that Marin County will be moving from “red” to “orange” status in the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, effective Wednesday, March 24.

The move from tier 2 or “substantial risk” status to the less restrictive tier 3 or “moderate risk” level is based on consecutive weeks of progress in Marin’s coronavirus case statistics.

The primary changes allowed under the state order as Marin moves into tier 3:

• Retail & grocery stores: can expand indoor capacity to 100%.
• Restaurants – indoor dining: can expand indoor capacity to 50% or 200 people (whichever is fewer).
• Museums & movie theaters: can expand indoor capacity to 50% or 200 people (whichever is fewer).
• Houses of worship: can expand indoor capacity to 50% or 200 people (whichever is fewer).
• Weddings/funerals: can expand indoor capacity to 50% or 200 people (whichever is fewer).
• Family recreation / entertainment facilities: can expand indoor capacity to 25%.
• Gyms & fitness studios: can expand indoor capacity to 25% and reopen indoor pools.
• Breweries/wineries that do not serve food: can expand indoor capacity to 25% or 100 people (whichever is fewer).
• Bars that do not serve food: can operate outdoors only.
• Non-essential offices may reopen (but working remotely is still encouraged).
• Higher education: can expand indoor capacity to 50% for indoor lectures.

Marin joins Santa Clara and San Francisco as Bay Area counties moving to tier 3 this week. San Mateo County achieved orange status on March 17.

Changes to business sector guidelines are available at MarinRecovers.com or the California Blueprint for a Safer Economy website.

While case rates have continued to improve over the past month, public health officials caution residents that more work is needed to achieve the next milestone.

“The next four weeks are pivotal for us,” said Dr. Matt Willis, Marin’s Public Health Officer. “We saw an uptick in cases last week and with variant cases increasing, we don’t want to drop the ball before we reach the goal line. Letting our guard down puts us at risk of slipping backward. While pandemic fatigue is real, we must stay the course to help Marin reach tier 4.”

Marin Public Health recommends mask wearing, physical distancing, and frequent hand washing when in public, and to considering testing prior to, and quarantining after, travel outside of the Bay Area. Free, same-day COVID-19 testing is available across the county, and anyone who comes into frequent contact with members of the public should consider getting tested at least once a month. See Marin Public Health’s testing webpage for a list of locations.

Meanwhile, vaccinations continue throughout the county. Nearly 48% of Marin residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine. See Marin Public Health’s vaccination webpage for the latest information.

In August 2020, the state introduced its Blueprint for a Safer Economy, a four-tier framework by which counties are measured for loosening and tightening restrictions on social activities and business operations. Sectors of business can progressively open more operations with moves up the list toward the final stage, yellow tier 4. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) assigns each county to a tier on a weekly basis based on two county-level factors: the total number of new cases, and the percent of new cases among those tested. A county must spend at least 21 days in any tier before advancing to a less restrictive one. As Marin experienced last year, counties have to tighten back up if conditions worsen.

Follow the latest COVID-19 surveillance figures in Marin County on the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) website. Register online to receive a daily COVID-19 update from Marin HHS.

Stay Informed

Visit the City of Novato COVID-19 webpage at novato.org/coronavirus to sign up for email or text message updates from the City, as well as for information on impacts to City services, City facility closures and cancelled and postponed events, what to do if you are feeling sick, and tips on how to reduce your risk of exposure.

Novato businesses and workers impacted by COVID-19, visit novato.org/COVID19biz for a listing of resources including information regarding unemployment, disability and paid family leave benefits; small business loans and grants; tax assistance; non-profit support; as well as information on workplace health and safety.

For up-to-date information on what other local agencies are doing in response to COVID-19, please visit the following websites:

Novato Unified School District: nusd.org/covid
North Marin Water District: nmwd.com
Novato Sanitary District: novatosan.com
Marin Transit: marintransit.org
Golden Gate Transit: goldengate.org/district/news-media
SMART: sonomamarintrain.org

This press release was produced by the City of Novato. The views expressed here are the author’s own.